Attitudes of white teachers towards racial integration of schools in South Africa

Until recently, schools in South Africa were strictly segregated according to race. And particularly in 'government' (state) schools, white teachers taught white children only. With the dismantling of apartheid, schools are becoming integrated. This study surveys the attitudes of teachers at certain previously segregated English-medium secondary schools towards racially integrated schooling. Further their attitudes were compared with those of teachers at private schools which had already undergone a minor or major degree of integration respectively. The sample comprised 276 teachers at 12 government and six private schools. The overall results obtained on a specially devised Teacher Questionnaire indicated that a significant but small majority of 59 % generally supported the integrated approach. ... The most negative attitudes to integration were demonstrated by teachers speaking Afrikaans (the language of the dominant group under the apartheid regime), with 75 % of Afrikaans-speaking teachers expressing opposition to racially integrated schooling, as compared with 31 % of their English-speaking counterparts. Notwithstanding their positive attitudes, the majority of the sample anticipated problems in implementing integrated schooling. This was, however, not the case for the more integrated private schools. ( DIPF/Abstract übernommen)