Discourses of racial prejudice : an analysis of discussions on open schooling

Includes bibliographical references.Three groups of four males (seventeen years old) discussed Open Schooling. Each group completed a short attitude scale on the same topic before and after each discussion. The groups were from three schools - two "white" schools: an Afrikaans and an English medium school; and a " coloured" English medium school. Discourse analysis was used as the method of analysis to identify patterns - and their functions - within the discourses. Racial prejudice was of particular interest, and the topic of Open Schooling was used because of its significance within the present South African context. The volatile nature of the topic was expected to generate affective involvement in the discussion due to the investment of the adolescents concerned. The "coloured" school was expected to be differently positioned in the discourses of open schooling. The results demonstrated that racial prejudice was also included in the repertoire of the coloured school