Paper long abstract:

The early 1990's saw a revolution in South African schools where black learners moved away from the historically disadvantaged schools in search for better education elsewhere. This was further influenced and accelerated by the opening up of schools in 1995 that marked the end of restricted access to schools on the basis of colour. This paper is based on data collected through my close observation as a practitioner in this context as well as through semi-structured interviews conducted with parents, learners, principals and teachers. The paper discusses research evidence of how the market ideology of choice has implications on South African education system. The paper concludes by the discussion of the negative impact of school choice on previously disadvantaged schools and points to a new diversity of schools that have emerged as a result. The findings of the study based on close observation and the perspectives of the interviewees show that the choice of a better school is not based on any informed decision by the chooser.