American and South African
Students Pal up during a UCF Study Abroad in South Africa.
Dr Gillian Eriksson
The excitement of seeing
South AfricaÕs magnificent scenery, wildlife, rich history, diverse population,
great shopping and exciting cities of Pretoria, Johannesburg and Cape Town were
some attractions that lured a group of 12 undergraduate and graduate education
students/teachers from the College of Education, University of Central
Florida. The main draw, however, was
the opportunity for these teachers to complete service learning in a range of
diverse schools and see first-hand how South Africa has transitioned from a
racially segregated apartheid society and school system to a vibrant mix of
races, cultures, genders, abilities and incomes in South AfricaÕs classrooms
today.
This study abroad program
was a collaborative project between the Department of Educational Studies (UCF)
and the University of South Africa through the Department of Sociology, the
Unit of Social Behavior in HIV/AIDS and Health (USBAH). Dr Gillian Eriksson (UCF coordinator)
worked with Leon Roets (UNISA coordinator) to create a dynamic program that
would not only focus on critical issues in education, but expose these teachers
to diverse schools, including how gifted students were served..
During this Study Abroad,
students completed coursework in Critical Issues in Education, Multicultural
Education and Gifted Education.
The coursework in Gifted education is available online, and includes
Understanding the Gifted, Curriculum for the Gifted, Special Populations of
Gifted, Counseling the Gifted and Creativity (the five courses required for
obtaining an endorsement certificate in Gifted Education in Florida)*. These courses can be included in a MasterÕs
Degree in Curriculum and Instruction, specializing in Gifted Education.
The itinerary included
visits to schools and agencies serving diverse populations: inner city, township, suburban,
orphanage, hospice, private, special school for the gifted, special school for
the deaf, temporary bridging schools, elite schools. Students were able to experience the disparity in
opportunity due to income and ethnicity, the crisis facing South Africa due to
HIV/AIDS, the difference in educational environments and emotional and social
climates of these schools.
PALS CREATED IN SERVICE
LEARNING
During this trip, teachers
were paired up with classes at the level that they teach. This was a great opportunity for
teachers from America to create computer Pals with students in the South
African classrooms. Students wrote
letters to each other and took photographs which were sent to the other
country. This initiated a computer
pal system between the students in these two countries that is continuing.
Critical Issues examined
during this Study Abroad
1. The legacy of apartheid
The group was fortunate to
hear special presentations on the current issues in South African education by
UNISA faculty. Some of the more
profound first hand experiences that made an impact on the group, included
individuals who had been:
imprisoned on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela; displaced from the
coloured community in District Six in Cape Town; were teaching with HIV/AIDS;
were struggling to serve orphans with HIV/AIDS. On June 15th, they attended a concert at
St. VincentÕs School for the Deaf***,
who were commemorating the 30th anniversary of June 16th,
1976 (ÔYouth DayÓ). They saw plays
and heard poetry created and performed by deaf students about the Soweto
student uprising, when black students protested against the use of Afrikaans as
a medium of instruction leading rioting, police raids and to the tragic deaths
of so many, the most well-known being Hector Peterson, aged 13. (A teacher interpreted for the
audience). This was a powerful and
emotional experience, made only more profound by the creative brilliance of
these dynamic and talented students.
Sadly, the future of this dynamic and wonderful school serving this
special population is in jeopardy due to lack of funding as the government
approach is that of inclusion for exceptional students.
Students were part of a two
day HIV/AIDS conference (Tswane Metropolitan Council) which not only gave them
an insight into how local municipalities, schools and villages were coping; but
also addressed the use of Antiretroviral drugs; approaches to the use of
tradional healers (ÒSangomasÓ); an
understanding of the needs of the LGBT community (Lesbian, Gay); and a curriculum of education about
HIV/AIDS. They understood the
stigmas attached to those who are HIV positive, and controversies about
treatments, and heard personal testimonies of teachers and students who have
AIDS. They enjoyed the African
songs, dances and prayers which initiated this conference. They also visited a student counseling
project for HIV/AIDS at the University of the Western Cape, and heard about
teacher shortages and a curriculum that uses creative thinking to generate
awareness about HIV/AIDS for elementary students. The group visited an orphanage, clinic and hospice for
victims of HIV/AIDS and heard the many tragic personal stories of homeless
children and adults served by incredibly committed individuals.
Students completed service
learning and, for example saw a classroom of children with 8 language
groups, that included Bantu
(Blacks); Europeans (Whites), Coloureds (Mixed race), and Asian (Indian);
affluent children of professional parents, children bussed in from the townships, children whose
parents are domestic maids and gardeners. Obviously, managing the disparity in skills,
accumulated knowledge, actualized ability levels, and cultural perspectives is
a great challenge to teachers, who largely stem from minority European
backgrounds.
There are no special
provisions or services mandated for gifted students in regular South African
schools. The official approach
uses inclusion through outcomes-based education. In practice however, few teachers or principals have had any
training in gifted education or modification of the curriculum for gifted
students. In disadvantaged
communities, gifted students face lowered expectations, poor resources,
inadequate challenge, inappropriate strategies. The visit to Radford Academy
for gifted students was very enlightening for the group. The Principal, Phillip Kokot, explained
the philosophy of the school, models of gifted education, the use of a profile
of assessment and identification; the thematic approach taken to curriculum
development as an interaction with the students; the use of appropriate
strategies such as cooperative learning, game-based teaching; project development. Located in a large suburban house, the
atmosphere is relaxed and respectful, with dynamic teachers who are able to
challenge the individual needs of their students. We saw enthusiastic gifted students who had invented their
own board games about dinosaurs; high level questioning about history; applied
mathematics. We heard how teachers
have their students formulate areas and topics for exploration and assist
students as they pursue problem-solving and critical thinking in special
research areas.
Visits ranged from an inner
city school where the teachers had to maintain the building and buy their own
equipment to a High School where the South African national rugby team, the
Springboks, were practicing on the green fields Ð called the ÒHarry PotterÓ
school by the group. The vibrant
songs and dances of the poorer children who had minimal materials in a
classroom in disrepair were in stark contrast with the Eisteddfod concert that
included a student orchestra; rock groups; classical guitar and everything of
the finest in classrooms, chapels, resources in the context of a challenging
curriculum. A school based
on Rudolf Steiner, developing responsible and conservation-conscious use of
resources in contemporary society, used only natural objects, materials and
fibers in the classroom, architecture without squares, infused arts in
education, focus on critical and creative thinking and an interactive
student-centered developmental curriculum.
After this enlightening
trip, a question was posed to the group: If you had to choose any classroom we
had visited, where would you like to teach? Interestingly, not a single school we visited was left out
in the responses of these teachers!!!
Their choices were as diverse as the schools that we had visited, each
seeing the need served in that community. They left with a renewed vision to
serve and an enriched understanding of challenges faced by the dedicated
teachers in this transformed country.
We are grateful to all the teachers, principals, and faculty who were
involved in this program.
*UCF Website: http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~gifted
**Radford House (gifted
students): http://www.radfordhouse.co.za/
***St. Vincent's
School for the Deaf: http://www.cathca.co.za
Dr Gillian Eriksson,
Educational Studies, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL isluti@mail.ucf.edu