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How British imperialism shaped South Africa’s education

02 September 2019 | Story Valentino Ndaba

Tracking how the government’s involvement in indigenous children’s education changed over time is the subject matter of Dr Rebecca Swartz’s new book, Education and Empire: Children, Race and Humanitarianism in the British Settler Colonies, 1833-1880. Dr Swartz, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the University of the Free State’s International Studies Group, published this monograph four years after completing her PhD.

As a historian of British imperialism in the 19th century and focusing on the intersections between childhood, race, and humanitarianism, Dr Swartz’s research is imperative in understanding the history of the South African education system. Her study draws on materials from the Caribbean and Australia, as well South African archives.

Education as a tool to carve equality
The book is a comparative study which addresses how the government, researchers, missionaries and members of the public viewed the function of education in the 19th-century British Empire. The book tackles a period during which changing conceptions of childhood, the functions of education, responsibilities of government, and the reach of governing indigenous peoples intersected.

Underlying the question of education’s function “were anxieties regarding the status of indigenous people in newly colonised territories: the successful education of their children could show their potential for equality”, says Dr Swartz. While the colonial government and missionaries often agreed that some education should be given to indigenous children, they wanted to use this to further their own aims which included religious conversion and creating a labour force. Indigenous parents and children themselves were rarely consulted on what they wanted from schooling.

Schools and race

According to the historical archives sifted through by Swartz, substantial data was gathered which point to the fact that schools played a major role in the production and reproduction of racial differences in the colonies of settlement.

A shift in thinking took place between 1833 and 1880, both in Britain and the Empire. Education was increasingly seen as a government responsibility. With this new outlook childhood was approached as a time to make interventions into indigenous people’s lives. “This period also saw shifts in thinking about race,” says Dr Swartz. Remnants of that thinking can be seen in present-day South Africa.

Considering the bigger picture

When Dr Swartz began her research at the University of London in 2012, her main focus was to provide a broader understanding which transcended histories of either the development of ‘white’ schooling for settler children or Marxist histories of education of the apartheid period. “I was interested in finding out more about education for indigenous children during the 19th century, often in the early years of colonial settlement, an area that had received fairly little attention in the literature.”

Interested in a copy of the book?
Click here for a discount flyer for the book. Copies are also available on Amazon.

News Archive

Internationally acclaimed academic applauded on Africa Day

2011-06-02

Prof. Ali Mazrui, an internationally acclaimed and renowned academic.

One of the world’s top academics was given a warm welcome in the rather cold Free State recently.

Prof. Ali Mazrui, an internationally acclaimed and renowned academic, visited us as part of our Africa Day celebrations as arranged by the Centre for Africa Studies. He delivered a keynote address, entitled ‘Pro-democracy uprisings in an African experience: from Sharpeville to Benghazi.’

A festive atmosphere and the sound of drums welcomed this intellectual giant as well as other delegates upon their arrival at the CR Swart Auditorium on our Bloemfontein Campus. Some of the delegates who attended the Africa Day Celebrations, included: Mr Tom Amolo, High Commissioner from the Republic of Kenya; Mr Dan Kgothule, MEC of Arts and Culture in the province; Prof. Jeff and Dr Carla Ramsdell, visitors from America; Dr Allan Boesak and Prof. Nicky Morgan, Vice-Rector: Operations.

Prof. Frederick Fourie, former Vice-Chancellor and Rector of our university, also attended the celebrations, as did some scholars from neighboring schools.

Welcoming Prof. Mazrui, Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of our university, quipped that he was relieved the world had not ended the previous weekend as was predicted, because he was looking forward to listening to such a renowned intellectual.

Prof. Lucius Botes, Dean of Humanities, followed Prof. Jansen at the podium. He said the ability to go from following a bridging course to being one of the top 100 intellectuals in the world, indeed distinguishes Prof. Mazrui as an exceptional academic. This intellectual is, among others, an Albert Luthuli Professor at the University of Jos, Nigeria and Andrew D. Professor Emeritus and Senior Scholar in Africana Studies at Cornell University.

In his introduction, Prof. Mazrui said he feels honored and flattered by this opportunity. He proceeded by referring to the history of Africa Day and added that he would rather prefer an Africa Week to an Africa Day to ensure that everybody has the opportunity to celebrate the continent.

He sang the praises of South Africa, as almost every other African country which attained liberation from European colonial rule in the 20th century, has been unable to maintain its democratic order beyond its first decade of independence.

“The Republic of South Africa, on the other hand, liberated Nelson Mandela in 1990, held its first democratic election in 1994, and already has its third president. Nearly two decades after Apartheid, South Africa has not outlawed opposition parties, or experienced a military coup, or permitted the Head of State to govern the country as a dictator.”

In his speech he compared the uprisings in Sharpeville during 1960 and Soweto during 1976 with the more recent pro-democracy uprisings in North Africa, based on the role that weapons and the lack thereof, as well as the youth and women played in the respective cases.

He concluded by saying the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt have already resulted in ousting dictators who had been entrenched in power for decades, adding that in Libya a third dictator’s future is on the line. “Never in the history of the Arabs have there been so many popular uprisings which seem to be inspired neither by Islam nor by anti-imperialism, but in the quest for liberal reforms. Half a century earlier in Sharpeville and Soweto, South Africans experienced their own political awakening.”

Prof. Kwandiwe Kondlo, Director of the Centre for Africa Studies, closed the event with a word of thanks to the American academic and his wife, guests and attendees. He said discussions prior to the event revealed that more research has to be done regarding gender issues on the continent.

Prof. Mazrui also participated in conversations at the institute and a media briefing which was hosted earlier the day.

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