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There is no abstract available for this thesis.

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There is no abstract available for this dissertation.

D.Ed. / The era of change in which the Republic of South Africa presently finds itself requires that its past be reconciled with the present as well as future expectations. This situation has a direct bearing on the teaching of history as a subject. History is locked in a battle regarding a true presentation of South Africa's past. It is essential that a new basic motive or "leitmotiv" be identified, which can serve as a nucleous for an historical consciousness and produce a new image of history. A "leitmotiv", such as the one which was operative during the apartheid era, and which not only produced a politically manipulated and ideologically biased version of historical events, but also endeavoured to enforce a singular identity upon the South African population, is presently unacceptable. Research clearly indicates that an alternative historical image, which is acceptable to the entire South African nation, as well as the various population' groups, has become a neccessity. Such new historical image must clothe South African citizenship with a new quality and serve as a thrust for the new democratic dispensation. Communication and consensus are required in order to reconcile the various existing historical images. A charter of human rights in conjunction with a communal value system, should serve as the basis for a new national identity. The effect of the existing obsolete historical image is that sillabus content has thus far not been selected in accordance with accepted curriculum principles. This resulted in a unidimensional approach to syllabus content, and a one-directional teaching orientation which created the opportunity for indoctrination. The development of an historical consciousness in the true sense of the word in the minds of pupils, has also been sacrificed for political objectives. Synopsis 2 It is also clear that a new "leitmotiv" must be chosen with sensitivity to the needs and demands of the South African population as a whole. It must also be synchronised with the shift in the country's future perspective. This perspective is often verbalised by the new leadership as a quest for the establishment of one truly democratic nation in South Africa - a perspective which will not only accommodate the totality but also the diversity of the population. As a result of this study, a "leitmotiv" with a product (content) component on the one hand, and a process (skill) component on the other hand, is proposed for the teaching of history. The process component will act as a continuous internal corrective for the product component. Furthermore, a teaching approach, which will serve as an external corrective for the "leitmotiv" as a whole, is being suggested. It is proposed that democratic nation building constitute the main theme for the teaching of history future South Africa, or serve as the product component new "leitmotiv". This proposed "leitmotiv" implies a purging action on three levels. In addition to the purging action of the process component as internal corrective, and the new teaching approach as external corrective, democratic nation building, as product component, will act as a purgative in itself. In conjunction with its purging qualities, the proposed "leitmotiv" will, for the first time, accommodate the essential nature of history as a subject; in its totality. with such "leitmotiv", history could in future be elevated to a true "magistra vitae".

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There is concern that school history is often purposeless, taught by chalk and talk and textbook methods, giving thin and unassimilated information. At a time when subjects are under increasing scrutiny and pressure to justify their existence as relevant in the school curriculum, many of the defects inherent in the 'traditional' approach to history have made it difficult to present a forceful and valid argument for its continued inclusion as a school subject.This has led to the adoption of new approaches which are designed to get pupils more actively involved in their learning. One such approach was adopted by the Schools Council 13-16 project in Britain. It laid emphasis on the methodology of the subject and identified five ways in which history could prove to be a useful and necessary subject for adolescents to study. These were: as a means of acquiring and developing such cognitive skills as those of analysis, synthesis and judgement; as a source of leisure interests; as a vehicle for analysing the contemporary world and pupils' place in it; as a means for developing understanding of the forces underlying social change and evolutioni and, finally, as an avenue to self-knowledge and awareness of what it means to be human (Introduction, p. ii)