Who’s that in the staffroom? Neil Avery University of KwaZulu-Natal

The context ‘That ****** just tried to drive his car over me!’ ‘If I see you again, I’ll cut your throat!’ ‘They’re unprofessional – they come late and still hit pupils.’ ‘They are racists and won’t change.’ ‘We can’t talk to them – they don’t listen.’ ‘They better watch out – we are here now.’

Preparing to ‘manage ‘diversity? HEI’s and the Department of Education Rationalism as an enabling framework Overlaid with communitarianism Teamwork, collegiality and harmony Rooted in monocultural traditions Where equality already exists Links to Cognitive learning theory So is it appropriate in the context of SA?

A more critical, integrated approach Social Learning theory Communities of Practice (Wenger,1998) Distributed leadership Teacher leadership (Grant, 2010) A Capabilities approach (Sen, 1999 and Nussbaum, 2000) Transformative discourses (Blackmore, 2006)

Diversity Differences in race, language, culture, religion, gender, sexuality, age. Changes in some learner populations. Changes in teachers’ distribution. Integration? Shared practice, new knowledge, identity Assimilation? Induction into established practice and power

Danger of ignoring diversity Growing ‘minority’ groups Strengthening voices and identities Exercise of new power ‘Threat’ to the existing norms Potential for conflict ‘Othering’ – them and us

What about Policy? The Constitution (1996) The South African Schools Act (1996) The Task team Report (1996) The National Education Policy Act (1996) Norms and Standards for Educators Circulars Local policies

An integrated alternative Communities of Practice Individuals learn through everyday interaction with others Shared practice and new learning Identity formation – in the collective Legitimate participation

An integrated alternative Distributed leadership – a hybrid of ‘communitarianism’? Teacher leadership Contest the privileged power of formal position Create space for participation A conscious move towards a more critical and reflexive view of power

An integrated alternative A Capabilities approach Based on human dignity and explicit freedoms Creates supportive and enabling spaces Fosters legitimate expression Three types of capabilities Basic – inherent but undeveloped Internal – a readiness to act Combined – legitimate structures and opportunities to act

An integrated alternative NO Transformative discourse Not management of diversity By those who have power (assimilation) Not management for diversity Multicultural harmony and consensus Diversify management and leadership Reflexive Deliberate practices to enable agency Negotiation of capabilities Consideration of who leads and manages NO YES

Conclusion We have to shift our thinking about diversity It requires ‘deliberate practices that enable agency’ (Blackmore, 2006) We must negotiate capabilities We can’t just talk democracy, we must practice it