COVID-19 has illuminated and exacerbated inequities, yet, as a crisis, it is not exceptional in i... more COVID-19 has illuminated and exacerbated inequities, yet, as a crisis, it is not exceptional in its effect on education. We start this critical essay by situating the crisis in its historical, economic, and political contexts, illustrating how crisis and violence intersect as structural conditions of late modernity, capitalism, and their education systems. Situating the current crisis contextually lays the foundation to analyse how it has been interpreted through three sets of policy imaginaries, characterised by the notions of learning loss and building back better and by solutions primarily based on techno-education. These concepts reflect and are reflective of the international aid and development paradigm during the pandemic. Building on this analysis, we present, in the final section, an alternative radical vision that calls on a sociology of possibilities and pedagogies of hope that we see to be central to a new people-centred education imaginary to disrupt current inequalitie...
This study looks at the way 25 coloured, Afrikaans speaking boys, awaiting trial for various crim... more This study looks at the way 25 coloured, Afrikaans speaking boys, awaiting trial for various crimes, position themselves in relation to forms of hegemonic masculinity. Hegemonic masculinity refers to popular ideologies of ideal and actual characteristics of what it means to be a ...
In this paper I describe and analyse how critical pedagogy, an approach to teaching and learning ... more In this paper I describe and analyse how critical pedagogy, an approach to teaching and learning that encourages students to reflect on their socio-political contexts, may stimulate critical consciousness and dialogue at a youth radio show. The participants, who attended four diverse Cape Town high schools and predominantly lived in poor townships, named the show Youth Amplified. Youth Amplified dialogues were catalysed by a range of materials, including documentary films, newspapers and academic articles, which participants engaged with prior to the show. Participants then generated questions, which contributed to the dialogues that took place live on air. Two central themes emerged from the radio shows. First, the values and discourses of elite schools were transported to Youth Amplified and presented as incontestable truths that often denigrated marginalised learners. Second, participants used 'race' as a marker of social difference to make sense of peers and South African society. I argue that critical pedagogy interventions also need to work with educators to reflect on inequalities and socio-political contexts, if such interventions are to be successful. The show illuminated that young South Africans want to speak university of south africa
In this chapter a pedagogical approach called dialogic learning is
unpacked, and its relevance is... more In this chapter a pedagogical approach called dialogic learning is unpacked, and its relevance is discussed for contexts like South Africa, places where young people have no living memory of apartheid and their lives are emphatically segregated along lines of class, race, gender, and age. Dialogic learning helps to transgress these social divisions, as it involves multiple perspectives existing simultaneously, as people are forced to consider and reflect on these different positions, including their own and those of others. This form of learning and reflection may subsequently catalyze personal transformation. Despite these benefits, qualitative research indicates that interpersonal interactions between South African youth and adults, such as teachers and parents, do not contain a great dialogue through which different parties interact verbally. At the institutional level, authoritative school-based norms and discourses, often dominated by forms of “whiteness,” militate against dialogical learning. Some examples of dialogic learning have occurred through participatory research, studies which are explored in the chapter. These pieces of research engage young people with regard to issues such as xenophobic violence, masculinities and gang involvement, and participatory HIV/AIDS curriculum development. The value of this kind of research lies in the safe spaces that are created through the research process, as young people’s linguistic resources and perspectives are valued. There is also immense benefit for both parties in the reciprocal nature of the exchanges, whereby researchers are educated in terms of the lives of youth, and young people are able to reflect on their own perspectives, emotions, and worldviews, as well as those of others.
Child justice policies in South Africa – both historically and currently – are inextricably linke... more Child justice policies in South Africa – both historically and currently – are inextricably linked to the dominant ideologies within which these policies have emerged. During the colonial period, Roman Dutch and English laws superseded African customary law, leading to increasingly punitive child justice policies and practices (Skelton & Tshehla, 2008). During the repressive apartheid era, legislation divided groups of people racially, resulting in child justice policies becoming increasingly racialized. In the post‐apartheid era, the values underpinning the constitutional democracy have shaped child justice policy within a human rights discourse and progressive notions of restorative justice. However, whilst the contemporary policy framework is couched in an admirable restorative justice paradigm, rampant economic and social inequality remains, due to the legacies of colonialism and apartheid. Thus, it is the argument of this chapter that the restorative justice approach can only succeed, in a sustainable fashion, if it forms part of – and is able to contribute towards – a broader redistributive justice strategy in the medium‐ to long‐term future.
Children involved in gangs are both more likely to injure others and to fall victim to violence. ... more Children involved in gangs are both more likely to injure others and to fall victim to violence. Prevention aims to prevent them from gang involvement in the first place, or to disengage them from the gang if they are involved. Suppression interventions seek to suppress gang activity and thereby, to prevent violence and injury. Early prevention is cheaper and easier than disengagement or suppression operations, since the latter are far more labour intensive. Successful intervention programmes operate in more than one domain -for instance, prevention programmes may teach children social skills and help parents with parenting skills, while disengagement programmes may help young people with recreational opportunities and employment, and work collaboratively with the community. Successful disengagement programmes always include opportunities for employment, since one key driver of gang involvement is economic gain. Suppression programmes that focus only on suppression run the risk of inciting the gangs to lash back with violence. Therefore, these should always be accompanied by other interventions that provide opportunities for employment (and other activities, such as pro-social recreation). Interventions that combine prevention, disengagement and suppression are only successful insofar as they successfully achieve inter-agency cooperation. Although many interventions have been implemented in high-income countries, a number of them focus exclusively on boys and few of the implemented interventions in low-to-middle income countries have been thoroughly evaluated. All novel programmes, or adaptations of programmes (for instance, to include girls), should be evaluated.
This study looks at the way 25 coloured, Afrikaans speaking boys, awaiting trial for various crim... more This study looks at the way 25 coloured, Afrikaans speaking boys, awaiting trial for various crimes, position themselves in relation to forms of hegemonic masculinity. Hegemonic masculinity refers to popular ideologies of ideal and actual characteristics of what it means to be a "real man". These ideologies are located in public spaces and institutions, such as the media, corporate world, military and government. Specifically, the paper explores how forms of hegemonic masculinity influence the boys in this study's rite of passage into manhood, which is observed in their stories of initiation into gangsterism. Through these tales the boys construct their masculinities in the form of both dominant, global understandings of what it means to be the "real man" and local language and descriptions of practices and rituals. They therefore create hybridised gendered identities, from their particular contexts. Whilst the boys endorse forms of hegemonic masculinity, such as a "Tupac Shakir outlaw" masculinity and a corporate executive masculinity, slivers of ambivalence appear in their discourse. This is due to the fact that these hegemonic masculinities are either largely unattainable or they temporarily empower the boys, but also leave them as children awaiting trial alone.
This study explored the young, marginalised masculinities of 25 boys awaiting trial for various o... more This study explored the young, marginalised masculinities of 25 boys awaiting trial for various offences in Cape Town, South Africa. The boys came from impoverished areas created by Apartheid legislation and most of the boys were involved in gangs. Through their language and descriptions of practices the boys construct three intersecting discourses of masculinity, as they strive to be the toughest gangster, the sweet "mommy's boy" and a "gentleman" who provides and protects for his family. Although the boys end up in the criminal justice system awaiting trial, they still have a certain amount of agency, as they slide between discourses and temporarily become gangster superheroes. These boys' masculinities are bound up with their context: they live in a place with a violent past and a tumultuous post-Apartheid present, precipitating substantially ambivalent subjectivities.
COVID-19 has illuminated and exacerbated inequities, yet, as a crisis, it is not exceptional in i... more COVID-19 has illuminated and exacerbated inequities, yet, as a crisis, it is not exceptional in its effect on education. We start this critical essay by situating the crisis in its historical, economic, and political contexts, illustrating how crisis and violence intersect as structural conditions of late modernity, capitalism, and their education systems. Situating the current crisis contextually lays the foundation to analyse how it has been interpreted through three sets of policy imaginaries, characterised by the notions of learning loss and building back better and by solutions primarily based on techno-education. These concepts reflect and are reflective of the international aid and development paradigm during the pandemic. Building on this analysis, we present, in the final section, an alternative radical vision that calls on a sociology of possibilities and pedagogies of hope that we see to be central to a new people-centred education imaginary to disrupt current inequalitie...
This study looks at the way 25 coloured, Afrikaans speaking boys, awaiting trial for various crim... more This study looks at the way 25 coloured, Afrikaans speaking boys, awaiting trial for various crimes, position themselves in relation to forms of hegemonic masculinity. Hegemonic masculinity refers to popular ideologies of ideal and actual characteristics of what it means to be a ...
In this paper I describe and analyse how critical pedagogy, an approach to teaching and learning ... more In this paper I describe and analyse how critical pedagogy, an approach to teaching and learning that encourages students to reflect on their socio-political contexts, may stimulate critical consciousness and dialogue at a youth radio show. The participants, who attended four diverse Cape Town high schools and predominantly lived in poor townships, named the show Youth Amplified. Youth Amplified dialogues were catalysed by a range of materials, including documentary films, newspapers and academic articles, which participants engaged with prior to the show. Participants then generated questions, which contributed to the dialogues that took place live on air. Two central themes emerged from the radio shows. First, the values and discourses of elite schools were transported to Youth Amplified and presented as incontestable truths that often denigrated marginalised learners. Second, participants used 'race' as a marker of social difference to make sense of peers and South African society. I argue that critical pedagogy interventions also need to work with educators to reflect on inequalities and socio-political contexts, if such interventions are to be successful. The show illuminated that young South Africans want to speak university of south africa
In this chapter a pedagogical approach called dialogic learning is
unpacked, and its relevance is... more In this chapter a pedagogical approach called dialogic learning is unpacked, and its relevance is discussed for contexts like South Africa, places where young people have no living memory of apartheid and their lives are emphatically segregated along lines of class, race, gender, and age. Dialogic learning helps to transgress these social divisions, as it involves multiple perspectives existing simultaneously, as people are forced to consider and reflect on these different positions, including their own and those of others. This form of learning and reflection may subsequently catalyze personal transformation. Despite these benefits, qualitative research indicates that interpersonal interactions between South African youth and adults, such as teachers and parents, do not contain a great dialogue through which different parties interact verbally. At the institutional level, authoritative school-based norms and discourses, often dominated by forms of “whiteness,” militate against dialogical learning. Some examples of dialogic learning have occurred through participatory research, studies which are explored in the chapter. These pieces of research engage young people with regard to issues such as xenophobic violence, masculinities and gang involvement, and participatory HIV/AIDS curriculum development. The value of this kind of research lies in the safe spaces that are created through the research process, as young people’s linguistic resources and perspectives are valued. There is also immense benefit for both parties in the reciprocal nature of the exchanges, whereby researchers are educated in terms of the lives of youth, and young people are able to reflect on their own perspectives, emotions, and worldviews, as well as those of others.
Child justice policies in South Africa – both historically and currently – are inextricably linke... more Child justice policies in South Africa – both historically and currently – are inextricably linked to the dominant ideologies within which these policies have emerged. During the colonial period, Roman Dutch and English laws superseded African customary law, leading to increasingly punitive child justice policies and practices (Skelton & Tshehla, 2008). During the repressive apartheid era, legislation divided groups of people racially, resulting in child justice policies becoming increasingly racialized. In the post‐apartheid era, the values underpinning the constitutional democracy have shaped child justice policy within a human rights discourse and progressive notions of restorative justice. However, whilst the contemporary policy framework is couched in an admirable restorative justice paradigm, rampant economic and social inequality remains, due to the legacies of colonialism and apartheid. Thus, it is the argument of this chapter that the restorative justice approach can only succeed, in a sustainable fashion, if it forms part of – and is able to contribute towards – a broader redistributive justice strategy in the medium‐ to long‐term future.
Children involved in gangs are both more likely to injure others and to fall victim to violence. ... more Children involved in gangs are both more likely to injure others and to fall victim to violence. Prevention aims to prevent them from gang involvement in the first place, or to disengage them from the gang if they are involved. Suppression interventions seek to suppress gang activity and thereby, to prevent violence and injury. Early prevention is cheaper and easier than disengagement or suppression operations, since the latter are far more labour intensive. Successful intervention programmes operate in more than one domain -for instance, prevention programmes may teach children social skills and help parents with parenting skills, while disengagement programmes may help young people with recreational opportunities and employment, and work collaboratively with the community. Successful disengagement programmes always include opportunities for employment, since one key driver of gang involvement is economic gain. Suppression programmes that focus only on suppression run the risk of inciting the gangs to lash back with violence. Therefore, these should always be accompanied by other interventions that provide opportunities for employment (and other activities, such as pro-social recreation). Interventions that combine prevention, disengagement and suppression are only successful insofar as they successfully achieve inter-agency cooperation. Although many interventions have been implemented in high-income countries, a number of them focus exclusively on boys and few of the implemented interventions in low-to-middle income countries have been thoroughly evaluated. All novel programmes, or adaptations of programmes (for instance, to include girls), should be evaluated.
This study looks at the way 25 coloured, Afrikaans speaking boys, awaiting trial for various crim... more This study looks at the way 25 coloured, Afrikaans speaking boys, awaiting trial for various crimes, position themselves in relation to forms of hegemonic masculinity. Hegemonic masculinity refers to popular ideologies of ideal and actual characteristics of what it means to be a "real man". These ideologies are located in public spaces and institutions, such as the media, corporate world, military and government. Specifically, the paper explores how forms of hegemonic masculinity influence the boys in this study's rite of passage into manhood, which is observed in their stories of initiation into gangsterism. Through these tales the boys construct their masculinities in the form of both dominant, global understandings of what it means to be the "real man" and local language and descriptions of practices and rituals. They therefore create hybridised gendered identities, from their particular contexts. Whilst the boys endorse forms of hegemonic masculinity, such as a "Tupac Shakir outlaw" masculinity and a corporate executive masculinity, slivers of ambivalence appear in their discourse. This is due to the fact that these hegemonic masculinities are either largely unattainable or they temporarily empower the boys, but also leave them as children awaiting trial alone.
This study explored the young, marginalised masculinities of 25 boys awaiting trial for various o... more This study explored the young, marginalised masculinities of 25 boys awaiting trial for various offences in Cape Town, South Africa. The boys came from impoverished areas created by Apartheid legislation and most of the boys were involved in gangs. Through their language and descriptions of practices the boys construct three intersecting discourses of masculinity, as they strive to be the toughest gangster, the sweet "mommy's boy" and a "gentleman" who provides and protects for his family. Although the boys end up in the criminal justice system awaiting trial, they still have a certain amount of agency, as they slide between discourses and temporarily become gangster superheroes. These boys' masculinities are bound up with their context: they live in a place with a violent past and a tumultuous post-Apartheid present, precipitating substantially ambivalent subjectivities.
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unpacked, and its relevance is discussed for contexts like South Africa, places where young people have no living memory of apartheid and their lives are emphatically segregated along lines of class, race, gender, and age. Dialogic learning helps to transgress these social divisions, as it involves multiple perspectives existing simultaneously, as people are forced to consider and reflect on these different positions, including their own and those of others. This form of learning and reflection may subsequently catalyze personal transformation. Despite these benefits, qualitative research indicates that interpersonal interactions between South African youth and adults, such as teachers and parents, do not contain a great dialogue through which different parties interact verbally. At the institutional level, authoritative school-based norms and discourses, often dominated by forms of “whiteness,” militate against dialogical learning. Some examples of dialogic learning have occurred through participatory research, studies which are explored in the chapter. These pieces of research engage young people with regard to issues such as xenophobic violence, masculinities and gang involvement, and participatory HIV/AIDS curriculum development. The value of this kind of research lies in the safe spaces that are created through the research process, as young people’s linguistic resources and perspectives are valued. There is also immense benefit for both parties in the reciprocal nature of the exchanges, whereby researchers are educated in terms of the lives of youth, and young people are able to reflect on their own perspectives, emotions, and worldviews, as well as those of others.
increasingly racialized. In the post‐apartheid era, the values underpinning the constitutional democracy have shaped child justice policy within a human rights discourse and progressive notions of restorative justice. However, whilst the contemporary
policy framework is couched in an admirable restorative justice paradigm, rampant economic and social inequality remains, due to the legacies of colonialism and apartheid. Thus, it is the argument of this chapter that the restorative justice
approach can only succeed, in a sustainable fashion, if it forms part of – and is able to contribute towards – a broader redistributive justice strategy in the medium‐ to long‐term future.
unpacked, and its relevance is discussed for contexts like South Africa, places where young people have no living memory of apartheid and their lives are emphatically segregated along lines of class, race, gender, and age. Dialogic learning helps to transgress these social divisions, as it involves multiple perspectives existing simultaneously, as people are forced to consider and reflect on these different positions, including their own and those of others. This form of learning and reflection may subsequently catalyze personal transformation. Despite these benefits, qualitative research indicates that interpersonal interactions between South African youth and adults, such as teachers and parents, do not contain a great dialogue through which different parties interact verbally. At the institutional level, authoritative school-based norms and discourses, often dominated by forms of “whiteness,” militate against dialogical learning. Some examples of dialogic learning have occurred through participatory research, studies which are explored in the chapter. These pieces of research engage young people with regard to issues such as xenophobic violence, masculinities and gang involvement, and participatory HIV/AIDS curriculum development. The value of this kind of research lies in the safe spaces that are created through the research process, as young people’s linguistic resources and perspectives are valued. There is also immense benefit for both parties in the reciprocal nature of the exchanges, whereby researchers are educated in terms of the lives of youth, and young people are able to reflect on their own perspectives, emotions, and worldviews, as well as those of others.
increasingly racialized. In the post‐apartheid era, the values underpinning the constitutional democracy have shaped child justice policy within a human rights discourse and progressive notions of restorative justice. However, whilst the contemporary
policy framework is couched in an admirable restorative justice paradigm, rampant economic and social inequality remains, due to the legacies of colonialism and apartheid. Thus, it is the argument of this chapter that the restorative justice
approach can only succeed, in a sustainable fashion, if it forms part of – and is able to contribute towards – a broader redistributive justice strategy in the medium‐ to long‐term future.