Ideological alchemy: the transmutation of South African didactics (and fundamental pedagogics) into ‘apartheid education’

In his response to Krüger, Le Grange claims that: (1) the South African discourse of fundamental pedagogics was closely allied with Christian National Education and functioned as a powerful educational doctrine in the service of the South African policy of apartheid education; (2) fundamental pedagogics bracketed political discourse; (3) the connection between fundamental pedagogics and Christianity promoted an authoritarian approach to education; and (4) because didactic pedagogics and fundamental pedagogics were so intimately intertwined, South African didactic thinking also was used to serve and perpetuate the policy of apartheid education. This paper evaluates these claims and concludes that they are untenable in light of the history, nature, and purpose of South African fundamental and didactic pedagogical thinking. In his effort to link fundamental and didactic pedagogical thinking to apartheid education, Le Grange has lost sight of the profound influence of the tradition of European (Dutch/German) Didaktik on didactic thought in South Africa during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.

Keywords

• apartheid education,
• didactic pedagogics,
• educational ideologies and doctrines,
• fundamental pedagogics,
• South Africa