The socio-educational implications of the moral degeneration of the South African society : towards a solution

Abstract

Moral degeneration is a universal phenomenon which negatively affects many societies, also the South African society. The South African society, with specific reference to family life and school life is experiencing a serious moral breakdown. The media is constantly reporting this breakdown, which is evident in social ills such as a general lack of discipline and self-discipline, violence, poverty, unemployment, a high crime rate, promiscuity, school vandalism and corruption. The literature study indicates that these moral ills have negative implications for society and for education, and that they are mainly the result of a lack of a positive value system in society as a whole. This study aims at determining the role of “values education” in addressing the problem of moral degeneration. The conceptual framework upon which the study is based is known as social reconstructivism. It is a philosophical theory which proposes that society should be transformed by addressing the social problems which it experiences. An ethnographic research design and grounded theory were employed. Questionnaires were distributed to 200 learners from four public schools in order to determine their value systems. Trends that were found after the analysis of the questionnaires were further explored by means of in-depth interviews with some of these learners. The main data collecting instrument was the semi-structured interview (individual and focus group interviews). The participants were parents, principals, teachers, community leaders and learners, who are all important stakeholders in education. Data were collected in the Eastern Cape Province over a period of five months. The empirical research findings were compared to literature findings. Both these findings revealed that, to an alarming extent, the moral code in South African society is on the decline. Currently education in the home, school and community does not convey a positive value system to learners - thus perpetuating the problem of a society in decline. In the light of the findings, guidelines have been developed in order to improve school practices and to suggest possible solutions to the social problems that endanger the future prosperity of the South African society.