By exercising agency in white-majority schools black teachers can be powerful catalysts for change.
Schools are becoming increasingly diverse in South Africa’s ever-evolving educational landscape, reflecting a rich tapestry of cultures, backgrounds and perspectives. Amid this diversity, an important conversation is emerging about the role of black teachers in white-majority schools – institutions once reserved exclusively for white students, teachers and principals during apartheid.
Black teachers, by virtue of their presence and passion, are worthy examples of fostering teacher agency in schools of a white majority. Through their commitment to their careers, students, and the broader school community, black teachers can serve as champions of diversity, equity, and inclusion, fostering a supportive and socially-just environment for black participants in white-majority schools.
Agents of change
Agency is the driving force that empowers teachers to exercise their professional expertise, influence school climate, and make a positive difference in the lives of their students. It is a construct deeply rooted in the belief that teachers are not only passive recipients and executors of policies and practices, but are influential actors in their schools.
Agency is the ability of teachers to act purposefully to achieve the common good in their schools. According to Biesta and Tedder (2006), agency is not something that people possess, but something they do and, more so, something that they achieve. Frost simply defines it as “the capacity to make a difference” (2006, p. 20).
This article delves into some of the findings from my master’s research, which investigated the lived experiences of black teachers working in elite, white-majority schools across five education districts of the Western Cape.
Informed by Critical Race Theory, a mixed-methods research methodology was deployed to capture quantitative and qualitative data on these teachers’ lived experiences. A significant theme derived from the research data was ‘teacher agency’ which points to the fact that black teachers bring unique capabilities and perspectives to their majority-white schools.
By harnessing this agency, black teachers can initiate transformational leadership that extends far beyond the walls of their classrooms. The qualitative narratives derived from an anonymous survey and five teacher case studies are consistent with the “voice of colour”, a key tenet of Critical Race Theory.
This alignment validates the important stories and counter-stories shared by the participants. To maintain the anonymity of all the case-study participants, I proposed pseudonyms for them, which provide a hint about their cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Their respective schools are simply referred to as School A, School B, School C, etc.
Positive role models for black students
A significant finding of the research was the positive impact that the presence of black teachers in white-majority schools had on black students. Black teachers can relate to the lived experiences of minority students, such as their domestic circumstances and cultural and religious traditions.
They have a special consideration for black students because they are aware that navigating the white-majority school environment can provide an additional challenge. Black teachers support black students in emotional and practical ways so that they can succeed.
Mr Govender from School D shared his experience of not having Indian male role models during his time at school. As an adolescent he struggled with his Indian identity and with an internalised oppression of being inferior to white people. He said, “I maybe didn’t realise it at the time, I maybe wanted to be white when I was in school because all my role models were white.
That absolutely had an impact on me. And when I was in high school, I rejected my Indianness. I didn’t want to watch Bollywood movies, I didn’t want to go to Indian functions, I wanted to eat with a fork and a knife. All of these things I wanted to reject, reject, reject so that I could be ‘better’.” When he taught at his first school, he recognised that he needed to be the strong and positive Indian role model for Indian male students, helping them to be proud of their identity.
Positive response to black teachers
It became clear from the study that students received black teachers positively. Many students had never been taught by a black teacher, and so for some there was curiosity and excitement around this experience.
Mrs Abrahams from School A said, “As soon as I have a really good rapport with the learners, I ask them very difficult questions. There have been times in the past where I have asked them: ‘Am I the first teacher of colour for you?’ or ‘Who has had a teacher of colour before?’ And there will be a few hands. But most of them come from schools that have only white teachers. The children seem quite excited to have someone different in front of them. I must say that I’ve had a very good reception from the children at my school. And even unexpectedly for me, from the all-white classes.”
Both black and white parents appreciated the fact that black teachers were teaching their children.
At the same time, white parents are modelling positive behaviour towards their children that shows trust and confidence towards black teachers. It is vital that white, middle-class students experience the presence and authority of black teachers, and that they do not only experience black people as service workers in a school.
Authentic Dialogue
After 1994, we witnessed many positive changes in South Africa in terms of integration and diversity. However, white-majority schools have not been spared from what seems to be increasing occurrences of racist incidents. For years after apartheid, racism was tolerated in schools, with little sympathy for victims and little to no consequences for the perpetrators.
In 2020, following the momentum of Black Lives Matter, many elite, white-majority schools were criticised by past and present students for reports of racial discrimination, and some of these cases were brought under the spotlight on an Instagram account called You Silence We Amplify.
Many white-majority schools find it uncomfortable to confront racism head-on as it can create interpersonal conflict in the school community. Yet, it was encouraging to see that some schools were committed to action by providing safe spaces for courageous and sometimes difficult conversations.
A wise strategy that some white-majority schools have adopted is to appoint a person in leadership to head up the Equity and Belonging/Transformation and Diversity portfolio in their school. Often this individual is a person of colour, with their fundamental role being to advise the principal in making sure that diversity, equality, inclusivity, and antiracist policies and practices are implemented.
Mr Paulse is a member of the diversity and inclusion committee at School C. He shares that there are four or five white colleagues who genuinely want to listen to him, and try to ask critical questions. They are prepared to engage in courageous conversations about issues of race. It is these kinds of collaborative and respectful partnerships that are at the heart of why black teachers feel included, supported, and accepted in their schools.
“They [white teachers] ask me, ‘Why are things like this, or why are things like that? How can I do things different or how can I be the change?’,” said Mr Paulse.
At Mr Govender’s school, there is a senior staff member who heads up the equity and belonging portfolio at the school. School D places a special emphasis on fostering equity and belonging for all members of the school community.
Mr Govender is however critical of the discourse around race. He feels that it is people of colour who are usually the ones encumbered by the responsibility of educating others about equity and diversity. He shares his thoughts about this:
He said, “Coming from Johannesburg, where we do not have a specific direction for equity as our schools are extremely integrated and racial incidents take place in bubbles and are dealt with in bubbles … I feel that geographically Cape Town is ancient when compared to the rest of South Africa”.
“As a concept, I feel the only reason for equity at a school to exist is to help those that are not there yet with their understanding of equality, yet the burden is put on people of colour instead.”
In conclusion, the findings show that black teachers are instrumental in facilitating powerful dialogues about race relations in constructive and non-confrontational ways. Black teachers exercising agency in white-majority schools represent a beacon of hope, offering a promising vision for a more inclusive and socially-just future for South African education.