This study explored teachers‟ stories on race, racism and race relations at a primary school in KwaZulu-Natal. Internationally, race is a complex and challenging issue. A qualitative research design was used. The research methodology was narrative inquiry. Data was collected through individual interviews with 6 teachers: 3 females and 3 males. The participants were from three race groups designated as Indian, African and Coloured. The theoretical framing was Critical Race Theory and the theory of oppression. The study revealed the complex ways in which race and race relations play out at one desegregated school despite education legislation and policies that have been promulgated in South Africa to address racism at individual and institutional levels. The study identified key themes: who holds power?; „a monster that lurks in the dark‟; institutional racism at play; teacher emotionality and racism; and strategies of oppression, resistance and coping. A common experience that emerged is the exclusion and marginalisation of minority group teachers by the dominant group, evident in their everyday experiences at the school. Everyday racism is experienced by teachers as repetitive and accumulative, serving to maintain power in the school. The study revealed that the power of the dominant group is embedded in institution through the rules, norms and habits of the school. Institutional racism at the school allows those in power to limit opportunities and information to target groups. Teachers seem powerless in the face of institutional racism. Often oppressive practices reflect the intersection of race, gender, language and religion. This study highlighted that teachers take up multiple subject positions in the face of oppression. The stories of the teachers reflect that their experiences of racism and race relations at the school evoke strong emotions which include anger, hurt, fear, suspicion and vulnerability. This study contributes to the body of literature that has used Critical Race Theory to show how racism and race relations operate in schools. This study points to the need for further research into the de-racialisation of schools in South Africa in their various permutations. Research is needed to examine the complex ways in which teachers live, challenge and conceptualize racism in their individual, unique ways and within their situated contexts. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.

This study focuses on urban transformation that has taken place in the post-apartheid South African city. In particular it examines the role that estate agents play in urban transformation in the setting of two adjacent former white neighbourhoods of Glenwood and Umbilo. During apartheid, racial superiority coupled with discriminatory legislation meant that estate agents worked in a racially structured market. A review of related literature suggests that operations of estate agents are crucial to the achievement of mixed neighbourhoods as they can be both gatekeepers and agents of change. While a lot has been said about urban transformation in the new South Africa, there exists a literature gap on the role that estate agents play in this transformation. The study therefore explores what estate agents’ and black homeowners’ perspectives and experiences are on the issue of urban transformation. Ten interviews were conducted with estate agents and another ten with black homeowners. One interview was also conducted with the ward Councilor with a goal of obtaining their view of the change that has been experienced in the two neighbourhoods. The findings from the study suggest that there has been a significant change in the operations of estate agents and this has been necessitated by, and resulted in, urban transformation. The change in the operations of the estate agents has been in line with changes in both the economic and political spheres which shape the post-apartheid era. Estate agents have incorporated the new changes in their operations and property ownership and transfer is now done on an affordability basis rather than on racial consideration. However, areas of contestation still exist. Property purchases within a particular ownership arrangement called share block have resulted in some difficulties for purchasers both from the controlling companies of these blocks and also in terms of securing financing from banks. It is crucial to note, however, that black homeowners view estate agents as having undergone tremendous restructuring and have been the major agents of urban transformation in the new South Africa. Residential racial mixing has not been followed by racial integration, a view that is shared by estate agents and black homeowners, but neighbourhoods are thought to be fairly harmonious. / Thesis (M.Dev.Studies)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.