Building a People's University in South Africa: Race, Compensatory Education, and the Limits of Democratic Reform

by Gregory M. Anderson

Overview

Building a People’s University in South Africa chronicles the transformation of the University of the Western Cape (UWC) from a so-called bush college, originally designated under apartheid for the education of Coloured (mixed-race) students, to South Africa’s first non-racial, open admissions tertiary institution. Viewing UWC as a microcosm of the national-liberation struggle, this book focuses on the limits of democratic reform in South Africa by examining the political, racial, and ideological dynamics and tensions accompanying the demand for access to tertiary education during the 1980s and early 1990s. A pivotal pedagogical analysis of the effects of segregation on the language and identity development of black students is also included. The transformation of UWC is relevant to readers outside of South Africa as well as the text highlights the parallel themes underscoring post-secondary reforms in the United States.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780820449548
Publisher:	Peter Lang Inc., International Academic Publishers
Publication date:	10/07/2002
Series:	History of Schools and Schooling , #13
Pages:	246
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

The Author: Gregory M. Anderson is Assistant Professor of Education at Columbia University, Teachers College, in the Program of Higher Education and the Department of Organization and Leadership. Dr. Anderson earned his Ph.D. in sociology from the Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York.

Table of Contents

	List of Abbreviations	xi
	List of Figures and Tables	xiii
	Introduction	1
Chapter 1	Racial Identity, the Apartheid State, and the Creation of the University of the Western Cape	17
Chapter 2	Non-Racialism, Civil Society, and the Structural Limits of Segregation in the Western Cape	29
Chapter 3	Building a People's University: Open Admissions, Fiscal Constraints, and the Racial Politics of Scarce Resources	49
Chapter 4	The Introduction of the Academic Development Program, Continuous Evaluation, and the Unintended Consequences of Crisis Management at UWC	83
Chapter 5	The Making of a Pedagogy of the Oppressed: Defining the "Language Problem" and the Promotion of Academic Literacy	121
Chapter 6	Theorizing Difference and the Racial Effects of Apartheid Socialization on Language Development: A Pedagogical and Ideological Evaluation of Academic Literacy	155
	Conclusion	181
	Appendix	225
	Bibliography	227
	Index	235

Editorial Reviews

«For the last thirty-five years, access to higher education has grown dramatically, not only in the United States, but in diverse societies around the world. In large part this has been a result of political mobilization among disadvantaged and marginalized groups. At the same time, the gains of these groups often have been rolled back by those in positions of power who have contested the legitimacy of the newer groups’ demands for entry to college. Gregory M. Anderson’s ‘Building a People’s University in South Africa’ is the best book written yet about processes of mobilization and countermobilization over higher education in South Africa during the transition out of apartheid. Adding to its sharp focus is a comparative framework, especially its treatment of open admissions policies in the United States. It should be required reading for students, faculty, and policymakers interested in issues of race, class, and access to education.» (David E. Lavin, Professor of Sociology, City University of New York)
«An impressive and sensitive analysis of open admissions and compensatory education in the pedagogical, institutional, and political contexts of a pioneer black South African university. Deeply committed to social advancement for black South Africans through higher education, Gregory M. Anderson warns against claiming easy victories and lays bare the challenge of providing real equality of opportunity and outcomes.» (Saleem Badat, Chief Executive Officer,
Council on Higher Education (South Africa), and Extraordinary Professor, University of the Western Cape)

From the Publisher