School Choice in South Africa 25 Years After the Collapse of Apartheid

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 11
  In Poster Session: Renegotiating Education in the Post-2015 Era

Abstract

This paper examines school choice as an education reform policy in South Africa 25 years after the collapse of apartheid. I conducted focus group interviews with Black parents in the Gauteng province. This research sought to determine how Black parents understand school choice for their children and what they perceive as advantages and disadvantages of their choice options in the context of current racial incidents in formerly White-only schools. The findings reveal that Black parents are fully aware of what they called “racial discrimination” in formerly White-only schools, yet they are also aware about the importance of their children receiving a better education from these schools because they have more resources compared to Black schools.

Author

• Bekisizwe S. Ndimande, The University of Texas - San Antonio