Thesis (MEd.) -- Stellenbosch University, 1995. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South African education is facing a big dilemma. Teachers, curriculators and students are confronted with the issue of multiculturalism because of the establishment of one education department. Equality in education has to oe offered to all citizens and implemented by all teachers. In moving from a monocultural to a multicultural approach, all teaching spheres would necessarily be affected. Re-evaluation, change and an improvementclre required and these reconstructive measures be geared towards breaking down isolation, fragmentation and mistrust within the diverse South African society. Through a literature study, some perspectives on the problematic nature of the current teaching program will be addressed. Various perspectives on multiculturalism serves as a framework for argumentation about the viability of such an approach. The contribution of the school subject, Physical Education, towards harmony and solidarity, will be established. The focus will be on one of the dance components, Folk Dancing, and in what way it can assist the process of socialization for the creation of a sense of national unity. The orientation to this study will be done in chapter one. In chapter two the current problematic conditions within education serve as a background for the total dilemma in which the South African teaching profession are outlined. The different problems surrounding the school sUbject, Physical Education, are discussed, which were a direct result of the fragmentation of the previous education system. The needs of the multicultural community are not met entirely in the current Physical Education syllabi. In chapter three the different perspectives on multicultural education are given and the experiences that countries like Australia, Britain, the United States of America and Namibia had with the implementation of multicultural education to serve their multicultural societies. The school needs to serve the community. That is why the process of planning the total educational practice needs to be reviewed as to the relevancy of the school curriculum in order to serve the needs of the community. In chapter four the place of Physical Education in the school curriculum is established and the role that Folk Dancing has to play in order to serve as means to foster social harmony, respect and tolerance. In chapter five a cultural composition needs to be done in order to establish what the multicultural community in South Africa consists of, what the different majority cultural groups are and what research already has been attempted in the documentation of the different South African cultural folkdances. The need is then to develop a program which will cover the twelve years of schooling in order to, serve as an interim program to create a bettfJr understanding between the differ']nt cultural groups of the country. In the final chapter conclusions and recommendations will be put forward to enable future study. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die Suid-Afrikaanse onderwys staan voor 'n groot dilemma. As gevolg van die daarstelling van 'n enkele departement van onderwys word kurrikuleerders, leerlinge sowel as die onderwysers gekonfiOnteer met die kwessie van multikulturalisme. Gelyke onderwys word i10U aan aile landsburgers verskaf en moet deur aile onderwysers ge"implementeer word. Die oorskakeling vanaf 'n monokulturele na 'n multikulturele benadering in die onderwys sal aile vlakke van die onderwys noodwendig affekteer. Herevaluering, verandering en verbetering is tans aan die orde van die d~g, omdat rekonstruktiewe optrades die isolasie, fragmentering en wantroue van die verskillende gemeenskappe in Suid-Afrika kan aanspreek. Hierdie studie is hoofsaaklik daarop gemik om, deur middel van Iiteratuurstudie, orientering te verskaf rondom die huidige onderwysproblematiek. Die verskillende perspektiewe van multikulturele onderwys dien as raamwerk waarbinne daar oor die werkbaarheid van so In benadering geargumenteer word. Verder word daar ondersoek ingestel na die bydrae van die skoolvak, Liggaamlike Opvoeding, in die herstel van harmonie en eenheid. Die fokus val veral op een van die danskomponente, Volksdans en in watter mate laasgenoemde deur middel van die proses van sosialisering In sin vir nasionale eenheid kan bewerkstellig. Die orientering ten opsigte van die studie geskied in hoofstuk een waarin die probleme random die skoolvak Liggaamlike Opvoeding beskryf word wat veraorsaak is as gevolg van die fragmentasie in die onderwys. In hoofstuk twee word die huidige onderwysproblematiek uiteengesit wat dien as agtergrond vir die totala dilemma waarin die Suid-Afrikaanse onderwys hom tans bevind. Die behoeftes van die multikulturele gemeenskap word nie voldoende verreken in die huidige sillabusse nie omdat die gemeenskappe toenemend aan die verander is. Hoofstuk drie ondersoek die verskillende perspektiewe rondom multikulturele onderwys en die ondervinding van enkele lande 5005 Australia, Die Verenigde State van Amerika, Brittanje en Namibia ten opsigte van multikuiturele onderwys en die multikulturele samestelling van hul gemeenskappe. Die skool gee uitvoering aan die behoeftes van die gemeenskap. Dit is daarom dat die kurrikuleringsproses van die totale onderwyspraktyk onder die loep geneem word asook die relevansie van die skoolkurrikulum ten opsigte van die genoemde behoeftes. In hoofstuk vier word die plek van Liggaamlike Opvoeding en die Volksdansafdeling binne die totale opvoedingsprogram beskryf am aan te dui watter rol gespeel word am sosiale harmonie, respek en verdraagsaamheid te verstewig. In hoofstuk vyf word die multikulturele aard van die Suid-Afrikaanse gemeenskap deur middel van In kulturele samestelling blootgelA. In Volksdans-program verskaf moontlike variasies om voorsiening te maak vir multikulturalisme en kultuuruitruiling. In die slothoofstuk word gevolgtrekkings en acmbevelings ten opsigte van die studie gemaak.