Segregation Verse Education

Segregation Verse Education

The World Bank states that South Africa’s government allocates twelve times more money on education per student than some other neighboring African governments, but accomplishes no where near as much for its students who are falling farther behind every year (Public). The reason behind this shocking data is Apartheid, a system of oppression that was implemented in South Africa from 1948 to 1994. For example, blacks were forced  to live on “reservations,” and through the Bantu Education act, denied the right to further education (History). Although though Apartheid ended more than two decades ago, the lasting socioeconomic effects of racial segregation are still evident within South Africa’s educational system and affect the eighteen million students who reside there.

Racial segregation during Apartheid still affects the modern day social structure; this directly leads to differences in education for different social classes. Research done by Cambridge college states that, “Achievement gaps may reflect the cognitive impairment thought to occur in evaluative settings (e. g., classrooms) where a stereotyped identity is salient (i.e., stereotype threat). This study presents an economic model of stereotype threat that reconciles prior evidence on how student effort and performance are influenced by this social-identity phenomenon”(New). This means that students who believe their social status will affect their achievement are less likely to achieve. Many black students in South Africa are told by society and the brutal history of Apartheid that they are less intelligent than whites. Because black students have this stereotype about themselves, they will fall under the effects of a stereotype threat, thus not being able to do as a well as many white students.

South Africa’s education system reflects the lasting economic effects of Apartheid also. Although many may believe that Apartheid was an issue of our last generation, the extreme differences of economic status present between poorer blacks and richer whites at that time have still traveled down through generations. The Joint Education Trust conducted an analysis of national school effectiveness within South Africa and it revealed that, “by the age of eight, the poorest 80% of learners were already considerably behind the richest 20% in terms of performance on the same tests”(Commey). Clearly, economic status plays a large role in quality of education and because the economic effects of Apartheid are still present, Black South Africans are being denied their right to equal education. This also spirals into a vicious cycle as students with more education receive better jobs as adults and can provide a better education for their own children, while poorer students who receive lower income jobs will not be able to do so for their children.

Although Apartheid was abolished decades ago, there still exists lasting socio-economic effects that still impact next generations through issues in education. It is essential for us to realize that even though Apartheid may only seem like a part of the past, it still affects millions of children.

Image of a rundown, predominantly black school in South Africa. (Laquet)

Works Cited

Commey, Pusch. "South African Education Is in Serious Trouble." New African May 2014: 22. Global Issues In Context. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.

"The History of Apartheid in South Africa." The History of Apartheid in South Africa. Stanford University, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2015.

Laquet. Flickr. Yahoo!, n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2015.
"New Economic Research Study Findings Recently Were Reported by Researchers at NBER (Stereotype Threat And The Student-athlete)." Economics Week 5 Sept. 2014: 125. Global Issues In Context. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.

"Public Spending on Education, Total (% of Government Expenditure)." Public Spending on Education, Total (% of Government Expenditure). N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.