In this chapter, I analyze the dynamics of youth, race, and racism by considering the life experiences of young people and how they respond, construct, and negotiate issues related to race and racism at independent schools in South Africa. Using an ethnographical study that I conducted over a period of 8 months with nine learners across grades 8–11, the study utilizes multiple qualitative methods such as participant observation, unstructured interviews, and focus groups. The study focuses on race and racism, particularly how learners at independent schools respond, construct, and negotiate the meaning of race and racism in postapartheid South Africa. Drawing from the Critical Race Theory (CRT) and the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), I present qualitative analyses about race, which demonstrate how racism is cloaked and persists in color-blind discourses among young people at the selected elite learning environments. The study found that post 1994, issues of race and racism continue to permeate the social fabric in South Africa. Issues of race and racism continue to be swept under the carpet thus contributing to the perpetuation of a young generation that is color-blind to the nuance of race and racism in society. This study therefore illuminates how issues of racism and racism in a postapartheid regime are negotiated and understood differently by a young generation born after the collapse of the apartheid regime. The chapter concludes with implications for further research and recommendations for the education system in South Africa to be more inclusive and open in addressing issues of race and racism. In that, the study hopes to raise recommendations on how schools can be more vigilant and productive in addressing issues of race and racism thus promoting an antiracist and justice education for all learners.

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Secondary School Learners Negotiating Race at an Independent School in South Africa

  • Nompumelelo Bhengu-Schmitz

摘要

In this chapter, I analyze the dynamics of youth, race, and racism by considering the life experiences of young people and how they respond, construct, and negotiate issues related to race and racism at independent schools in South Africa. Using an ethnographical study that I conducted over a period of 8 months with nine learners across grades 8–11, the study utilizes multiple qualitative methods such as participant observation, unstructured interviews, and focus groups. The study focuses on race and racism, particularly how learners at independent schools respond, construct, and negotiate the meaning of race and racism in postapartheid South Africa. Drawing from the Critical Race Theory (CRT) and the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), I present qualitative analyses about race, which demonstrate how racism is cloaked and persists in color-blind discourses among young people at the selected elite learning environments. The study found that post 1994, issues of race and racism continue to permeate the social fabric in South Africa. Issues of race and racism continue to be swept under the carpet thus contributing to the perpetuation of a young generation that is color-blind to the nuance of race and racism in society. This study therefore illuminates how issues of racism and racism in a postapartheid regime are negotiated and understood differently by a young generation born after the collapse of the apartheid regime. The chapter concludes with implications for further research and recommendations for the education system in South Africa to be more inclusive and open in addressing issues of race and racism. In that, the study hopes to raise recommendations on how schools can be more vigilant and productive in addressing issues of race and racism thus promoting an antiracist and justice education for all learners.