Prof Cheryl le Roux
Prof Cheryl le Roux gave a presentation during the Unisa Research and Innovation Week about oral history narratives collected from retired teachers who taught under the Bantu Education system. She and her colleagues have gathered this material over the past 4 years during the teaching of one of the compulsory modules in the B Ed Hons programme. One of the assignments in the History of Education section of the module” South African Education in Context” requires students to interview a retired teacher from the Bantu Education period about a particular aspect of their teaching career for example, Bantu Education as a system of education; classroom management and discipline, teaching conditions and management of Bantu Education, religion and language issues and to write up a narrative of the interview.
A student of Education doing an interview with a retired teacher
There are almost 5000 students registered for the module, so it is impossible to require students to submit an audio or video tape recording of the interview as the lecturers would be unable to find the time to listen to or view the recordings. Furthermore, the interviews do not need to be conducted in English, so the language issue would further complicate the assessment of the interview. Students are also asked to provide a reflection of what they find out in the process and how they experienced the process of conducting oral history research. They are also asked to indicate what they have learnt from the interviewee – other than what is in recorded history sources like text books – during the course of the interview. The data which has been gathered has come from all over South Africa and from many different sources. Collectively these narratives would be a wonderful source to use to capture the oral history of what happened in South African schools, during Bantu education, Christian National education and later eras in South African Education history.
A student discovers it is fun to talk to experienced older teachers and find out more of what happened in the classrooms of the past
The students enrolled for the module are asked to let the person they will be interviewing sign an informed consent form which outlines the conditions as to what they are agreeing to when they are interviewed. Interviewees are given the option to choose whether they would like to remain anonymous or to waive their anonymity. Most of the interviewees choose the latter. They are so proud of the efforts they put into teaching under difficult circumstances, and by waiving their anonymity, their contributions are linked to them personally. Interviewees are also asked whether the information provided can be captured in a data base that is regularly updated by the lecturers. As a matter of courtesy, students are asked by the lecturers to indicate whether they consent to their research being used for research purposes. The ethical clearance to the use of all material thus has been given by the interviewee and the student. This makes the material which has been gathered a rich source of information for research into this field. There are some wonderful themes that arise out of the data and it is important to listen to the voice which is captured in the data to cover these periods in our country’s history.
By means of old photographs much is shared on a retired teacher’s experiences and so the information is captured for future generations
The selection of the research question would be important and the use of terminology as used in the past needs to be clear for it to make sense to a younger person who did not live through that particular time. Prof le Roux says that students have indicated the importance of going through the field notes immediately after the interview to ensure that they accurately capture the information provided. History of Education students learn that they, as researchers, may not sensor or the data of the past and need to put their own prejudices and opinions aside when interpreting the data. This is where the challenge often lies as society has been conditioned to accept recorded information as ‘the truth’ and the voices of the individuals who experienced these circumstances first-hand are marginalised. However the data gathered by the university during the years of teaching this module, is very valuable information and it should not be lost. It warrants the attention of young historical researchers.
