The interaction between structure and culture has been the focus of social science research for many decades. Given the relatively invariant nature of the economic structure in most societies, however, it is difficult to adequately measure the impact of these structural factors on other related social forces. South Africa represents one nation where the recent dramatic political transformation has created an ideal context in which to examine cultural responsiveness to structural change. While these processes are manifested in all social, political, and economic sectors, the education system is one institution in which this relationship between structure and culture is particularly clear.
In this paper, I examine the interaction between structure and culture in black township schools, with a focus on teachers' perspectives for rebuilding a culture of learning in post-apartheid South African schools. My findings are based on interviews and questionnaires administered to teachers and principals from four secondary schools in Khayelitsha, the largest black township in Cape Town.
Despite the massive transformation in economic opportunities now available to black South Africans, teachers continue to display feelings of apathy or antipathy towards their work and students remain indifferent to the learning process. A culture seems to be firmly entrenched among the school community which perpetuates the lack of enthusiasm, interest and effort.
While it is premature to claim that structural transformation has had no impact on school cultures, the initial evidence suggests that cultures are far more resistant to change than popular sociological theory may predict. While material/structural concerns were often the first to be brought up as salient indicators of the school's decay, when probed deeper, teachers consistently shifted focus to the more intangible components of the school's culture of learning. Stressing issues of discipline, training, and support, respondents emphasized the importance of interventions which go beyond structural repairs to directly address the human resource needs of the school.
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Ms. Devah Pager is a doctoral student in the Department of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin. In 1993, she earned a B.A. degree (with highest honors) from U.C.L.A., where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. She earned the M.A. degree from Stanford University. The research for her paper was conducted while she was a graduate student at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. Her faculty advisor is Prof. David Grusky.
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