Influence of macro-policy factors on decision-making to select Tourism in South African schools: Implications for curriculum relevance.

Abstract

In South Africa there were various changes in educational policy and curriculum framework introduced by the post-apartheid government in 1994 in order to transform the school curriculum. Specifically, focusing on the structure of the curriculum, subject offerings and packages which resulted in the introduction of Tourism as a secondary school subject in Grades 10-12 in 1998. While policy initiatives such as these are intended to provide a relevant and responsive curriculum in schools, the onus is upon individual school to select subjects that reflect this purpose. In this regard, curriculum decision-making in schools, particularly the selection of new subjects tends to be informed by a variety of factors. The study focuses on analysing the extent and manner through which socio-economic factors influence curriculum decision-making that led to the selection of Tourism as a subject in schools. It is clear from the study that the participants linked the influence of macro-policy factors to three aspects: political imperatives, economic benefits, and educational policies. The findings suggest that schools’ decisionmaking to select Tourism was influenced by the view that Tourism (as a school subject) is a means for addressing negative social issues, including reducing or eliminating unemployment and poverty. The evidence from the study suggests that the introduction of Tourism in these schools has not yet led to the realisation of these political and economic imperatives. This suggests that macro/policy imperatives alone as a motivation for the decision to select Tourism do not necessarily lead to social transformation.

Keywords

• Curriculum decision-making
• curriculum relevance
• secondary school subjects
• tourism