A case study consisting of the students and the lecturers in the Faculty of Engineering. Gundo . V. Maswime1, Belinda Johnson2 School of Politics, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Howard College Campus KEYWORDS: Otherness Critical race theory Binary paradigm Vygotsky’s theory Piaget’s theory Thomas‘s Theorem A B S T R A C T This action research paper explores the perceptions of black Engineering students on the existence of racial bias amongst white lecturers.
This enquiry leans on Derrick Bell’s Critical Race Theory adopting that racism is normal and engrained feature in our society and adapting it to being that, rather, it is the belief that racism is a part of our society that is normal, for pedagogical reasons. It was established that the impression black students have is that of the existence of a subtle form of racism manifesting as academic sabotage. Many students also indicated a cynicism towards the efforts of the University authorities in curbing racism as being rhetorical. The paper does not attempt to ascertain if racism exists on the campus or to prove its prevalence.
Vygotsky’s theory of race as part of common education and the transmission of knowledge within a society is explored leading to the recommendation of Piaget’s theory that suggests the construction of new knowledge systems to induce a positive transformation in society. 1Gundo Maswime currently working on a Masters in engineering (geotechnics).
The initial paper was compiled to meet the requirements for the conference of a B. Social. Science Honours. E-mail: com 2Belinda Johnson is a Lecturer in the School of Politics (UKZN) and a PhD candidate.
The Essay on African Americans Racism Society People
The color of skin is not a reason for difference, but instead it is a chance to celebrate diversity. I have seen racism in action throughout my life. My friends have been hurt by it... physically, mentally, and emotionally. As a child, prejudice was never an option to me... hating someone that was different than I, simply was wrong. As an individual, I was encouraged to learn about the differences ...
She teaches Research Methods amongst other modules. Introduction The University Of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) came into being as a result of the merger between the University of Natal and the University of Durban-Westville. The institutional cultures of these two Universities were very different before the merger. While the University of Durban-Westville was, before the amalgamation, regarded as a Black institution the University of Natal on the other hand was considered a white University in the loose common language accepted in South Africa.
The new University had to either straddle these two legacies and traditions or abandon both completely for a completely new identity. In an unpublished study commissioned by an ah hoc committee of the University’s Students Representative Council conducted on causes of low pass rates amongst black students at the former University of Natal, a distinction was drawn between “old-fashioned” racism and “modern” racism. It was further elaborated that in instances where the “old-fashioned” reprobate racist feels that his/her form of racism is socially or politically unacceptable, they may “upgrade” to the modern form of racism.
The Department of Optometry within the former University of Natal in 2003 conducted an inquiry after students suggested that racism was behind their lack of success. Allegations of racism were also expressed by student leaders in the Alternatives to Violence Leadership Conference at the Pietermaritzburg Campus in 2003 organised by the Leadership Office of the University. In the Nelson Mandela School of Medicine (a campus of UKZN), many racially charged episodes, and some confrontational, between Indian staff and Black students were reported in 2002, 2003, and 2004 respectively.
A study done in Pietermaritzburg by Ms Marie Odendall of the Leadership Office observed; Taking into account the country’s history of radicalized unequal power relations and the way these shaped individual subjectivities, one could investigate how if at all, the institutions’ social and discursive practices, both curricular and co-curricular, challenge both Black and White students and staff to reshape their subjectivities towards equality and away from inferiority and superiority; away from authoritarianism towards minimal domination, and respect and care for self and others (Odendaal 2001).
The Essay on Affirmative Action University Students Michigan
Affirmative Action: The University of Michigan is Wrong. Imagine, your walking down the street looking for a job. You see a sign in the window that says, "Whites encouraged to apply." Imagine the period in time when just being white got you into a college, without any other considerations of grades or athletic ability. Those were the days of the Jim Crow laws. Now these instances have happened in ...
The learning community in Higher education institutions comprises of students and lecturers in a complex melting pot of cultures. They also reflect the colonial baggage and apartheid debts of our past. There has always been a block of opinion that, despite the former Natal University’s claim of rejecting apartheid, the old University of Natal was seen as discriminatory and neoliberal. There is a need to rebrand the University to counter this stigma.
A Perception is an individual’s interpretation of the world which becomes that individual’s reality. A world view or personal philosophy emanates from a perception regardless of whether or not it is based on facts or fallacy. A perception is a process by which people translate sensory impressions into a coherent and unified view of the world around them (Online Business Dictionary).
Though necessarily based on incomplete and unverified (or unreliable) information, perception is ‘the reality’ and guides human behaviour in general.
Otherness is the quality or state of being different, especially if exotic or unfamiliar. Anatone Broyard, the celebrated American Literary Critic is quoted to have said, before a trip to Europe, that; “we’re going to see in Europe … religion, royalty, picturesqueness and otherness”. It can be deduced that otherness or the perception thereof is not an inherently retrogressive quality as the tone of this paper may unintentionally insinuate.
Since the advent of democracy in South Africa, the student profile in the higher education sector has seen a rapid demographic change. A surge in enrolment of black students was observed across the academic spectrum making black students a majority in almost all institutions of higher learning. UKZN has between the years 2000 and 2004 seen an increase of 42. 6% in enrolment of black African students. Inevitably, some of these students come from rural or township schools were there has been no interracial interaction at any level whatsoever.
As universities increase black representation to fulfil morally obliging equity imperatives, the challenges of both staff and students to handle the feeling of otherness and to finally interact closely with what has always been at a distance are beginning to strangle the values of academia and squeezing out stereotypes that would have otherwise remained in oblivion. Various investigations of the existence of racism in higher education institutions have been undertaken in post-apartheid South Africa (Robus, 1999; De la Rey 2001; Duncan 2005).
The Essay on Discuss Some of the Challenges Facing International Students in Higher Education
As a growing number of international students who attempt to obtain a further education diploma or expand their horizons, has been increasing, it is often the case that they would face various challenges while studying abroad. The main barrier that they have to overcome is “academic learning that consists of strangeness, difference and integration (Teekens, 2006:17, cited in Hyland, 2008). ...
This has been part of a larger net of research efforts that aim to investigate the psychopathology of racism most often by profiling the offender. This applied qualitative research focuses only on the perceived existence or non-existence of racism in the Engineering Faculty of the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in the minds of the students. Instead of investigating the existence and psychopathology of racism, it is rather the question of whether African students believe that it does or does not exist and why they believe thus.
The frame of reference of the “could have been” or the “has been” victim – the student- is the subject of interest of this research endeavour. The concern generated by the low out-put of graduates in technical disciplines and the obvious demand for infrastructure development skills in South Africa is a justifiable one. This has resulted in more research being done on where possible bottlenecks and learning impediments that compound the drop-out rate are. Psychological factors have been the subject of much of the transformation debate.
The, now annualized, Higher Education Summit (April 2010) has, recognised the need for; “A re? examination of our understanding of the post? apartheid South African university, 15 years after the advent of our democracy. This is to be done with the objective of……. addressing the challenges raised in the Report of the Ministerial Committee on Transformation and Social Cohesion and the Elimination of Discrimination in Public Higher Education Institutions” Transforming higher education institutions at staff level is considered a progressive step in the transformation process.
The question that is not asked is what attributes of being white, except the student’s perception of the lecturer’s racial attitude as perceived by the student calls for staff transformation? There is a need for an understanding of what the extent of the students’ belief in the existence of lecturer-to-student racism is. Employing the binary paradigm to arrest the scope, the paper investigates perceptions of racism practised by white lecturers towards black students.
The Essay on Incidents Of Racism Blacks People White
Incidents Of Racism Introduction People in this day and age know the horror and the way people have been mistreated for centuries. The only thing they don t know is that it is still going on strongly, in todays world and people are oblivious to the violation of humans rights. In this respect, what has not been fully comprehend by the new drastic conservatism is that the social justice and human ...
In mid-February 2005 a group of 3 elected student leaders with the guidance of The Council for Higher Education (CHET) and the Centre for Higher Education and Training (CHET) approached Professor H. P Africa and requested him to conduct an audit of failure amongst black students in UKZN. The operational terms of reference included amongst 5 other items; • To investigate the impact of institutional culture and stereotypes on the relationship between teaching staff and students • To recommend the necessary steps to be taken to improve the situation and to create a new ethos of behaviour and attitude of the academic staff.
The Engineering Faculty in UKZN subsequent to the merger has been marred with sporadic acts of demonstrations against racism and demands for changes of attitudes of white lecturers by black students. Part of these acts could indeed be dismissed as an extension of the activism and political volatility that was a characteristic in the so called Black Universities of which the University of Durban Westville was. What cannot be dismissed however are the potential effects of psychology induced academic non-performance.
Also, policies that go further than prescribing behaviour to address attitudes will prove more effective in transforming the psychological paralysis that active, imaginary and passive discrimination may afflict on black African students. This particular research puts the student at the centre of the research question. It may be that the students do not feel that they experience any form racial prejudice in which case research into race relations as a learning barrier may become irrelevant and we can thus focus on other factors that may have a bearing on graduate output.
The study provides resources to guide bridging programs and enable institutions to better handle the typical scenario of black students interacting with white lecturers. That it is a student-to-student interaction between researcher and respondent gives it a deeper and more honest perspective that can be valuable to the policy maker. It also can potentially reveal the more subtle concepts of the psychology of the student against the back drop of his/her environment. It is also worth noting that a normative discourse is highly fact-sensitive in that adding one new fact can alter perspectives radically.
The Essay on Black man and white women
The story "Black Man and White Women in Dark Green Rowboat”, written by Russell Banks, is about an interracial relationship on the brink of disaster. The story opens up on an extremely hot day in August at a trailer park that is right next to a lake with a variety of people who live there. I was not immediately aware that the black man and the white woman were the focus of the story, but those ...
To know a mind-set with an interpretation of its state can thus go a long way in improving interactions. The basic approach of the study is exploratory. The two main areas of inquiry regard classroom encounters students have with the academic faculty. There could be a contestation about the extent of the impact of attitudes and perceptions to the extent that a case may be put forward on whether an investigation of this kind is justifiable. This should be settled by drawing from the mission and vision of higher education in general and UKZN in particular.
UKZN’s quest to be a Premier University of African Scholarship that is internationally competitive will require that it espouses democratic values of fairness, vhuthu/ubuntu and justice. It is only logical therefore that any act or purported act that contradicts these values is subjected to investigative testing. This endeavor thus comprises an academic and a social component. The fact that Critical Race Theory has a restorative leaning as opposed to being a pure scholastic endeavor makes it an all the more worthwhile scholarly pursuit in this regard.
The study was done by firstly constructing the essential elements of Critical Race Theory and various applications and case studies of the same. The second phase was the compiling and administration of questionnaires overlapping with the initial phase. A copy of the questionnaire is appended. Literature Review Despite the tremendous strides resulting from civil rights legislation, racism remains one of the most pressing social problems in the US (Jackson & Solis, 1995).
This statement finds resonance in South Africa.
According to Rosaddo (1990) racism emerged in the 16th century as a result of European expansionism and has persisted to the present as a socially constructed system of values to justify the evil of human exploitation for socioeconomic advantage. Racism is the outward manifestation of an inward system of values deliberately designed to structure privilege by means of an objective, differential, and unequal treatment of people, for the purpose of social advantage over scarce resources. This values system justifies power of position by placing a negative meaning and value on perceived or actual biological/cultural differences.
The Essay on Reflections on the Black Race
That the issue of Obama’s racial background is much talked about in terms of his fitness for the US presidency only proves this: that we Americans have a long way to go in our pursuit of adherence to the ideals of our declaration of independence. After all the document held the fundamental equality of people, and everyman’s inalienable rights, to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The ...
William. Thomas and Dorothy Swaine Thomas (1928), who are numbered among the founders of American sociology, enunciated a crucial concept, the so called Thomas‘s Theorem-also known as “the self-fulfilling prophecy. ” According to this theorem, “If a situation is defined as real, it is real in its consequences. ” Racism is classified by Mark P Zanna as divided in to two forms. Dominative racism which is the manifest or conspicuous form of racism where the reprobate acts out bigoted beliefs that depicts what Zanna calls “the open lame of racism”. Aversive racism on the other hand is a more subtle and circumlocutory form associated with more erudite, sophisticated and cultured whites (Zanna 2004).
The racially intolerant campus climate has many consequences. As Altbach (1991) notes, “White students remain liberal in their attitudes towards race relations, although there seems to be an undercurrent of resentment against affirmative action and other special programs for the historically disenfranchised”.
In a study at a small public university in California, Loo and Rolison (1986) found that black students were significantly more likely than Whites to be socially isolated and less likely to feel that the university reflected their values. These differences were explained by the pressure on black students to acquire the culturally dominant White, middle-class values of the campus, as well as the fact that only a small percentage of the student body was an ethnic black. Suen (1983) found that Black students not only scored higher on alienation scales, but also were more likely to drop out than were White students.
Differing perceptions of the same behavior carry over into how racism is defined. In a study of students at Stanford University, White students reported that “an irrational attitude of hostility against individuals and groups because of their background or membership in one race” constituted racism (Bunzel, 1991).
Thus, any group or person could be racist. For Black students, the structural components of racism were more salient and definitions that refer to “institutional racism” and “oppression of one group by the racial group in power” were preferred (Bunzel, 1991).
However, students reporting a first-hand experience of racism were fairly low. Among Whites, 5% reported a first hand experience of racist behavior, for Blacks, it was just under 30%. The focus of the research will be that of the binary paradigm of racism (Hacker 1992) because it arrests the scope of the research by minimizing the variables. In his eminent volume, “Two Nations”, Hacker clearly demonstrates that for pedagogical reasons, it is sometimes convenient to assume that racism occurs between blacks and whites only and then infer the findings and theories to other races with necessary adjustments.
While considerable research has been done on racism in higher education (Robus, 1999; De la Rey 2001; Duncan 2005), most of it is a quantitative study of the out put of the different races, the question of access by the black subgroups and descriptive research on the status quo and problems of language and the inadequacies of the high school system as a contributor to high drop out rate at tertiary level. This research puts the opinion of the student concerned as its focus. It offers a black scholarship perspective of an issue mostly approached in positivist angles.
Pervious research initiatives have, in the main, exhausted the questions of both extent, form (Kawakami, et al. , 2007) and impact (e. g. Crocker and Schwartz 1985) of racial prejudice on the victim and less on the perception. In regards to racism, perceptions and reality may not be reconcilable but the research may provide insight into the impact of perceived discrimination. The fact that people act to “their” reality, whether or not true, causes people to behave in a manner that makes the original meaning actually come true. T. Hall (1969) and James J.
Gibson (1950) submit that the fact that two people looking at the same object do not see the same thing may be a result of two different types of vision ; the “visual field” in the eye and the “visual world” in the brain. The visual field is made up of the light, colours and figures recorded by the retina. The visual world is made up of all the sociocultural experiences stored in the mind that define the image in the retina, giving it an interpretive meaning called “perception. ” Though the image is in the eye, perception is in the mind.
What people actually “see” is not the reality of the image, but the reality of the perception. And this perception, the “visual world,” derives from our worldviews, our operational paradigm, our system of beliefs and values that shape our world and enable us to make sense of the reality we experience. Biasco et al. (2001) surveyed 10% of the student body at the University of West Florida to explore racial discrimination, the differing perceptions of black and non-black students, and possible factors responsible for racial discrimination.
Sixty-seven percent of the respondents stated they had experienced discrimination at the university: 15% daily, 18% monthly, and 13% annually (Biasco et al. ).
A racial comparison clearly showed that a higher percentage of black students perceived discrimination. Sixty-six percent of Black students and forty-one percent of White students in the study reported experiencing racial discrimination. On a general level, 74% of Whites and 85% of Blacks believed in the existence of racial hostility. Additionally, 34% of Blacks, compared to only 11% of Whites, stated that fraternities and sororities were a factor in discrimination.
Similar results were reported for perceived discrimination toward students by professors. Forty percent of Blacks and 11% of Whites indicated a discrimination experience with professors. These racial discrepancies suggest that both the experiences and perceptions of Blacks and Whites vary broadly. Theoretical Framework The Critical Race theory came to the fore in the mid 1970’s with the early work of Derrick Bell and Allan Freeman. It was a consequent of a need to understand the more subtle varieties of racism for application in the legal profession.
The theory then was a remarkable detour to mainstream theories of racism to the point that Freeman is quoted to have informally said that “if you are on a short tree during a flood, you may need to climb down before finding shelter in a taller, safer one”. The point of departure of this theory is to assume that race is normal and engrained feature in our society. This point becomes easier to adopt in this research in that, though the theory has American descent, South Africa can only be worse in terms of being prejudiced because racism was once institutionalized and gazetted as a policy.
The theory further acknowledges that legislative efforts against discrimination can only curb the more horrific and extreme forms of injustice. Starting from a premise that each civilization constructs its own social realities to advance its own self interest, it sets out to construct its words with its rules, practices and assignments of power and prestige using words, stories and silence. Within the context of the Critical Race Theory, the Derrick Bell further premised what he calls interest convergence.
According to this concept, whites will always find ways of reproducing their privileges to perpetuate their dominance by only allowing transformational advances that also promote their interests. The base of this theory in the research is in that the activities of the research will be conducted with sensitivity towards the identification of avarice forms of prejudice that play into the Critical Race Theory. The Critical Race Theory’ s emphasis on perspectivism rather than eccentricity will enable the research effort to comb out tendencies that are negligible to the lecturers while being major to the students in question.
In attempting to formulate an analysis of the responses, there was a need to inquire if the respondents are alleging the existence of race bias that is of a manner consistent with the Marxist Theory of Racism. According to Carl Max, certain advantaged groups will attempt to protect their interest and perpetuate their dominance by acting differently towards different races in a manner that sows division. They may also favour certain individuals in one racial group to better manage and defend their practices. In Vygotsky’s theory of race the emphasis is on education and the transmission of knowledge from older to younger generations.
Just like manners, Vygotsky’s believes attitudes towards other races are taught at home. In Piaget’s theory the emphasis is on the construction of new knowledge that has the potential for transforming culture, society, and history. Both theories are lacking in their recognition of and accounting for the emancipatory interest of humans. Authors differ in their views of the extent to which the inequalities in higher education participation of the different race groups are the fault or responsibility of higher education per se or an extension of existing general societal trends.
It is also argued, on the other hand, that institutions of higher learning leave the situation to deteriorate before they overrun or compensate for accrued disadvantage (Hale, 2006).
Woodrow (2003) presented four myths that are commonly heard within the higher education sector as arguments against promoting equity. These are; 1. It is not the prerogative of higher education to promote equity 2. Equity is the enemy of excellence, it lowers standards 3. Only institutions that are desperate to recruit students should prioritize equity 4.
We are in favour of equity and promotion of access; we just do not have the resources to do it. Another way to look at the self-perpetuation of racism is through the lack of acknowledgement on the part of the person who is being discriminated against. Just as the aversive racists are not aware of the racism that they have developed, the people who are discriminated against are in denial, which precludes them from taking steps that may initiate social change. These people try to keep up their own self-esteem by denying the acts against them.
This could in turn prevent people from trying to change the way they are treated, prolonging the cyclical nature of aversive racism which is a subliminal and more subtle form of racism that may be elusive to detect even for the perpetrator. Also, the contemporary cognitive approach explains that prejudice creates a negative perception, which will in turn justify the prejudice. This shows the cyclical nature of racism. Generally, there are certain sub-group students that have been known to under perform.
Students from advantaged backgrounds were seen to score better academic aggregates than their disadvantaged counter parts. It has been established that students who come from non-English backgrounds performed less well than native English speakers and those that come from educationally deprived systems fared worse than their more privileged colleagues (Gibbs & Murphy, 1996).
In the South African context, these sub-divisions implicitly insinuate a racial divide. A national policy to drive the process of educational transformation minding he fact that the weaknesses and problems of higher education in this regard are vast and complex need urgent consideration. The absence of national legislation will surely result in some institutions in higher learning choosing not to transform at all. (CHE, 2000; 1).
If academic practices imply unity and order, then something has not been said and the same has been suppressed in order for that unity to emerge. The impact of this unity on the student of colour is alienation (Mann, 2001; 1) | | |
Since the advent of democracy in South Africa in 1994, much effort has been expended on overcoming the institutionalised racism that characterised apartheid. The transformation of higher education, particularly with regard to the merging and incorporation of institutions, is such an example. The argument, which relies on Essed’s notion of everyday racism, infused with insights from discursive psychology, is that higher education institutions are racialized through the intricate interweaving of macro-level processes and discourses that recur in everyday talk and practices.
In 1991, after a tumultuous period of protest in universities, and after the release of Nelson Mandela, the Universities Amendment Act, in which the first steps towards creating a single education system were taken, was passed (Nicholas, 1994).
South African higher education was created as a highly racialized space through deliberate acts of policy during the Apartheid era. Duncan (2005) argues that these spaces continue to be racialized not only though the history of higher education, but also through socialisation, staffing composition and the politics of space.
With all the interventions that have been implemented since the new dispensation it might as well be that there is not enough racism to warrant a fast tracked transformational overhaul of the higher education sector. It may be that perceptions of students did not change when real change was taking place in which case the stake holders need to now focus just on perceptions. Research Methods Whereas it is very common to test theories in social research, the research approach used is that of the Grounded theory in that the theory will be formulated based on the data rather than being tentative and abstract.
As Glaser and Strauss (1967 pp 1-2) explains it, the Grounded theory begins with entering the field of work without a hypothesis. Then use observations from the field work to elucidate what happens. The last part is to concoct and develop an explanation as to why it happens, based on the interpretation of the observations. Theoretical population Thus the theoretical population is any black middle class to lower class student in an institution of higher learning encountering white lecturers. The theoretical population is from a diverse cultural background within South Africa.
The social background of the students was identified with the view to establish if prior exposure to whites may affect their perceptions. The Howard college campus was chosen for accessibility of sampling candidates and to fix the variable of the campus to one so that campus to campus trends are not analysed for comparison. Study population The study population is black students that are students in the engineering faculty. Within the group, the variations are mostly in tribal affiliation whilst the socio-economic status is, for all practical purposes, assumed to be uniform. Sampling frame
Through the medium of a questionnaire with a fixed set of questions, and interviews, probing questions were formulated to explore the mind set of the Engineering students that comprise the theoretical population in a public opinion poll running for 2 days. The field work was done on male and female African Engineering students on the Howard College Campus. The unit of analysis, black engineering students was sampled in a probabilistic, systematic and random nature. They were accosted at the main entrances of the three engineering buildings on Howard College Campus of the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
This is systematic in that there is no replacement of units that have been used. The respondents were not helped by the interviewer in answering the questions beyond instructive assistance to provide clarity. The sample that completed the questionnaires had 33 students while 2 interviews were conducted with student representatives from the Student Representative Council. The questions and responses were systematically classified to ensure that quantitative comparisons can be made. Based on the data captured, palpable predispositions were recognized as well as some subtle trends.
These were then used to formulate an explanation of why the observations are in the manner in which they are. This qualitative research is a mix between exploratory and explanatory research in that it begins by delineating if African Engineering students believe that racial discrimination exists in their faculty and, if they believe it does, what is the perceived extent of racial discrimination by their lecturers at the University of KwaZulu-Natal which is the exploratory aspect of the enquiry.
It is noted that the population size is statistically deficient in capturing the essence of the research question in terms of the number of students that completed the questionnaires. The following precautions were taken in anticipation of the following problems. |Problem |Remedy | |Respondent feeling that the interview is an illegitimate subterfuge |A cover letter was prepared to address such fears | |to advance a certain genda | | |Respondent feeling uncomfortable that information gathered from the |Sensitive questions were omitted where possible and respondents were| |interview will not be kept confidential |assured of confidentiality | |Respondent giving normative answers |Sensitive questions were omitted | |Respondents feeling that their lack of knowledge may make them look |It was emphasized that there are no right or wrong answers | |stupid | | Measurement of variables The opening statement in the questionnaire is intended to reassure the respondent that there are no incorrect answers. It also re affirms confidentiality of the exercise by encouraging anonymity. The questionnaire has 9 questions structured to gradually probe the subject with increasing intensity to avoid “shocking” the respondents. The first question is meant to stimulate interest and make the student at ease. Question 2 and 3 are meant to gather useful biographical information about the respondent.
Students from rural and township schools are postulated to have more belief in the existence of racism that may be encouraged by their lack of understanding of some of the mannerisms of white people due to lack of exposure. Also, as students get to third and forth year, it is expected that they may begin to develop genial relations with their lecturers which may introduce a change of perception. Question 4 is general in that it enquires about the personalities of lecturers without mentioning race. It is meant to contrast question 5 subtly by being a similar question but now with race introduced making it a control of the experimental process. How differently the respondent answers this is noted and the consistency in future questions is also observed.
Question 6 and 7 give the respondent an opportunity to remember that there could be better white lecturers than black African lecturers and then requests the respondent to try and remember if there are actual incidents they can remember. This makes them remember to relate what they answer to what they experience and not just what they think. It also is intended to subconsciously remind the respondent to be honest. In question 8 and question 9, the impact of racism on the student’s confidence is probed. If the respondents feel undermined, that then introduces the inferiority complex and lack of confidence. While the mind of the respondent is delving into the psychological impact of the perceptions of racism, question 8 enquires if they believe the system or management has the necessary policies and tools to protect them.
This question will delineate if there is a sense of hopelessness and despair about the status quo. Results The results for each question were analysed individually before links and patterns were analysed. This was done to make the process of analysis easier to manage because it is done in steps. The first question was not analysed since its purpose in inconsistent with the core business of the research question. The results are as follows; [pic] | | Fig 1: Many students seem to be convinced that their lecturers are friendly. The higher percentage of unsure students could have something to do with the fact that the respondents want to know what the questionnaire is all about before they disclose their opinions. [pic]
Figure 2: This question seems to have given the first indication of the fact that the questionnaire is about race relations or racism. There is a will to engage and express the existence of racism. 16. 7 % could be responding by exaggerating to make their point. [pic] Figure 3: Most of those that agree that there are white lecturers that treat then better than black lecturers are in their 3rd and 4th year of civil engineering. Further enquiry reveals that there is only one black lecturer at this level which raises the question of validity of observation with respect to senior civil engineering students. [pic] Figure 4: The majority (41. 7%) believes that white lecturers underestimate them. While 16. %, the same number that claims in figure 2 that all white lecturers have a negative attitude towards them. Analysis of responses from individual questionnaires show that the responses to this question do not come from the same candidates as in figure 2 [pic] Figure 5: ironically, the response to this question points to the fact that while the majority of students are firm in their belief of the existence of racism, a lesser number has experienced racial discrimination. This is evidence that the study is dealing with a perception rather than reality. [pic] Figure 6: There is a unanimous belief that a racist lecturer could easily practice racism with impunity.
While none of the respondents was willing to elaborate on their opinion, there is a possibility that this response is also motivated by fear and an intention to get management to respond decisively. [pic] Figure 7: While only one example was put forward, many students seem to be aware of incidents. There could be urban legend on racism or genuine reports of racial discrimination but the fact that virtually no lecturer has ever been punished for it raises questions of its validity against what could be complacence of the authorities. [pic] Figure 8: That 58. 3% categorise the incident as academic is a concern in that it could have negative psychological consequences on the students.
Even in the event of urban legend, a strong belief in the existence of racial sabotage can impact on the academic performance of the student. [pic] Figure 9: It is not surprising that there is a belief that white students are getting racially motivated favours. None of the respondents gave an example or incident of such a case but the trend so far justifies why such belief can be anticipated. [pic] The graph above indicates a weighed average of what percentage of lecturers are perceived to be racist as explained by the students. Students that believe that all lecturers are racist and those believing that none of the lecturers are racist were excluded from the plot.
However, 3 students believed that 0% were racist while 2 students believed that 100% were racist. The consequent of this observation is to shift the peak by approximately 4% to the left. This will roughly put the peak at 62%. This is thus adopted as the percentage of white racist lecturers as per the perception of black students. Review of results It is surely impossible to accurately itemise and rationally and appraise the impact of an attitude or a perception in a manner that may not invite academic excommunication. However, beyond these limitations, interactions with respondents that went beyond the formalities of the questionnaire reveal a serious problem with regards to race relations between staff and students.
Professor Africa’s report mentions that amongst the causes of student failure are problems he categorises as; • Attitudinal • Racial • Academic The relative weight of each of these factors is the subject of further research. With the liberty that Critical Race Theory accords to storytelling, it is important to cite some of the incidents that linger in the mind of Black students in the Engineering Faculty that were shared during the course of the research. A Professor who had told a class that he knows it for sure that second language speakers do not pass his course in the first instance. This prophesy fulfilled itself when the semester ended.
The surprise twist to the black students in class was when one of them, with a rare Zulu surname that happens to be spelt like an English surname managed to pass the course on the first instance. This baffled his classmates more so because he was known to be amongst the weak students in his study group of 8 or so students who had all failed the course. In yet another school, a white Professor had alluded that though he has seen black engineers before, he is yet to meet one good black engineer. This incident was reported to the university authorities more than 4 years ago and has been a sore point for many subsequent students in class. In a recent case, the same professor presided in the disciplinary hearing of a black lecturer who has since been dismissed.
In this hearing, the defence enquired if it was true that the professor had a case relating to his comments about black engineers to which he agreed. The professor had announced his intention to retire at the end of 2010, more than 5 years after the disciplinary process was due to commence, to which the university requested that he stays for one more year. At this point, it is crucial to problematize the Critical Race Theory’s tendency to respect urban legend and scientific facts. But should the above tales be sooth then a grave cause of concern should follow the probability that this could be a microcosmic representation of the macrocosm. In the Prof Africa report, students report incidents of intimidation from white lecturers.
There are reports of postgraduate students who threatened to deregister their course because of the demeaning comments that a lecturer made against them. When black students receive this type of treatment from white lecturers, with the history of this country in tow, it becomes fodder to the perception of racial stereotyping and bias. There is an attitude in some quotas that black students cannot cope with Engineering. This attitude which borders on racism further argues that because Africans are not good in Mathematics, it is thus impossible that they can handle Engineering. The tragedy in this is that some of these beliefs are held by lecturers teaching the same subjects which makes for a classical case of self fulfilling prophesy.
A number of black student feel that white lecturers are unapproachable. The old adage of ‘ who will guard the guardians” is the main question. The findings confirm those of the study conducted in 1999 that there is a perception that some staff look down upon students. The same study further alleged that white students are treated better that black students. Sadly in one school within the engineering cluster, black students interviewed consistently referred to one black lecturer who was completely unapproachable to black students but very “nice” to white students. This alleged reprobate would be very clear about contents of examinations to white students.
One white student is alleged to have assembled a few of his black friends to explain what he was let into as the contents of the examination and made it clear that he was doing this in protest to the Professor’s skewed racial tendencies. The same Professor has been a beneficiary of a major promotion which amongst black students is proof that there is an incentive from the university awaiting those that discriminate against black students. There were a few incidences cited were students received results saying they have failed and in persistent enquiry found that they had passed. One such incident involves a student that was given a mark of 40% which was later changed to 80% in the remark and another in a different school whose mark evolved from 0% to 2% then 18% and finally 50% in 2 weeks.
While the former case was dismissed as a transcription error by the lecturer, to the student and his friends it is interpreted as a confirmation that the white lecturers in Engineering believe that a black student has failed unless proven otherwise. There are unreported stories in this paper that were left out because the authenticity was suspect. It is worth noting that none of the 9 first year respondents believe that racism exist. The significance of this observation is that the perceptions of racism are not a continuation of long held beliefs but a reaction to experiences and observation by the students. Also it is only at second year level that modules from the respective engineering schools are taught. First year students are essentially science students. Conclusion Since 1994, South Africa has committed itself to non-racialism.
Yet due to an extensive institutionalisation of racism that transpired over more than 3 decades and centuries of racist ideology, de-familiarisation of an entrenched attitude that racism is bay assuming the non-existence of its existent manifestations is suicidal. When a student enrols at a university, the university in principle undertakes to ensure that the student will be provided with an enabling environment in which to exercise determination and invoke mother wit to acquire a qualification. In Professor Africa’s words; ‘An overarching environment for students’ success should be based on the principle that the University is there to ensure that the average student who is admitted to an academic program will succeed. It is counterproductive for the student to be in an environment that is alienating, unfriendly or were he/she feels an outsider.
The University must be a place where the student feels affirmed and he/she must feel that the institution is there for him/her. Statements like “you will fail like flies” or “this class is too large, next year only 10% of you will be here” have no place in a progressive, student friendly institution. ’ Acrimonious relations between staff and students breed disrespect, suspicion and tension. Unfortunately, the latter seems to be a representation of the status quo in some of the Engineering disciplines at UKZN. The research into the nature and perceptions of race relations on campus indicates that the university is a microcosm of society and faces the same problems as society at large.
South African higher education was created as a highly racialized space through deliberate acts of policy during the Apartheid era. Duncan (2005) argues that these spaces continue to be racialized not only though the history of higher education, but also through socialisation, staffing composition and the politics of space. Our analysis suggests that this state of affairs could be contributing towards a widespread perception of the unabated existence racial prejudice at the Faculty of Engineering. Since as early as 1990, measures have been taken and legislation has been passed that were aimed at redressing the disparity created in higher education institutions by the institutional racism of Apartheid.
Tertiary education has thus been an area that has faced substantial structural transformation. And yet, it remains a highly racially tense environment Very few students believe that the dominative form of racism exists as theorised by Zanna (2004).
Aversive racism on the other hand is a more subtle and circumlocutory form associated with more erudite, sophisticated and cultured whites (Zanna 2004).
It seems that the average black student in the Engineering Faculty subscribes to the existence of the avarice form of racism as existent in the faculty amongst white lecturers. There is also an observed belief that as many as 70% of those believed to be racist know that there are racist.
While all respondents believe that the consequent is sabotage in academics with impunity from the perpetrator shows that it could be the sophistication and wit of the perpetrator that has made it almost impossible for the lecturers to bear the consequences. The research will against this background managed to unearth perceptions of the existence of aversive forms of racism. It is crucial to also note that the students were interviewed around examination time which is a stressful period. This could also fuel a general sense of negativity and hopelessness amongst any student to the point that it can affect the objectivity of their responses. The interview was rather rushed because the interviewee was going for a meeting in Durban. This however could be the reason why the answers were very much direct which is a positive development.
It limited long winding answers that derail the interview. On the question of what changes could be done to improve perceptions and ultimately relations, it seems that the students are not very keen on bridging the gap. It could be that there is a feeling that their white lecturers may not be interested in building good relations with them. It could also be the African mannerism of not expecting to relate to an older person beyond acting on their advice irrespective of what perceptions of them one has. The relationship between white students and white lecturers could be the source of curiosity and allegations of favour by race that black students accuse their white lecturers of.
Piaget’s theory that puts emphasis on the construction of new knowledge in order to transform culture, society, and history is recommended as a comprehensive attempt to redress the challenge. At University, this may prove to be too late to achieve. A strategy developed in response to this set-up must be devised to give lecturers an insight into the perceptions that the students of colour have about them and recommend practical activities that lecturers can engage in to deal with this mind set issues. There is a strong perception amongst students that the racist attitude of some white lecturers is the reason behind high failure rates in Engineering.
Remarks uttered with a reasonable modicum of “innocence” or ignorant naivety such as ; “ our black students have difficulties grasping abstract concepts”, our black students have difficulties with Mathematics and hence Engineering are cited by some respondents and also feature in the Professor Africa report. There are many instances where students feel they were given borderline marks to deliberately ensure that they do not meet the requirements for postgraduate studies. Critical Race Theory teaches us that racism is inherent and that there is a need to devise active measures to discourage it and to educate society and de-familiarise the familiar. Recommendations Although the reported perception of racial bias on this campus was generally igh and most often in the form of subtle racism, the problem remains when some students perceive differential treatment based on their race. After careful consideration of this information, it seems advisable for all universities and colleges to assess the status of race relations on their campus. The assessment could start with a survey of administrators, faculty, staff, and students to learn about their perceptions of race relations. Selecting student and faculty representatives to serve as mediators in cases of racial or ethnic complaints may help improve the racial environment (Marklein, 1990).
Finally, fostering “ethnic social networks” may help some universities lower high attrition rates (Nagasawa & Wong, 1999).
Providing workshops on racial sensitivity and diversity for administrators, faculty, and staff (Gordon, 1991) is indicated for our university and may be beneficial to other universities. Developing student organizations to foster ongoing discussions about race relations and to sponsor annual events to celebrate diversity (Kent, 1996) also may help improve race relations. Providing information about racial sensitivity and diversity in student orientation and increasing course content on diverse cultures and ethnic studies also are suggested (Kelly, 1990).
Sentiment has it that an ombudsman form of intervention is not ideal. Currently the responsibility is shared between the offices of Organizational Culture and Equity and Transformation.
These offices should consult with stakeholders to formulate a Code of Conduct in this regard. The University should resolve that every single case of racism reported must be addressed irrespective of the negative publicity the institution may incur or the impact on the academic enterprise. Canons of fair play and decency must govern the relationships within and without the University. The view that student are at the bottom of the academic food chain and thus do not deserve a modicum of respect should belong to the past together with academic conceit and arrogance that mask racism and other discriminatory tendencies adulterant to the interaction between staff and students.
The lines of communication between staff and students across the races must be kept open and reinforced formally and informally. Mutual respect should be the overarching governing principle. Lecturers are hardly ever trained on how to lecture, let alone handle diversity. This intervention is recommended. In some western countries, lecturers are taken through training on how to handle various lecture room scenarios and attitudes. This initiative could ameliorate culture clashes. An open relationship between staff and students will go a long way in creating an atmosphere of trust between staff and students. This will only occur if democratic values that 1994 ushered are embodied in all dealings with “others”. The Student Representative Council must actively engage the University community and bring them to task about measures to harmonize relationships within the university community in general and between Black students and White lecturers in particular.
