ABSTRACT

The school is a confined interpersonal contact space for students and lends itself to the social integration of mixed-race populations. However, the success of an integration process is, amongst other factors, linked to the racial numerical mix of a desegregating school. The literature on school desegregation in South Africa lacks empirical evidence that would support or contradict popular views on demographic trends in the desegregation process. This article investigates the changing racial profiles of former Whites-only state schools (referred to here as FMC schools) in Pretoria over three decades. The key findings are: (1) the number of Black (=non-White) learners in FMC schools in Pretoria constantly increased and surpassed that of White learners shortly before 2015; (2) the number of Black learners in primary FMC schools constantly increased faster than that in secondary schools, and (3) after a brief period of school desegregation, White and Black learners re-polarized again into White and Black school clusters. These findings suggest that social integration is not the primary motive for registering at FMC schools but that it is driven by access to quality education and further streamed by choices of association.

摘要

学校是学生有限的人际交往空间，有利于混血人群的社会融合。然而，融合进程的成功除其他因素外，还与废除种族隔离学校的种族数量混合有关。关于南非学校废除种族隔离的文献缺乏支持或反驳关于废除种族隔离过程中人口趋势的流行观点的经验证据。本文调查了比勒陀利亚前白人公立学校（此处称为 FMC 学校）三十年来种族概况的变化。主要发现是：(1) 比勒陀利亚 FMC 学校的黑人（=非白人）学习者人数不断增加，并在 2015 年之前不久超过了白人学习者；(2) FMC 小学的黑人学习者人数持续增长速度快于中学，(3) 在短暂的学校废除种族隔离之后，白人和黑人学习者再次重新分化为白人和黑人学校集群。这些发现表明，社会融合并不是在 FMC 学校注册的主要动机，而是由获得优质教育的机会所驱动，并进一步受到社团选择的影响。