Renowned French philosopher Michel Foucault illuminated the complex and subtle ways in which power relations are established and maintained through disciplinary techniques in various institutional settings, of which school is a prime example.
These techniques shape the bodies, minds and behaviour of pupils who spend the better part of their youth in a classroom
Thirty-three years after independence, Namibia is still a society of high socio-economic contrasts which stem from the apartheid era.
Among others, the Bantu education policy was implemented in a way that severely disadvantaged the black majority.
The consensus at independence was that the education status quo had to change, but ideas on how to go about that change were mostly derived from outside Namibia with little critical appraisal.
One of the central ideas was to introduce mass schooling. [Within Africa] mass schooling has become a key strategy for signalling modern institutional change.
As access to education became more democratised in independent Namibia, school classrooms also became the locus of disciplinary power over the collective body of teachers and pupils.
However, addressing the challenges inherent in the Namibian schooling model, which rests on disciplinary power introduced after the end of apartheid, has never really been confronted.
PITFALLS
Therefore, analysing post-apartheid education in Namibia through this lens exposes the pitfalls of rationality which prop up disciplinary power
Foucault mentions that discipline influences the formation of pupils’ identities, aspirations, and self-perceptions and leaves insufficient space for autonomy, creativity and critical thinking.
Teachers, on the other hand, have to deal with a huge administrative burden. They are so preoccupied with their role as assessors that they can barely act as pedagogues.
Why does measuring pupil and teacher attendance and academic performance take precedence over taking care of their well-being?
Why do most school administrators and teachers dedicate most of their time-on-the-task to the infinite exercise of discipline, leaving precious little time for critical reflection in class?
Why is classroom pedagogy centred on memorising study materials and rewarding those who recite textbook knowledge and not those who think critically?
A Foucauldian reading of schooling could arguably be applied to most education systems worldwide.
On the one side, the appeal of rationality in shaping contemporary education policies and practices is linked to the notion of objectivity.
How we think about education has its roots in common sense which favours discipline, rote forms of learning, and acquisition of knowledge through rigid examination systems.
RATIONALITY AND REALITIES
Power creates certain forms of reality. These forms are appealing because they provide a sense of order and control over individuals.
How else is one to run a school, much less an entire education system, without order? The underlying rationality is multilayered
However, the very same pupils who ‘graduate’ from this process lack many of the critical thinking skills which, ironically, the curriculum prescribes as the ultimate goal of education in Namibia.
The empirical evidence is ample.
Namibian educators must therefore be cognisant of both the opportunities and pitfalls that ‘disciplinarian’ and commonsensical rationality affords.
It is crucial to critically assess the limitations of a disciplinary classroom from a pupil-centred perspective.
Normative judgements routinely disadvantage certain groups (such as the San, Damara, and Nama), perpetuating inequalities based on socioeconomic status, ethnicity, language, or other intersectional factors.
Balancing efficiency with social justice, and maintaining order while promoting agency in schools are complex.
Urgent tasks face Namibia’s education system. Foucault’s theory provides pointers on how to achieve them.
- George Shan is pursuing a masters of arts (sociology) at Albert-Ludwigs Universität Freiburg.
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