Teaching approaches adopted by teachers in multicultural classrooms in secondary schools in Port Elizabeth, South Africa
Journal for Multicultural Education
ISSN: 2053-535X
Article publication date: 5 May 2021
Issue publication date: 9 August 2021
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine teaching approaches adopted by teachers in ex-Model C English medium secondary schools (former mono-ethnic White Schools) currently in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, after schools became desegregated in 1994 and changed from being mono-ethnic to multi-ethnic.
Design/methodology/approach
This study was conducted through a qualitative research approach against the backdrop of a phenomenological design according to the interpretivist paradigm. Data were elicited through in-depth semi-structured interviews with 16 teachers from four ex-Model C English medium secondary schools (former White schools) who had experiences of teaching both pre-1994, when schools were mono-ethnic, and post-1994 when the schools were multi-ethnic. The interviews were transcribed, and the data were analysed and categorised into themes and sub-themes.
Findings
The findings indicated that although the teachers were positive towards teaching in multi-ethnic contexts, the majority of them tended to adopt approaches that militated against multicultural education in their classes; such as assimilationist, colour blind and business-as-usual approaches, while a minority incorporated various aspects of multicultural education in their teaching to a limited degree.
Originality/value
The study is original in the sense that it focused on the application of Castagno’s framework of typologies to teachers’ approaches to teaching in multi-ethnic classes. Research of this nature, which explored teachers’ approaches to diversity within their multi-ethnic contexts according to Castagno’s framework, has not been previously undertaken in South Africa.
Keywords
Citation
Athiemoolam, L. and Vermaak, A. (2021), "Teaching approaches adopted by teachers in multicultural classrooms in secondary schools in Port Elizabeth, South Africa", Journal for Multicultural Education, Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 168-183. https://doi.org/10.1108/JME-01-2021-0003
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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