The cultivation of the racial identity of an Afrikaner juffrou : an autoethnography

Abstract

Racism is taught; no one is born a racist. That seems to be the general consensus in a world where we are still trying to make sense of the resilience of whiteness, ethnocentrism and the divided consciousness that accompanies it, but is it really that simple? The question becomes how and where does this educational transfer of whiteness take place? In this autoethnography I explore the specialised education of my whiteness as an Afrikaner juffrou in the context of South Africa. This qualitative research methodology presented me with the opportunity to reflect on, describe, analyse and interpret my personal lived experiences from pre-birth to adulthood. I disclose and extend my anthropology as a white, Afrikaner juffrou whilst taking the intersectionality between the privilege and inequality associated with race and gender into account. My narrative is presented as short stories and poetry to make my experiences more relatable by aiming for the highest verisimilitude possible. The findings of this study imply that cultivated learning, as conceptualised in this reading, could be one of the educational phenomena that contributes to the transfer of whiteness from one generation to the next. Thus, this study may serve as an introductory conceptualisation of cultivated learning in the context of informal and societal education, which could be explored and enriched via future research endeavours. I hold that due to the complexity of cultivated learning that the most feasible way to combat racial, gender or any other bias, lies within autoethnographic methods of study for pre-service teachers. The pedagogy of which will challenge future generations of teachers to put down the magnifying glass and pick up the mirror.