A vision for a Reformed Christian college for South Africa
A yawning gap has existed in the South African educational landscape since the effective termination of the Potchefstroom University (PU) for Christian Higher Education (CHE) by the government in 2004. The North-West University, which was formed through the merger of the PU for CHE and the University of North West, has been positioned as a value-driven university, but for all its good intentions and successes, it cannot (and never was intended to) continue the PU for CHE’s tradition of Christian higher education. Given the growth of Christian schools in South Africa after 1994, it is clear that pupils from these and other schools have no Reformed option when they choose an institution of higher education. It is therefore suggested in this article that the concept of a new Christian college should find favour amongst Reformed Christians from all denominations, races, ethnic groups and languages in South Africa. The author argues that obstacles simply have to be overcome. A balanced Reformed approach which eschews extreme fundamentalism as well as attempts at undermining the fundamentals of the Christian faith is needed. Therefore, the formation of an inclusive pilot committee to investigate the idea is proposed.
Accelerated Christian Education: a case study of the use of race in voucher-funded private Christian schools
Abstract President Donald Trump has promised an expansion of voucher programs for private schools in the United States. Private Christian schools are likely beneficiaries of such an expansion, but little research has been conducted about the curricula they use or their suitability for public funds. This article describes and critiques the depiction of race in Accelerated Christian Education, a curriculum used in some voucher-funded schools in the United States, as well as in private schools in 140 countries. It employs content analysis and qualitative documentary analysis of the curriculum workbooks, and builds on Christian Smith and Michael Emerson’s theoretical framework of white evangelicals’ ‘cultural toolkit’ to explain the ideas about race in the curriculum. The paper finds that in addition to some overt racism, the system promulgates a worldview which does not have the capacity to recognize or oppose systemic injustice. It is argued that such a curriculum is not a suitable recipient of federal funding.
Dominante motiewe in die transformasie van Huisgenoot, 1916-2003
Huisgenoot is the oldest and most successful Afrikaans magazine ever. It was founded in 1916 with a twofold motive: to financially support the struggling political mouthpiece of the Cape National Party, De Burger, and to provide the Afrikaner people (volk) with the inspiration, information and light entertainment it desperately needed. This article plots the changing motives (idealism and profit) through the years. It is found that the idealism of Afrikaner nationalism dominated for a considerable time, although editors obviously had to make some concessions to populist taste. For example, photos of Afrikaner heroes such as Paul Kruger dominated the early covers, but later made way for photos and drawings of South Africa's natural beauty. In the 1950s and 1960s attractive women, in particular film stars, were frequently used on the cover. The idealism and formalised cultural life and mores were slowly making way for a more secularised money-driven culture. But in 1978 the magazine was in dire straits. New editors took a definitive step towards profi t-driven populism and Huisgenoot became a publishing phenomenon, climbing from a circulation of 140 000 to 500 000 per week. This unheard of circulation for any South African magazine was founded on a populist diet of celebrities, news on TV programmes and personalities and a general mixture of must-reads. One can conclude that Huisgenoot's dominant motives changed markedly, in step with changes in the views held by the Afrikaner as well as the pressure to produce profi ts for its owners in a purely market economy.