A Spatial Analysis of Learning Processes at One Low-Income High School in Cape Town, South Africa

• In Event: 14.044 - Roundtable Session 2
  In Roundtable Session: 14.044-26 - Parents and Community in Urban Settings

Abstract

In this paper learning processes at one low-income high school in Cape Town are unpacked through ethnographic research that explored how Real, Imagined and Lived socio-spatial relations impact on and play out in the high school in question. The school is located within one of the most violent, gang-ridden Cape Town neighbourhoods, meaning that social challenges in this area travel with students and impinge on their school-based learning. Educators’ perceptions that students’ linguistic capital are unsuited for schooling contributed to the high rates of school discontinuation. Students responded to these Real and Imagined relations by expressing their belief in a range of conspiracy theories, indicating that they may desire and benefit from forms of pedagogy that stimulate their socio-political consciousness.

Author

• Adam Cooper, Stellenbosch University