Inevitable change: an ethnographic analysis of transformation in formerly Afrikaans primary schools

M.A.In the fourteen years since democracy, there have been many legislative changes in South Africa, especially in the educational sector. Although policies have changed at a macro level, there remains a need to investigate the effect of these policy changes at a micro level. This is an ethnography of two formerly whites-only, Afrikaans-only primary schools. In this study I found that although society and legislation have changed dramatically, what happens in the schools has not necessarily changed. There is widespread resistance to policies such as OBE, the disciplinary code, as well as religious legislation. Furthermore, there is a large element of racism within the schools which is mediated through the personal belief systems of the two headmistresses. Teachers resist legislative change because it does not accord with their own agendas, and is perceived as politically motivated and unworkable in their schools. In some cases, legislative change goes against the teachers’ identity. Teachers respond to this change with resistance—which is often not well articulated or organised. They stay in the profession because of a specific teacher identity that includes a strong religious element