Towards an inclusive pedagogy in South Africa

Abstract

Very little has been done concerning mass education since it was introduced for working class children in developing and poor countries. Bowles and Gintis (1976) warned us that schools reproduce the status quo. When developed nations plan they plan for the middle class because the middle class are in the majority. Developing countries, following this model also plan for the middle class but the majority of children in developing countries are working class. This action further marginalises the working class. Whilst this paper is contradictory in suggesting a first world inclusive education model I am of the view that you cannot throw the baby out with the bathwater. There is enormous merit in following the inclusion model since it holds promise for working class children and vulnerable children who constitute the majority population in developing countries schooling systems. Developing countries should plan on the basis of the specificities of their contexts and continue to refine theories and models with a view to ensuring that more children graduate from school. Working class children will struggle in the contemporary world because of the politicisation of education which results in a performative culture. With the Neo-Liberal paradigm, working class children run the risk of remaining in the margins of society. Modern day bureaucracies are victims of the performance culture that is promoted by the World Bank other supra national organisations.