Explore the challenges and successes of transforming education and explore its role in a changing South Africa.
Please visit the SIT Study Abroad website for details on the program courses (including syllabi), educational excursions, and housing.
Program Highlights
- Learn through hands-on experiences, including observation sessions and practicums in urban primary schools in Durban and in a secondary school in rural KwaZulu-Natal.
- Develop a multidimensional and holistic understanding of education issues in South Africa.
- Compare educational approaches within South Africa during excursions to Johannesburg and Cape Town.
- Participate in a weeklong educational transformation and leadership workshop with South African learners.
- Experience rural and urban South African life through homestays in two very different communities.
- Visit nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and government offices engaged in crafting education policy and implementing programs.
- See lions, elephants, leopards, buffalo, and/or rhinos at Hluhluwe/Umfolozi Game Reserve and visit other key sites such as the Hector Pieterson Museum, the Apartheid Museum, and Gandhi’s Phoenix Settlement.
- Gain an introduction to Zulu language and culture.
Please visit the
SIT Study Abroad website for details on the program courses (including syllabi), educational excursions, and housing.
Key Topics of Study
- The ways in which educational institutions reflect difference—and differential access—in South Africa
- Education policy and the role of education in South Africa’s development
- Diverse and differing perspectives on education issues in South Africa
- The legacy of apartheid in South Africa’s educational system and current challenges
- Educational approaches within South Africa, including multicultural and non-formal education and the “demise” of outcomes-based education
- South Africa’s political system, crime rate, and overall condition
- Education in urban and rural contexts
- Education, gender, and sexuality
- HIV/AIDS education and life-skills training
- The transformation of tertiary education
Money Matters
Be sure to discuss how study abroad costs are handled at your school with your study abroad advisor.
SIT tuition and room and board fees include the following:
- All educational costs, including educational excursions
- All accommodations and meals for the full program duration
- Transportation to and from the airport, and on all educational excursions
- Health and accident insurance
- SIT awards nearly $1.6 million in scholarships and grants annually.
- All scholarships and grants are need-based.
- Awards generally range from $500 to $5,000.
- The SIT Pell Grant Match provides matching grants to all students receiving Federal Pell Grant funding when it is applied to an SIT Study Abroad semester program. Contact the financial aid and/or study abroad office(s) at your college or university to learn if your school’s scholarships and grants and federal and state aid programs can be applied to an SIT Study Abroad program.
Contact SIT Study Abroad
South Africa: Education and Social Change
More than 10 years into democracy, South Africa continues to struggle with the legacy of apartheid. From the Soweto uprisings to contemporary campus life, educational institutions in South Africa have long been sites of social struggle and political organization as well as centers of learning and formal education.
It is widely recognized by both government and civil society in South Africa that education has a vital role in the development of the country. Yet vast challenges remain in curricular reform, pedagogy, and educational delivery before education will be able to play its vital and progressive role in social transformation.
In this program, students will explore the history of education in South Africa, examine the challenges and successes of educational transformation since the 1994 elections, and analyze potential paths for the future.
Coursework
IEDP 3000:
Educational and Social Justice Seminar (4 credits/60 class hours)
An examination of education in South Africa in the historical and contemporary contexts to offer students a multisided and holistic appreciation of pertinent issues. Lectures and discussions combine with field study, visits to schools, NGOs, local communities, and government offices.
PRAC 3000:
Education Practicum (4 credits/60 class hours)
An examination of educational issues firsthand through practicum experiences in both rural and urban KwaZulu Natal. The Zululand rural homestay will coincide of a one-week practicum and observation of nearby educational institutions. Urban practicum experiences in Durban may include an observation exercise in the adult educational sector, as well as participation in a weekend youth camp, where students will serve as camp counselors.
Educational Excursions:
May include the Apartheid and Hector Pieterson Museums in Johannesburg and Soweto; primary, secondary, and tertiary schools as well as adult educational centers in urban and rural KwaZulu Natal; and the office and project sites of governmental and nongovernmental educational organizations.
Duration:
Six weeks (early June to mid July)
Student Eligibility:
At least one semester of college-level work at the time of application and good academic standing with a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.5.
Prerequisites:
None.
