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We are excited to announce that our inaugural Bristol Illustrious Visiting Professor, Professor Mamkogethi Phakeng, will be giving an online public lecture on International Women's Day, Tuesday 8th March 2022.
Professor Phakeng is the Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Town and the University of Bristol's inaugural Bristol Illustrious Visiting Professor (BIVP). In this public lecture hosted by the International Research Partnerships team on International Women’s Day she will present her thoughts on South Africa's Language in Education policy and will offer her recommendations on policies that can enhance the status of previously marginalised South African languages, fostering institutional inclusivity and social cohesion.
Abstract:
In 1997 South Africa announced a new Language in Education policy that recognises 11 official languages and encourages multilingualism. Within this policy, learners (or rather, their parents) must choose the preferred language of learning upon admission to a school. Where the language they choose is not available, parents can apply to the provincial education department to provide instruction. Schools also have to choose a language for learning and teaching, and school governing bodies are required to state explicitly their plan to promote multilingualism. In 2020 the Department of Higher education and training published a language policy framework for public higher education institutions. The purpose of this policy is to ensure the development and strengthening of indigenous languages as languages of scholarship, teaching and learning and communication in South African universities.
In this presentation she will argue that while all these policies are excellent in principle, they offer a false choice/promise. Unfortunately these language in education policies seem to ignore the political role of language in a post-colonial multilingual country with the levels of poverty and inequality such as South Africa. She will critique the (non-)implementation of these policies and then offer three key recommendations on relevant languages policies that can enhance the status of previously marginalised South African languages, foster institutional inclusivity and social cohesion.
There are 2 ticket types available:
- Webinar attendee, for those that would like the opportunity to ask Professor Phakeng a question
- Livestream attendee, alternatively please choose this option if you would like to watch the lecture only
Please note that booking has now closed. Please contact irp-admin@bristol.ac.uk
The public lecture forms part of a series of events and activities that Professor Phakeng is involved in at the University of Bristol as part of her year-long appointment as our first Bristol Illustrious Visiting Professor. You can read more details about the BIVP announcement on our website. The official launch event was held on the 20th October 2021, and the recording is available to view on our YouTube channel.
By hosting Professor Phakeng we hope to learn from and be inspired by her knowledge, approaches, and ethos. We are working together to build on and enhance our research endeavours in mathematics education in particular, as well as exploring and developing institutional partnerships with the University of Cape Town (UCT) more broadly.