South African Professor to Speak at UA on Post-Apartheid Education System

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The United States and South Africa face similar challenges in dealing with race, poverty and education, according to a South African researcher who will speak at 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8, in Room 118 of Graves Hall on The University of Alabama campus. The event is free and open to the public.

Dr. Berte van Wyk, associate professor in philosophy of education in the department of education policy studies at Stellenbosch University, South Africa, will deliver a lecture titled “Race, Poverty and School in Democratic South Africa.” He has studied indigenous education and institutional culture in higher education, both in South Africa and in collaborative studies in the United States. Van Wyk said the increased diversity in education in the United States and South Africa has placed the language of instruction under “severe stress.”

“Language problems take away valuable time from normal teaching,” he said. “If you look at the global coefficient, the United States and South Africa aren’t too far apart in where they rank in education. In both countries, there’s increased diversity in education, which is challenging. You have a lot of immigrants, and South Africa can be considered the USA of Africa in that regard. I’ve been to schools in [the U.S.] where there are more than 10 different countries represented in one class.”

Van Wyk will detail policy successes in South Africa. Among them are traditionally white schools that became increasingly integrated but retained their middle-class character after apartheid was abolished in the country in 1994. He also will discuss the history of apartheid schooling and the persistent challenges the country faces, including  the growing income gap among South African citizens.

“The increase in inequality in South African society has had an effect on governmental efforts to wipe out [apartheid] policies,” van Wyk said. “But there’s been a significant shift in curriculum, and South African children can now go to the school of their choice. So at the policy level, you can’t deny access. The other thing that’s changed is there’s been an increase in quality of education – better qualified teachers and more resources.”

Van Wyk serves as the chairperson of the department of education policy studies at Stellenbosch University and chairperson (2015-2016) of Caribbean and African Studies in Education, a special interest group in the American Educational Research Association.

His previous lectures in the United States include stops at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Adelphi University and Long Island University.

The lecture is co-sponsored by UA’s College of Education; the department of educational leadership, policy, & technology studies; and the Office of International Studies.