| dc.description.abstract | This study comprises an investigation into and
evaluation of influences from without on a few
aspects of the Transvaal primary school system
for the period 1910-1960. The south African educational system for Whites is traditionally based on Prostestant Christian foundations to which,
with the passage of time, various "foreign" influences have become attached.
As a continuous phenomenon, development and renewal
in education forces the teacher to acquaint himself
with these aspects and to investigate, consider and
evaluate the events in education in the recent and
even not so recent past. In our rapidly developing
western civilization, where developments, discoveries, techniques, methods and trends play such an
important role, it is to be expected that education
will be affected thereby. By exposing these external influences in the Transvaal primary educational
system it may be possible to make a positive contribution which will enable the officiating teacher
to be better equipped for his task; a person who
is endowed with a broader perspective concerning
educational matters, after all, better able to
contribute effectively to the educational task.
For this study the historical research method was
employed. Historic-educational data were investigated and elaborated upon. The following sources
proved particularly useful:
* Laws, regulations, ordinances and minutes.
* Reports, conferences and discussions dealing
with primary education.
* The study of articles and magazines, brochures,
pamphlets and newspapers.
* Annual reports of the Transvaal Education
Department, 1910-1960.
* Various publications by local as well as foreign authors in order to obtain a sound perspective of the specific field of study.
* An orientation with philosophies and schools
of thought such as Humanism, Rationalism,
Naturalism, Pragmatism and Calvinism as various
aspects of this study are affected directly or
by implication by these philosophies.
The data obtained from these sources were evaluated,
arranged meaningfully, and discribed as objectively
as possible.
In this treatise it is shown how the Afrikanders,
having been vanquished during the Anglo Boer War
(1899-1902), were deprived of their traditional
C.N.O. The "Boer" or Afrikander child was forced
to receive his education in accordance with the
British educational system. Aiming to include
the Afrikander in the mighty British Empire, the
victorious British started with the schools. The
Afrikanders were purposefully denationalised in
order to achieve this imperialistic aim. A few
aspects in the primary school system were, therefore subjected to an intensive examination to ascertain the qualitative as well as quantitative
degree of influence, not only of British origin
but also that of other western nations which influenced the Transvaal primary educational system.
Chapter 2 concerns itself mainly with the central
control in the form of the Transvaal Education
Department of which the Director of Education is
the senior member. Local controlling bodies such
as school boards and school committees are also
investigated.
Education administration is the topic of chapter 3.
The system-of inspection, the abolition of external
or public examinations, the introduction of cumulative report cards and centralization are probed.
Chapter 4 deals with the curriculum of the Transvaal primary school system, with specific reference
to outside influence regarding the following five
school subjects: Physical Training, Religious
instruction, Art, Social Studies and Agricultural
Studies.
Audio-visual aids and the importance of these
modern aids in education, especially since the
second quarter of the 20th century are under discussion in chapter 5. Some of these educational
aids have also been introduced into the Transvaal
school, i.e. radio and audio-visual apparatus
and their influence has been indicated.
Chapter 6 is concerned with the outside influences
on such matters as punishment and discipline in
the Transvaal primary school and chapter 7 comprises
a short resume of the entire study.
A factor which contributed largely to South Africa
becoming a unique market for an endless stream of
American and English publications on Psychology,
Social Sciences and especially Pedagogies is the fact
that language here presented no communication
problem. Both America and England make use of
English which is one of South Africa's official
languages. This has resulted in our Pedagogies,
together with its related subjects, having an
English-American orientation. It is clear that
the “C.N.O” dating back to the Z.A.R., has been
superseded by a so called modern form of education,
especially from the pragmatic United States of
America.
By 1960 there was as yet, neither in South Africa
in general nor in the Transvaal in particular, any
truly unique education system of its own, in
primary schools. Developments in education since
1910 indicate a continual implication of a patchwork
of foreign systems, which are strange and
foreign to the. national spirit of the people.
Although the benefits attached to these systems
should not be negated, the need was, nevertheless,
very strongly felt for the implementation of a
national education system as outside influences
can, generally speaking, never completely satisfy
this need. | en_US |
