Different rules for different teachers: teachers’ views of professionalism and accountability in a bifurcated education system1

Abstract

This paper reports the initial results from a representative survey of teachers in the WesternCape regarding their views of professionalism and accountability. This is the first survey ofits kind in South Africa. Preliminary analysis of the data from 115 public schools suggeststhat teachers at no-fee schools, who are predominantly black women, report facing thegreatest institutional burdens and the greatest need for institutional support, particularlyfrom the state. Related to this, they tend to stress pastoral care-work as central to being aprofessional, while those at fee-paying schools stress their claims to pedagogical knowledgeand job prestige. This indicates that teachers at different schools are subject to different andunequal institutions (or rules), where the kind of school that teachers work at often reflectstheir race and gender positioning. It also implies that the concept of a bifurcated educationsystem, characterised by different production functions and outcomes for learners, shouldbe expanded to include teachers and deepened to include institutions.