School Conflicts: Causes and Management Strategies in Classroom Relationships

*Sabina Valente, Abílio Afonso Lourenço and Zsolt Németh*

#### **Abstract**

Conflicts cannot cease to exist, as they are intrinsic to human beings, forming an integral part of their moral and emotional growth. Likewise, they exist in all schools. The school is inserted in a space where the conflict manifests itself daily and assumes relevance, being the result of the multiple interpersonal relationships that occur in the school context. Thus, conflict is part of school life, which implies that teachers must have the skills to manage conflict constructively. Recognizing the diversity of school conflicts, this chapter aimed to present its causes, highlighting the main ones in the classroom, in the teacher-student relationship. It is important to conflict face and resolve it with skills to manage it properly and constructively, establishing cooperative relationships, and producing integrative solutions. Harmony and appreciation should coexist in a classroom environment and conflict should not interfere, negatively, in the teaching and learning process. This bibliography review underscore the need for during the teachers' initial training the conflict management skills development.

**Keywords:** school conflicts, classroom conflicts, school conflict management, teacher-student relationship

#### **1. Introduction**

One of the most striking characteristics of human beings is the diversities. Different ways of being, thinking and existing, different needs, world views, ethical positions mark the relationships between people. In this sense, interpersonal conflicts are understood as tension that involves different interests or positions, are inherent to human relationships, and are present in various social organizations, among them, the school.

The school as microcosms of society brings together different views of the world, different ways of being, thinking, and living, thus becoming a space for representing social differences and being a place where different conflicts occur daily. Dealing with this situation type requires learning and that is why teachers need training in conflict management so that they can correctly manage the classroom conflicts and educate also your students for conflict management.

Recognizing that the school is an organization that brings together social diversity and adopting as an assumption that interpersonal conflicts are inherent to human relationships, we define the school conflicts as this chapter theme. In this sense, this chapter addresses school conflicts with a focus on classroom conflicts

in the teacher-student relationship. In the first part, a brief reference is made to the conflict. This is followed by a review of the bibliography on school/classroom conflict causes.

Due to its intrinsic characteristics, school is a favorable medium for conflict situations development. So, the conflict in the education system can be seen from the dialectic between the macrostructure of the education system, the general policies oriented towards it, and the management processes that prevail in each school [1].

The conflict presents formative possibilities, since the perception of the differences existing between people/or groups and their needs, values, ideas, and different ways of living are essential to a democratic society [2]. In this sense, it is important to enhance positive conflict characteristics and reduce the negative ones. So, the difficulty in resolving conflicts is largely due to the difficulties existing between those involved in the conflict to be able to communicate effectively. Therefore, the constructive and educational potential of conflicts depends largely on the skills of those involved. Thus, knowing how to communicate, and respecting the rights of others and existing differences are essential for conflicts to revert to social and human development benefits.

The concern with improving coexistence in schools, centred on the conflict variable, is addressed in different studies, whose objectives mark both understanding the school conflict [3–6], as well as preventing its occurrence [7]. Since it is impossible to eliminate school conflicts, it is essential and urgent to reduce their intensity, duration, and severity, so that the teaching and learning process is not harmed. In this sense, this chapter addresses also the strategies used to manage classroom conflict, and some examples of programs that work these skills on teachers and students.

#### **2. Conflict**

The conflict is defined and classified from different perspectives, and its definition can differ, in context, process, intervention, and study areas [1, 8]. Conflict is a phenomenon of incompatibility between individuals or groups with irreconcilable ends and/or values between them, considering it a social process [1]. For this author, four elements are present and must be addressed in all conflicts: the causes that give rise to it; the conflict protagonists; the process and the way the protagonists face the conflict; and the context in which it occurs. In turn, Chrispino [9] understands conflict as to any divergent opinion or a different way of seeing or interpreting an event, that is, the conflict originates in the difference of interests, desires, aspirations, or positions between individuals. He adds that conflicts can arise from difficulties in communication and assertiveness.

In this way, we can say that there is a conflict when two or more people interact with each other and perceive incompatible differences, or threats to their resources, needs, or values and when they respond according to what was perceived, then the ideal conditions for conflict are created. The conflict intensity, duration, or severity can then increase or decrease depending on the strategies used to resolve it. Regardless of the different conflict definitions, there is no conflict if the individuals involved are not aware of its existence. This conclusion is consensual to the majority of the definition proposals and to the attempts to conceptualize the conflict found in the specialized literature.

In addition to different conflict definitions, there are also different proposals for classifying it. Concerning the different conflict classification [8, 10, 11] the emphasis is placed on the theoretical proposals of [8, 11]. Conflicts can be classified into five different types: structural, value, relationship, interest, and data [11].

#### *School Conflicts: Causes and Management Strategies in Classroom Relationships DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.95395*

In structural conflicts, causes are associated with unequal control situations, possession or resource distribution, unequal power, and authority, geographical, physical, or environmental factors that prevent cooperation and time pressures. In value conflicts, it highlights situations of opposing ideas or behaviors, different ways of life, ideology, or religion. Relationship conflicts are caused by strong emotions, misperceptions or stereotypes, inadequate or deficient communication, and negative and/or repetitive behaviors. The causes of interest conflicts are perceived or real competition over fundamental interests (content), procedural interests, and psychological interests. Finally, about data conflicts, [11] highlights the lack of information or wrong information, different points of view on what is important, different data interpretations, and different assessment procedures.

In turn, Torrego [8] presents a typology that seems to reflect the type of school conflicts: relationship-communication conflicts; interest/needs conflicts; and preferences, values, and beliefs conflicts. As for the relationship-communication conflicts, it cannot be said that there is a concrete cause that justifies their appearance, however, it appears as a result of the relationship deterioration itself. As such, aggressions, struggles, offenses, defamations, rumors, humiliations, misunderstandings are part of this type of conflict, but also perception conflicts, because, despite the conflict reality being only one, this fact does not invalidate that those involved have their view of it. Interest or needs conflicts usually occur when one party considers that it will only be able to satisfy its needs/interests if the other gives in to theirs. This conflict type can include those that stem from disagreement about how to perform jobs or tasks and those that result from the need felt by one of the parties to own or be coerced into giving in: objects, time, space, or any type of appeal. Finally, preferences, values, and beliefs conflicts result when these systems are discordant or viewed as such by those involved in the conflict. However, this conflict type can be resolved if the parties identify higher values common to both.

It is important to say that the conflict constructive paradigm indicates that the conflict has positive and negative aspects, advantages, and disadvantages. This new model is opposed to the classic model and indicates that moderate levels of conflict are perceived as positive [12]. The conflict effects are positive, when they are well managed, to establish more cooperative relations and seek to reach an integrated solution, for the benefit of those involved in the conflict [10]. In any organization, the existence of low levels of conflict leaves the organization vulnerable to stagnation, to making impoverished decisions, even to the lack of effectiveness; on the other hand, having too much conflict leads the organization directly into chaos.

Given the above, we can say that conflicts are inherent to human relationships since human beings are characterized by diversity. The school, by bringing together people from different social groups with different values and worldviews, becomes a locus for conflicts.

#### **3. School conflicts**

The school is a society microsystem, in which are reflected constant changes. Thus, one of the most important school functions is to prepare students, teachers, and parents to live and overcome the difficulties of a world full of rapid changes and interpersonal conflicts, contributing to the development process of each individual. For being a society microsystem and bringing together different ways of life, thinking, feeling, relationship, constitutes a space conducive to interpersonal conflicts.

School conflict is defined as the disagreement between individuals or groups regarding ideas, interests, principles, and values within the school community, perceiving the parties their interests as excluded, although they may not be [13], being that the most frequent school conflicts occur in the relations between student–student and between student-teacher [14].

Conflicts in the school can be classified according to their causes and those involved. For Martinez [15], the conflicts between teachers are mainly caused by lack of communication, personal interests, previous conflicts, issues of power, or political and ideological differences. This author indicates that conflicts between students and teachers, as they happen due to the lack of understanding of the teacher's explanation, due to arbitrary grades and divergence in the evaluation criteria, lack of didactic material, discrimination, disinterest in the study material, and because the students are ears. In turn, conflicts between students can arise due to misunderstandings, fights, the rivalry between groups, discrimination, bullying, use of spaces and assets, dating, sexual harassment, loss or damage of school assets, diverse elections, travel, and parties. Conflicts between parents, teachers, and administrators can arise due to aggressions that occurred between students and between teachers, due to the loss of work material, problems in the school canteen or similar, lack of teachers, lack of pedagogical assistance by teachers, evaluation, approval and disapproval criteria, failure to meet bureaucratic and administrative requirements of management [15].

From the literature review, it is possible to infer and highlight the different causes pointed to the school conflict. Participating teachers in the Göksoy and Argon [16] study indicate as causes for school conflict: the communication failures, personal, political/ideological, and organizational causes.

With a very similar rating, Jares [1] indicates four main causes: ideologicalscientific, related to different pedagogical, ideological, and organizational options, and the type of school culture or cultures that coexist; power causes, related to organization control, professional promotion, access to resources and decision making; causes of structure, related to the ambiguity of objectives and functions, organizational fragility, organizational and variable contexts; and personal and interpersonal causes, related to self-esteem, security, professional dissatisfaction, and communication. Also, Burguet [17] points out as possible causes for the school conflict in the school's organizational structure.

In this sequence, and given the increase in school conflicts, Ibarra [18] recognizes as school conflict causes: the increase in compulsory schooling, the increase in the number of students per class, teachers perceive a progressive decline in their authority about students, and students are less likely to comply with certain rules and limits, which results in conflict situations. Regarding the increase in compulsory education, this leads to a greater number of unmotivated and undisciplined students, which implies an increase in school conflict. Likewise, the increase in the number of students per class, without increasing the facilities or associated conditions, increases the conflict occurrence, because of their negative changes in the physical and psychological environment, in overcrowded classrooms, with a lack of space for practical and collaborative activities.

In addressing interpersonal relationships in schools cannot neglect family background. When dealing with interpersonal relationships in the school context, it is necessary to take into account the family reality of each student, since the family interpersonal relationships have a strong connection with the school conflict [19]. Distinguished authors indicate that school conflict situations often have their genesis at the family level [17, 20] since they are the most deprived families, where alcoholism, domestic violence, and unemployment problems occur, being that all these violence and incivilities manifestations that arise in the students' lives are transported to school. Burguet [17] points the dismissal of families as educational agents. This author highlights the overprotection with a sense of guilt for not dedicating more time to children, the experience of fatherhood as a "burden" of

#### *School Conflicts: Causes and Management Strategies in Classroom Relationships DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.95395*

those who educate in aggressiveness, and the criticisms of parents, and society itself, to teachers, instigates conflicts. In other words, the role of the family often does not seem to offer a good foundation in the education of young people, which is reflected in their behavior in the processes of interaction at school. As Berkowitz [20] indicates, many of the interaction problems originate in the family, and the student reproduces the behaviors he learns with his parents.

It should be noted that the context experienced by the Covid-19 pandemic has a greater impact on students from poorer families. The situation of these most vulnerable students was a problem whose dimension grew with online classes, as they encountered immense barriers and lack of support for quality education during confinement. Thus, students who before the pandemic were unmotivated and presented conflicting behaviors at school should be the target of more support during this pandemic phase, to minimize the conflicting behaviors. It should also be noted that although family-school relationships are extremely important for students' learning and development, family participation in school is not always satisfactory.

So, the family and the school must go together to contribute to the conflict becoming part of a process of growth, acceptance of the other, and accountability. Learning to deal with school conflicts positively is essential for the development of healthy relationships.

Another cause of school conflicts is pointed to society and the values it conveys, Burguet [17] points to the example of social communication, which encourages violence through violent programs, broadcasting news with prejudiced and conflicting messages. All of these situations enhance the conflicting attitudes of children and young people, which are reflected in school behaviors.

#### **3.1 Conflict in the classroom**

The school builds a social interface favorable to involvement, where conflicts proliferate in the educational process complexity, being common and daily in classes. Thus, in the classroom different types of conflict occur, being a challenge for most teachers to know how to face, manage, and resolve these conflicts [7].

Teachers often perceive conflicts as indiscipline, violence, disrespect, and like all situations threatening his authority, and inexperienced and experienced teachers emphasize the teacher-student conflict as a frequent situation in difficult classes [21]. In this context, Silva and Flores [19] refer to the negative effect that these situations have on attainment and student motivation, so it is urgent to find solutions to avoid or mitigate such effects.

The classroom coexistence problems are mainly related to social and pedagogical changes [22]. In this sequence, there are several conflict situations that teachers can face during classes. Some of those indicated by the teachers are, namely: the student's presence that did not focus on activities; students with serious learning and communication difficulties; students groups who do classroom not work and maintain an aggressive and provocative attitude; students with destructive attitudes towards school material, theirs and/or colleagues, as well as aggressive and violent attitudes towards colleagues and teachers; apathetic students, who do not show classes enthusiasm; and in extreme situations, students who take and display instruments in the class that can be used as weapons, in an attitude of defiance to the teacher [23].

Given the increase in the classroom conflicts, multiple causes, which include a combination of external and internal factors in the school environment, are indicated, such as the increase in compulsory education, the increase in students per class, the progressive decline in the teacher's authority about students, and students are less likely to comply with rules and limits, which results in conflict [18]. The increase in the year of schooling also leads to greater difficulties in living and learning in the classroom, and older age student's groups consider themselves inserted in an educational system that sometimes does not respond to their needs and some of them consider not be essential to your life. So, the increase in compulsory education leads to a greater number of dissatisfied, unmotivated, and undisciplined students. Likewise, the increase in students per class, without increasing the facilities or associated conditions, negatively affects the psychological environment in overcrowded classrooms, with a lack of space for practical and collaborative activities. In turn, the progressive decline in teacher authority in relation to students and students are less likely to comply with certain rules and limits, results in conflicts in the classroom.

Conflicts in the teacher-student relationship are recurrent in the classroom, and [17] indicates as causes generating conflict, not only concerning the expectations of the teacher-student but also the student towards the teacher. In this sequence, the authors highlight the following problems that cause conflict: discipline problems, adaptation to individual differences problems, and evaluation problems.

As for discipline problems, these are the result of provocation and contempt of the student towards the teacher, or the teacher towards the student, to exercise their authority. In turn, problems of adaptation to individual differences are related to heterogeneous behaviors and diminished personal relationships. As for the problems related to the evaluation, result mainly from the personal rhythms of each student and teacher.

Students' undisciplined classroom behavior can lead to conflicts that divert the teacher's attention to issues that blur him from his teaching function [19]. In this context, Pérez-de-Guzmán et al. [7] indicate disinterest, mainly academic, as the main source of classroom conflict, also mentioning that one of the conflicts that persist and continues to be common is the lack of study habits and the carrying out work, leading to a negative attitude during class. Also, the mandatory stay in the classroom, away from the interests and expectations of some students, is recurrent as a conflict cause.

There are many and diverse classroom conflict situations that disturb the class dynamics. And in situations where the conflict remains latent, the result of the diversity of class interests, if the teacher does not create a good environment, acting positively about communication, the use of legitimate authority, and the conflict management, he will see conflicts increase exponentially within the classes [24]. Thus, regardless of the classroom conflicts type, if they are not managed, they accumulate, which makes them more cohesive and complicated, triggering negative feelings in those involved, and negatively affecting the educational quality [24].

The causes of the aforementioned conflicts are linked to personal issues and interpersonal relationships. And, most of these conflicts reveal an undisciplined character and increase daily in the class context. In this way, the teacher in the absence of solid guidelines can develop discontent, insecurity, and dissatisfaction that are reflected in his conflict face performance. Another aspect to be highlighted is that related to the power or lack of it that, increasingly, the teacher presents, and that reveals itself in discontent. In short, there is a gap in society, between the values it promotes and demands the school and the lack of credibility that is given to the teacher, questioned before the disapproval of parents and society itself, which instigates an even greater student's conflict, in classes.

#### **3.2 Positive and negative impacts of school conflicts**

Conflict can inspire innovations and creative strategies in addressing challenging issues, as well as improving work, results, and encouraging organizations to

#### *School Conflicts: Causes and Management Strategies in Classroom Relationships DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.95395*

achieve higher levels of quality and achievement. In this context, Göksoy and Argon [16] argue that school conflicts have positive and negative impacts on psychological, social, and organizational results.

Negative psychological impacts include discomfort, insecurity, insignificance feelings, sadness, resentment, frustration, and stress. In turn, at the social level, results of hostility, intolerance, and violence are present [16]. As for the negative results within the institutions, the author highlights the existence of a tense environment, weakened cooperation, communication failures, poor performance, and an undisciplined environment. Inevitably, in this way, there is a decrease in education quality.

The conflicts traditional and negative view has implications for the training of students, as the current discourse in many schools is about how to avoid conflicts since their educational potential is sometimes not perceived by the school community. This discourse conceives the conflict by the violent consequences that result from its non-management.

Conflict is recognized as an engine of social development and its effects are positive when the conflict is managed well. Thus, about the positive impacts arising from the school conflict, these have various levels of benefits [16]. At a personal level, the conflict allows learning to be related to the perception of errors, and to develop new ideas. On the other hand, at the social level, it enables the reinforcement of communication, respect for others, and enhances commitment. Regarding the benefits at the organizational level, it makes it possible to understand problems, seek and develop new solutions, and develop a democratic and enriching environment in the school. Thus, conflicts can contribute to the construction of broader visions of certain situations and, at the same time, guarantee rights and opportunities for all, regardless of interpersonal differences.

#### **4. Strategies for classroom conflict management**

Teachers' perceptions of conflict indicate that they focus mainly on the conflicts' negative aspects [6, 25]. It is noteworthy that the methods most used at school, face of students conflicting behaviors, include warning, disapproval, summoning guardians, and in some cases, student suspension. Methodologies that provoke negative feelings and, later, originate new undesirable behaviors, being applied without taking into account the needs, personal conflicts, problems, and students expectations [26]. As indicated by Torrecilla et al. [22] if the teacher is not an effective conflict manager, he will project this lack of skill, resulting in negative learning for students.

As noted earlier, classroom conflict is an unavoidable reality. Thus, being inevitable, adequate strategies are needed to resolve it so that the conflict potential advantages are taken advantage of and its harmful effects are minimized or canceled out. Conflict management strategies are understood as the behavior types that are adopted in the conflict context, that is, they are basic strategies to manage a situation in which the parties consider their interests to be incompatible.

It is important to note that the choice between different conflict management strategies depends on the conflict level and the various situations that must be managed effectively [27], that is, to manage conflict functionally, it is important to recognize that one strategy may be more appropriate than another, depending on the conflict situation, being considered appropriate if its use leads to the effective formulation or resolution of the conflict [27]. So, strategies refer to specific patterns of behavior that are adopted in conflict situations. Following this approach, Rahim and Bonoma [28] established five conflict management strategies using

two dimensions "self-concern" and "others concern". They are different strategies for conflict management and correspond to the attitudes to confront and conflict resolutions.

These five strategies for conflict management are [27]: (a) Avoiding: when conflicted parties show low levels of concern for others' interests and a low level of concern for oneself. Strategy characterized by a low degree of assertiveness and a low degree of cooperation, where neither its interests nor those of its opponents are satisfied; (b) Dominating: reflecting the attempt to satisfy one's interests without consideration of the interests of the other. Characterized by a high assertiveness and lack of cooperation, in which the acquisition of objectives is viewed with supremacy over the interests of the other party. Furthermore, it is often considered an aggressive strategy; (c) Obliging: tends to be adopted by those individuals who attempt to play down the differences and emphasizes commonalities to satisfy the concerns of the other party. Represents a conflict management strategy where the cooperation is high, and assertiveness is low; (d) Integrating: individuals who use this strategy manage conflicts directly and cooperatively, seeking to solve in collaboration with the other, is a strategy connected with problem-solving. The use of this involves openness, exchanging information, looking for alternatives, and examination of differences to reach an effective solution for everyone involved in the conflict. Is a strategy useful for effectively dealing with complex problems; and (e) Compromising: represents the attempt to satisfy, moderately and partially, the interests of all those involved in the conflict, and shares commonalities with all of the other four strategies. Is a strategy that requires compromise and assignment. Compromising is an intermediate strategy on assertiveness and cooperation, which implies a compromise in the search for an acceptable intermediate position for everyone involved in the conflict.

Among the variables that influence the choice of different conflict management strategies, the teachers' emotional intelligence stands out. Valente and Lourenço [24] conclude that teachers who tend to have higher levels of emotional intelligence use more integration and commitment strategies, for conflict management in the classroom, and fewer strategies of consent, avoidance, and domination. Too, the findings of Aliasgari and Farzadnia [29] indicate that teachers prefer the integrating strategy over the other conflict management strategy. So, in the presence of classroom conflict, the teacher proposes alternatives, applies open lines of communication, makes concessions, accepts responsibility, maximizes similarities, and minimizes existing differences between self and student [24]. Therefore, the integrating strategy is connected with classroom problem-solving, the use of this strategy involves openness and exchanging information, being the ideal strategy in dealing with complex classroom problems [24]. When applying a commitment strategy, the teacher's objective is an intermediate solution for conflict management, for this, he knows how to reduce differences with the student suggests an exchange of proposals with the student, and provides a quick solution to conflicts in the classroom [24]. This is an intermediate strategy on assertiveness and cooperation, which implies a compromise in the search for an acceptable intermediate position for everyone involved in the conflict [27]. In this way, teachers' emotional intelligence allows for better conflict management, which supports the development of interpersonal relationships in the classroom and enables a favorable environment for teaching and learning.

So, conflicts involve, in addition to interpersonal skills such as availability for dialog, emotional intelligence skills, which require the perception and recognition of the affective dimension, and the feelings of those involved. In this sense, we can say that the evolution of interpersonal relationships has not kept pace with scientific and technological developments. We were not educated to know how to interpret

#### *School Conflicts: Causes and Management Strategies in Classroom Relationships DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.95395*

the language of emotions, just as we did not learn to solve conflict situations. We do not learn to perceive and manage emotions. Thus, the emotions that emerge from conflicts must be the target of attention and discussion, so that teachers and students are aware of their emotions and know how to deal with them.

The concern with improving coexistence in schools, namely about conflict, is mentioned in several studies, whose objectives refer to the understanding of school conflicts, as well as preventing their occurrence through programs aimed at teachers and students [4, 5]. Thus, the school community must develop effective skills for conflict management, increasing self-awareness, and understanding of conflict through formal education sessions.

The manage conflict ability is not innate, so it must be learned through educational interventions. There are different programs that work these skills in the educational context, of which they stand: Recognizing, Understanding, Labeling, Expressing, Regulating (RULER), Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), and the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL).

RULER program was created based on the emotional intelligence Mayer-Salovey's model [30]. This training program focuses on emotional intelligence development and involving the students, parents, teachers, and the entire educational community [31]. RULER focuses on learning skills that deal with issues of interpersonal conflict and teach strategies for emotional regulation. Empirical evidence regarding the effectiveness of RULER programs indicates that they enhance students' academic performance, improve the quality of learning environments, improve teacherstudent relationships and reduce student behavior problems, being a success in reducing violence and abusive classroom behavior [32].

The SEL was developed with the aim of preventing school violence and includes five areas of interconnected skills (self-knowledge, social awareness, self-management and organization, responsible problem solving, and relationship management). Teaching these skills is vital to deal with behavioral, academic, disciplinary, and safety problems, promoting self-awareness, managing emotions, and acquiring skills such as empathy, the ability to perceive different perspectives and points of view, respect for diversity, and the ability to make the right decisions [33]. SEL programs refer to processes of developing socio-emotional competencies, which depend on the individual's ability to recognize, understand, and manage emotions. These skills are the main building blocks for other outcomes that SEL programs include, such as the ability to persist in the face of challenges, stress management, the ability to develop healthy relationships, build trust in others, and to thrive both in the academic context, as in personal and social life. In a study carried out on more than 213 SEL programs, it was concluded that a school that successfully applies a quality curriculum of the SEL program can achieve behavioral improvements and a positive increase in the results of assessments [34].

CASEL program was created with the aim of establishing social and emotional education in a school context and making it a reality in today's education. Its purpose is to apply high-quality, evidence-based SEL programs, from pre-school to secondary education [35]. The results of this program reveal significant changes in the socio-emotional capacities, social interactions, and academic results of the students who attended these programs. Among the results, it should be noted that students show greater communication skills, are more collaborative in teamwork, and more resistant to challenges and difficulties [36].

#### **4.1 School conflicts management**

The school is a space for socialization par excellence and, precisely, due to the variety of styles, cultures, and values, it becomes an environment rich in conflicts. Conflict, commonly seen as something negative, destructive, and generating violence, is, in fact, extremely necessary for individual evolution. It should be noted that the conflict itself does not generate violence; this comes when there is a lack of peaceful solutions to conflict resolution, when there is no conflict constructive management.

Among the conflict management methodologies used in the school, the following stand out: arbitration, conciliation, negotiation, and mediation. School arbitration is a dialog process that takes place between the involved in the conflict with the presence of a third party that determines the conflict resolution based on the benefits of the parties with their authority and knowledge [37]. The school conciliation is a dialog process carried out between the involved in the conflict, with the support of a conciliator, who helps them decide, based on their interests and needs. This may present proposals for solutions that the parties can accept or not. The decision-making power belongs to the parties, even if the solution comes from the conciliator [37]. In turn, the school negotiation is a dialog process focused on conflict resolution between the involved in the conflict, which either meet face to face to work together unassisted to conflict resolution. Negotiation is one of the most used conflict management mechanisms in the classroom. The school mediation, this is a dialog process carried out between the parties in conflict, assisted by a third party, the mediator, who should not influence the conflict resolution, acting as a communication facilitator. Inserted in a socio-constructivist paradigm, it is considered not only as of the most current and flexible instrument for peaceful conflict resolution at the educational level, and promote a new culture for conflict management. Arising not only to solve school problems, but equally as a feasible way for creative conflict modification [38].

A more detailed approach to school negotiation is presented as it is considered the most appropriate method for resolving classroom conflicts, in teacher-student relationships. Negotiation includes a set of behavioral skills that teachers must master. It is essentially a well-structured process and based on some tacit behavior, being understood as a process of communicative interaction in which two parties seek to resolve a conflict of interest, use dialog, and progress gradually through mutual concessions. The negotiation process implies several skills, which stand out, effective communication, considered the main tool of the negotiation process.

Effective communication is essential to the school conflicts negotiation, as it enhances: the fear decrease of being rejected, the anxiety reduction produced in the struggle for acceptance and recognition, a greater predisposition to listen to the other and recognize their positive aspects, a strengthening of self-esteem, an increase in the degree of security, and a decrease in defensive-offensive behavior [39].

Concerning the negotiation phases, although there is no consensus on the definition of the negotiation stages, there are at least three that are classically identified [40]: definition of the content and limits of the negotiation (exploratory stage), with the manifestation of antagonism, facing individuals the "dilemma of trust" and the "dilemma of honesty"; negotiation dynamics (dynamic and tactical stage), with manifestations of concession flexibility, systematically assisting proposals and counter-proposals, constituting the central moment of the negotiation process; and, the resolution and agreements stage, this more integrative, brief, and intense phase, almost always implies tension and uncertainty.

These phases testify to the transformation that the negotiations must undergo and must respond to the three negotiation objectives, namely: identification of differences between the parties, making joint decisions, and building a commitment to resolve the conflict.

#### *School Conflicts: Causes and Management Strategies in Classroom Relationships DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.95395*

It should be noted that during a conflict negotiation, it is also important to highlight the importance of [39]:


That way, thinking of the joint construction of solutions to the conflict, through the correct use of empathy, assertiveness, active listening, and feedback can make those involved in the conflict evaluate their actions and rethink their attitudes, discovering ways to solve the problems, trying to maintain respect and balance. Knowing how to listen, evaluate, rethink with everyone involved in the conflict, creating the habit of dialog. Because when those involved in the conflict participate in the construction of possible actions for solutions, relationships can be restored, and the conflict constructively resolved. Therefore, classroom conflicts when managed constructively contribute to the preservation of interpersonal bonds and promote the socio-emotional skills of involved, since it makes possible to develop skills to know how to see reality from the perspective of the other, knowing how to cooperate, and also learn that conflict is an opportunity for growth and maturation.

As seen, although conflicts have negative impacts in general, the constructive and destructive consequences of conflict depend on the management skills of the individuals who experience it [25]. Effective conflict management strategies minimize the conflict negative impacts and enhance the positive ones, helping to improve interpersonal relationships and job satisfaction at school.

In general, teachers and the school ignore the importance of conflicts in the integral development of the student and training as autonomous citizens. In this way, most schools do not conceive of conflict resolution as an integral part of the curriculum, emphasizing only the contents of the curricular subjects. They leave aside interpersonal relationships, homogenizing the training of students without promoting the development of problem and conflict management skills. Thus, for the educational potential of the conflict to be truly used in the school context, it is necessary that the community, and especially teachers and management bodies, recognize the conflict possibilities. Constructive management of school conflicts is important and necessary for new generations to learn to live with social differences.

In this sequence, educational action is required, intentionally aimed at conflict management as an element inherent to the human condition and indispensable to democratic societies. Therefore, the formative potential of the conflict depends on the strategies used to resolve the conflict and the management that takes place. The way to conflict management, in turn, depends on how those involved experience the conflict. Therefore, the negative view of the conflict and the lack of perception of its educational potential can prevent those involved from developing essential skills such as respect for diversity, respect for the rights of others, and availability for dialog.

Pérez-de-Guzmán et al. [7] indicate that training in conflict management, generates very positive results in all members of the educational community, verifying a reduction in the interpersonal conflict between teacher-student. Also, Massabni [41] defends the urgency to prepare teachers to face professional conflicts; otherwise, we will have a generation of teachers able to succumb to the pressure that the profession is going through, to accept the reduction of their action, their status, and to share their commitments with other professionals, who take away the property of regulating their work. It is necessary to support teachers and provide them with tools to develop their ways of managing conflicts.

By making conflicts the subject of reflection and explaining the professional context in which teachers work is, in the opinion of [41], the commitment of the different higher education institutions that form them. It is important to work not only on the training of future teachers but also on training in the active teachers in conflict management, small or large, which inevitably emerge in the teacherstudent relationship, throughout their professional life. Also, the Freire et al. [42] results support the importance of professional development opportunities with a focus on facilitating the relationship of teachers with students with perceived challenging behavior.

#### **5. Conclusions**

The school is an institution that reproduces a microcosm of society, bringing together diverse identities. This context with diverse personalities, rules, and values is full of conflicts, problems, and differences between the different actors that make up the school (students, teachers, staff, and parents). Thus, the school system, in addition to involving a range of people, with different characteristics, includes a significant number of continuous and complex interactions, depending on the stages of development of each one. So, school is a place where individuals with different characteristics, backgrounds, experiences, and personalities live together daily. Among so many differences, naturally, divergences of the most diverse species arise. It is essential, then, the proper management of conflicts that may arise so that harmony and respect are present in the school of the main causes presented for the school conflict, we highlight family problems. Being the family the main student emotional support, it becomes the life model of this. In this way, unstable and weakened family relationships directly affect the behavior of your children, behaviors that these after reproduced in the school social relationships. The families of the most deprived students are considered less functional. They do not contribute to the growth of positive feelings, they do not carry out good communication between family members, nor do they assist in healthily making decisions that are, based on the exchange of ideas together instead of imposition. In this sequence, students from more dysfunctional families need school increased support to learn and develop interpersonal skills. Thus, family and school must go together to contribute to the conflict becoming part of a process of growth, acceptance of the other, and

#### *School Conflicts: Causes and Management Strategies in Classroom Relationships DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.95395*

accountability. Learning to deal with conflicts positively is essential for the development of healthy relationships.

The school, by bringing together people from different social groups with different values and worldviews, becomes a locus for conflicts. Thus, the conflict must be understood as a reality inherent to the educational context, and the school, as responsible for the education of values and skills for living together must be differently prepared to deal with the conflicts that occur in it.

Conflicts of various types have always been present in the classroom, and the causes that originate them are of great importance, as they allow a better conflict understanding and, consequently, a more correct intervention to its management. It should be noted that personal harmony and the development of attitudes that promote understanding, dialog, and tolerance are indispensable for negotiating conflicts in the teacher-student relationship. The way to intervene in classroom conflicts is essential in education, not only in terms of content, but also as a series of vital procedures in interpersonal relationships. As Lapponi [39] points out, for conflicts correct negotiation with the student, it is necessary to communicate effectively, cooperate, decide responsibly, and so teach to resolve conflicts.

Ending school conflict is impossible, since they are intrinsic to the human being, being an integral part of their development and the interpersonal relationships they experience daily. Learning to live with school conflict requires creating attitudes of openness, interest in differences, and respect for diversity, teaching how to recognize injustice, taking measures to overcome it, resolving differences constructively, and moving from conflict situations to reconciliations. So, it is essential that the initial and continuous training of teachers encompasses conflict management, providing them with tools so that they can resolve the conflicts they experience in the classroom.

In summary, it is important to conflict face and resolve it with skills to manage it properly and constructively, establishing cooperative relationships, and producing integrative solutions. Harmony and appreciation should coexist in a classroom environment and conflict should not interfere, negatively, in the teaching and learning process.

#### **Author details**

Sabina Valente1 \*, Abílio Afonso Lourenço2 and Zsolt Németh3

1 Center for Research in Education and Psychology, University of Évora, Évora, Portugal

2 University of Minho, Braga, Portugal

3 Faculty of Sciences, Institute of Sport Science and Physical Education, Department of Theory and Practice of Sports, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary

\*Address all correspondence to: sabinav@uevora.pt

© 2020 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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#### **Chapter 7**

## Creating a Democratic Culture in Managing Classroom Contexts of Disability – Part 1

*Gregg Alexander and Duma Mhlongo*

#### **Abstract**

The Department of Basic Education (DBE) in South Africa ratified *Education White Paper 6: Building an Inclusive Education and Training System-* a policy document which made an explicit declaration to create inclusive classroom contexts within a targeted period of 20 years. Succinctly, this declaration has cast the year 2021, as a major social justice milestone for citizens with disabilities. The chapter strongly believes that this milestone deserves to attract both critical dialogue and empirical engagements as to determine the impact of the Education White Paper 6. Internationally, there are various policy guidelines available, in the quest to create a democratic classroom context with the objective of accommodating diversity, more specifically to address oppressive and non-inclusive disability contexts. The reader audience will be taken across various discourses on disability rights and literature readings responding to redress within the realm of the World Health Organisation and the International Labour Organisation, among others. Before the chapter concludes, a reflective activity is provided; together with a practical assessment activity where the authors create a democratic culture-centric lesson plan meant to support teachers in their inclusive education quest to create ideal democratic classroom contexts.

**Keywords:** inclusive, democracy, disability, classroom

#### **1. Introduction**

This chapter explores South Africa's inclusive education service delivery mandate of democratising or transforming schools to represent an inclusive teaching and learning environment by the year 2021, as contained in the *Draft Education White Paper 5: Special Needs Education – Building an Inclusive Education and Training System* [1] and the Education *White Paper 6: Building an Inclusive Education and Training System* [2], p. 45. Fundamentally, the current landscape of inclusive education in South Africa deserves deeper monitoring, given the pre-1994 historical impact of separate development based on overtly unfair infrastructure resourcing of schools according to apartheid policies. Firstly, the chapter will unpack the social ecology theoretical frame as a basis for understanding the philosophical foundations of inclusive education as it relates to the classroom and post-school contexts. Secondly, the role of stakeholders who engage in this democratisation process and the related principles thereof will be discussed. The contextualization of a modern democratised socio-educational culture will be the third aspect to be examined.

Lastly, postmodernist reflections on creating a future to empower citizens with a disability will be explained, with the objective of promoting a sustainable democratic culture within crucial socio-economic competency institutions, such as schools and workplaces, as envisaged by the United Nations' Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development [3]. It is highly important that teachers intending to be visibly efficient in an inclusive education environment, as well as practitioners in the post-school contexts should orientate and sensitise themselves with both the immediate (school based) and wider (community) social interactions challenges due to a specific disability. Hence, with the latter said in mind, we will now discuss the social ecology theory and its related prerequisites which are essential in understanding the philosophical foundations of inclusive education in both classroom and post-school contexts.

#### **2. Expanded definition of disability within the context of democracy**

A decade ago, in the context of South Africa, a scholar named, Dhupelia-Mesthrie availed literature which reflected on the open political engagements with the then apartheid government, which occurred during the 1970s and 1980s as to democratise the status of all non-whites citizens with the intention to allow them to participate in the voting process for a political party of their choice into the national parliament [4]. In 1997, the Office of the Deputy President's *White Paper on Integrated National Disability Strategy* [5] added impetus to the democratisation status for all citizens, by defining disability categories according to an individual's medical condition which contributes to limited perceived or subtle interaction with one's social contexts, such as the home, educational or workplace situations. This expanded definition therefore contributed to the development of guidelines relating to the reasonable accommodation of this historically marginalised population group. The World Health Organisation's (WHO) *International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health* [ICF] concurs further by emphasising that environmental factors (transportation barriers, physical access, social attitudes, a lack of adequate health insurance, etc.) can facilitate or hinder the impact of features on the physical, social and attitudinal contexts of the individual, based on an individual's disability status [6].

In the United States of America, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describe a disability, (which may include various types, such as vision, movement, thinking, remembering, learning, communicating, hearing, mental health and social relationships) as a condition of the body or mind (impairment) that prohibits the person with the condition to do certain activities (activity limitation) and interact with their immediate environment (participation restrictions) [7]. Furthermore, different life situations involve people in essential human activities, such as learning, communicating, interacting or moving around. The manner in which individuals with disabilities participate in various human activities (learning, communicating, interacting or moving around) is dependent on many factors which inevitable affect their independent lifestyles, personal mobility, education, work and employment. Therefore, within a social model context, disability seems to be comprehended as a complex construct than simple categories suggest and is perceived as the result of an interaction between environmental characteristics and the individual.

Transportation is considered a social context presenting accessibility challenges affecting the life world of people with physical disabilities-this aspect may be construed as a participation restriction in the normal daily operations of individuals with disabilities, which includes collaborative engagements such as workplace

*Creating a Democratic Culture in Managing Classroom Contexts of Disability – Part 1 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.96433*

teams with colleagues, engaging in social and recreational activities, accessing health care and wellness services [6]. **Table 1** lists prevalent categories of disabilities according to Donald, Lazarus and Lolwana [8], p. 47 and Swarts [9] and Ngwena [10–12].

To promote the ideal of a democratic culture, a transformative and inclusive education service delivery mandate across all South Africa's schools and higher learning institutions is envisaged. This chapter therefore emphasises an outline on the collaborative role of teachers, parents and social experts in rendering support to individuals in overcoming vocational and educational challenges.

During the past two decades, South Africa has experienced a sharp increase in the proliferation of mind-altering drugs among the school going youth, mostly at both primary school exit and secondary entry cohorts. The repercussions of these overnight hard addiction drugs has led to frustrated community members lynching or 'necklacing' these youngsters due to rampant and fearless break-and-entry, marathon insomnia, self-induced and prolonged hunger for days, stealing also from their own families to feed the habit, consistent poor academic performance for those who stay long enough at school, and obviously, dropping out of school. Community disgust towards these new age drugs, namely, nyaope, tik and katt means spontaneous repulsion towards the users; and generally, not only parents but teachers too are at a total loss of interventions. The authors have drawn an estimate that in South Africa, a single psychologist or social work is bound to have a case load of about 500 schools (described as ratio 1:1:500), in contrast to private schools, where the ratio is 1:1:1. The author's empirical assumption is derived from evidence presented by Vergottini and Weyers showing the school social worker trends per province of South Africa [13].


#### **Table 1.**

*Categories of disabilities bearing challenges on educational attainment.*


#### **Table 2.**

*The ratio of school social worker recruitment per provincial education departments.*


#### **Table 3.**

*Transformation time frames of South Africa's education towards inclusivity.*

The table below displays the stark inequalities per province over the years and currently; in lieu of the provision of social worker services in supporting teachers as professional advisors, and as visiting therapists to learners.

It will be interesting to reflect on the correlation between **Tables 1** and **2** above and **Table 3** to follow, as a gesture of potential future research projects to evaluate the inclusive Education White Paper 6's targeted 20 years impact from 2001 to 2021 To emphasis this nationwide crisis, **A Case in Context** labelled X; is simulated hereunder.

**A Case in Context X - The context of** *generic* **socio-educational challenges – A case of severe cognitive disability due to prolonged use of psychedelic drugs.**

"Drug use is punishable by banishment in my house, as for drug abuse, my child knows it is his death through my hands. I wish Thabo's parents would do the same with this nyaope\* problem in their household". As a benefit of the inclusive education legislation based on the contributions of the international conventions contained in **Table 3**– a multi-disciplinary setting is a strict imperative where at least a social worker, if a psychiatrist or psychologist is not present has the ultimate prerogative to offer attentive listening therapy, followed by liaison with the latter two professionals for referral, guidance and advise. These multi-disciplinary guidelines are informed by the national Department of Education's *Screening, Identification, Assessment and Support of Learners* [SIASL] done according to their levels of barriers' *FORM 1, 2, 3 and 4* ([14], p. 89) and *The Education White Paper on an Integrated National Disability Strategy* [5].

\*a concoction, comprising of anti-retroviral drugs and a powder substance extracted from inside flat screen television – is smoked to induce a psychedelic state. Highly addictive and exposes users to serious anti-social acts to financially sustain the habit.

Broad stakeholder engagement, aptly called multi-disciplinary support services teams is an international trend which aligns with the social ecology theory [7, 15–17].

#### **3. The social ecology theory: background**

The theory is derived from the concept of ecology, resident in the field of natural sciences. It has been philosophically moulded to fit the relevancy in the social sciences discipline. Swanepoel; in Davis and Snyman, ([18], p. 323) agree with Bookchin [19] when alluding to the concept of ecology, which is literally, *the study of* *Creating a Democratic Culture in Managing Classroom Contexts of Disability – Part 1 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.96433*

*relationships between organisms and the environment they inhabit.* The theory articulates the cross influences by the immediate and wider environment, which influences the contextualisation or impacting on social issues within the world of the school going child. Accordingly, this theory is further recognised as empirically relevant to the multi-facet nature of social problems. Within the context of this theory, the prevalence of ecological problems in society originates predominantly from various social problems, in particular from different forms of hierarchy and domination, especially as to how these problems are portrayed within capitalist societies [7, 18, 19]. Sharing of resources and the availability thereof has been the basic survival needs of all species. Naturally, an instinct for survival stimulates a drive to seek satiation.

In the context of this chapter, human beings depend on and benefit from economic sufficiency as to fulfil certain basic needs through wages earned from some a form of employment. Their interaction with fellow humans, at home, sites of learning, cultural settings, planning and the actualisation of personal and materialistic objectives all revolve around some type of expenditure. In simple terms, work is synonymous to survival, especially when it is represented by a decent job. The process of formal learning, attainment of educational qualifications and the ultimate search and the securement of reasonable income, is globally regarded as being essential to human survivalist behaviour. Citizens with disabilities, have this natural instinct too. The classroom, with or without learners with a disability, is a definitive microcosm of the human survival instinct, wherein young citizens are actively being equipped for a humane or democratised context of post-school economic participation and interactions by and for citizens with disabilities.

#### **3.1 Social ecology and the democratic context of disability issues**

To follow, are two portraits; namely **Figures 1** and **2**- these figures both endeavour to crystalise the relationship between what the teachers should offer today to learners, as a reflection of tomorrow's citizens. In illuminating the democratised

**Figure 1.**

**Figure 2.** *Imaged future democratic workplace.*

notion of the social ecology theory; the first diagram resembles the modern schooling subsystem, while the second one idealises visible efforts or collaborative engagements in the future by the employer subsystem for an equal society, which embraces citizens with a disability. Simply, future employers originate from the modern classroom. The modern teacher shapes the citizen of tomorrow. The teacher who delivers today's curriculum with a spirit of both critical and sensitised discussions as a fundamental mode of communication, may strongly determine how future employers and employees engage one another on social issues relating to population diversity, workplace productivity, human rights and disability.

As it is portrayed in **Figure 1**, the re-shaped inclusive education rationale is to entrench prerequisites relating to the creation of a democratic society within the context of disability, namely:


In re-imaging the current rationale, the applicability and relevance of issues or aspects relating to these prerequisites' functionality and sustainability could be realised through the social ecological theory, where equal treatment of citizens would iconise empowering those who were previously stigmatised and marginalised due to their disability status. Within this theory, the focus falls on the critical social aspect for human survival through economic means, namely the struggle for realisable employment equity policy position and its visibility in the actual workplace, whether applicable to South Africa or the rest of the world.

The Employment Equity Act of No. 55 of 1998, amended 2014 (EEA), is a model legislative piece regarding reasonable accommodation to address the historically oppressive contexts confronted by citizens with disabilities [20]. The *Reflection Box* below attempts to demonstrate how schools as collaborating institutions could sustain engagements with workplaces of today through simulated workplace

#### classroom assessment activities, to shape future Ubuntu-centric workplaces accommodative of diverse contexts of disability.

#### REFLECTION BOX (Visit **Figure 1** and **Figure 2** respectively)

What are the essential differences between the modern classroom and future democratic workplace concerning disability?

The classroom of today, is a catalyst for the democratic role-players (read **A Story of Ubuntu in Action** just below**)** especially iconized by visible (pedagogic) efforts to shape a just society by teachers. To illustrate, the removal of future barriers against equal workplace entry, such as the lack of visible verbal or signage pledges to accommodate job seekers with disabilities, should start in the modern classroom with intellectually interesting learning opportunities and formative assessment tasks which are *ubuntu* (sensitive to learner and teacher needs and diversity) orientated.

#### **A Story of Ubuntu in Action**

University of the Free State's Schools Partnership Project (SPP) in South Africa

Initiated in 2011, the University of the Free State (UFS) Schools Partnership Project (SPP) aimed to contribute to better-performing schools in the basic education sector. Since its inception, the SPP has set itself the goal of meaningful change in the communities where it operates. The project is housed on and managed from our South Campus in Bloemfontein, South Africa and is funded year-to-year by Corporate Social Investment (CSI). Mentors are appointed to work with teachers, principals, and other members of the school management team (SMT) in specific schools in the Free State province and parts of the Eastern Cape. Mentors, for instance, work with teachers to strengthen their teaching skills and support them in the introduction of technology in the classroom. The goal of the SPP is to contribute to breaking the cycle of poverty in low-income, previously-disadvantaged communities, such as those in Botshabelo and Thaba 'Nchu. This is accomplished through targeted interventions by mentors, who mentor and support teachers and SMT members in under-performing schools to excel at their core functions.

In turn, academically deserving students are empowered to make sufficient progress in order to access and complete their tertiary education. Once these graduates enter the workforce, they are able to plough back into their communities. We have seen a significant growth in the number of students entering the UFS from schools in this project.

The initiative is entirely funded by Corporate Social Investment initiatives, including companies such as Old Mutual and Sasol, to name a few. Without these supportive partners, the project would not be possible. SPP mentors make the trip to the different school clusters every Monday through Thursday during school terms, visiting schools and travelling an average of around 400 km each week. On Fridays and during school holidays, the mentors draw up new classroom content and create teaching resources to be used in project schools and beyond.

Adapted verbatim from: https://www.ufs.ac.za/southcampus/social-responsibility/about-social-re sponsibility-projects [21].

Schenck et al. [22] puts great emphasis on participatory community practice, which this chapter sees as synonymous to the philosophy of Ubuntu being evolved into a set of actionable events in the grassroots which directly benefit targeted community contexts. Nonetheless, by being actionable does not mean these events will become spontaneously sustainable, hence the contribution of the story within the reflection box above this is for the readership to gain both insights and consult such literature further for harvesting guidelines therein.

To elucidate further, a neo-inclusive education teacher can design a research assignment which stimulates students to visit the world of work via job advertisements in local, regional or national newspapers. The critical objective of this exploratory task would be to ascertain (quantify) how many job adverts have visible print or *wheelchair symbols* representation of universal employment equity efforts or policy towards the individuals with disabilities. Classroom-based debates (qualitative) emanating from this assignment would become openly student centred; thus, allowing these future citizens to re-image the ideal realm of a democratised world of work. Teachers in South Africa benefit from the Education White Paper 6; an inclusive education policy document which lecturers and

education district officials recommend as an essential guidelines instrument [2]. **Table 3** demonstrates how teachers can monitor their school's inclusion status versus the policy prescripts from any starting point to the determinant evaluation point, namely, the year 2021.

Subsequently, Mhlongo et al. [16] and Mhlongo and Alexander [23], have asserted that the creation of a democratic culture is best achieved from vibrant classroom contexts. When a teacher ignores the promotion of a democratic culture in the modern classroom situations, the central assumption of the social ecology frame would view the current curriculum as unintentionally, thus perpetuating longstanding workplace discriminatory practices. In **Figure 2** to follow below, we hope to have a modern teacher who does not eschew critical social transformation issues such as employment equity, in his/her lessons. A movement of actions towards embracing population diversity, as indicated by the arrows below; should emulate co-dependence or shared effort towards the same goal, not necessarily towards the same direction. That is, conflict of thoughts or actions should be accommodated; so long as it is critical, sensitive, constructivist and visible.

We have identified three critical cogs for creating a democratic workplace of the future, which are:


The relationship between moral citizenship goals envisaged by the modern curriculum and the actualisation of thereof, certainly demands a shift. Hence, this chapter is governed by a strong recommendation for re-curriculation towards a postmodernist inclusive education pedagogy, aligned with promoting a democratic culture in the modern classroom. According to Mhlongo and Alexander [23] disability sensitivity initiatives, in inclusive education pedagogy means that teachers remain constantly aware that future adults are represented by children in the current classroom, especially in the job market.

From the social ecology perspective, the arrows within **Figure 2** are reflective of the individual subsystem movement representative of the dynamism of a democratic society where constructive intellectual conflict is reasonable and resolvable. We can think of different political parties who tend to disagree, yet all have good intentions for their constituencies. Ecologically, classroom pedagogy to promote workplace democratisation should be found on the same principle of critical, codependent, yet fruitful debate. If Citizen A (employer) identifies cost constraints of employing a suitably qualified candidate with a disability (Citizen B), such as the construction of an elevator shaft; fair discriminatory actions are allowable within South African law by the Employment Equity Act No.55 of 1998 [20] under the

*Creating a Democratic Culture in Managing Classroom Contexts of Disability – Part 1 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.96433*

principle of *reasonable accommodation*. Hence, a neo-inclusive education teacher is the crucial source of relaying future adult lessons that inclusivity of disability in the workplace is not mandatory and thus remains a sensitive area of conflict between employers, advocates of disability and citizens' rights, such as the Association for People with Disabilities (APD), Equality Education and the Human Rights Commission.

Through this theoretical frame, this chapter strives to emulate and sustain South Africa's inclusive education messenger namely the education policy document, Education *White Paper 6* ([2], p. 9). Teachers, both in training and in the classroom should become the rightful catalysts of re-shaping how all citizens, as present students and future adults; promote the social values of democratisation through recognition and embrace diversity, specific to disability issues.

#### **4. Re-imaging the philosophy of inclusive education in South Africa**

Since this chapter aims to contribute towards the moulding of a visionary teacher, who yearns to practically re-shape the education of students, an inclusive education mindset leaning towards a culture of democracy and citizenship empowerment through classroom pedagogy is openly monotonised. An ideal neo-inclusive education teacher would think, and plan to act beyond the confines of modern rules. A postmodernist approach to the present challenges, simply means to avail radical strategies and stimulate hope for the visible improvement of difficult social conditions which humans have lived under for centuries. To *democratise*, is thus a process to re-mould the prevailing pedagogy. A reasonable starting point is for the ideal teacher to shape the delivery of the prescribed South African curriculum, in such a way that it recognises prevailing life challenges as experienced by students. A good starting point is to design inclusive lessons in the classroom. An ideal inclusive education context would assume a shape of realisable democracy, where both learners and teachers are sensitive towards diversity and actively *interact* to identify trends which delimits the equal participation of all citizens. Certainly, a teacher with a democratised mindset, naturally views learners from a lens of future adults in a world not polarised by stereotypes of race, gender, economic wealth and most importantly disability.


Accordingly, a postmodernist readership is envisaged which could possibly represent the school setting as a social subsystem. This chapter idealises teachers who are both sensitive and innovative when tackling the socio-educational context of disability in a contemporary South Africa. in this way, teachers would pedagogically *reflect* and *contribute* in successfully transforming the image of inclusive education, as visibly owned and applied across all subjects offered in the classroom. These teachers, however are not the sole prominent catalysts of a democratised future. Announced in brief below, are the other role players who should interact or engage with other social subsystems to entrench a culture of democracy.

#### **4.1 Prominent role players who should engage in democratisation**

A long list of social subsystems can be availed by readers, beyond the limit chosen to be discussed in this subsection. Since our focus is on the socio-educational democratisation of disability as a social subsystem; three additional subsystems are viewed as available to directly play either a helpful or delimiting role, namely; the schooling system, the job market and the laws of the country. Teachers represent the first social ecology subsystem; while employers who attract suitable job seekers via advertisements as well as offering job interviews, recommendations for promotion and in-service training in the workplace are iconic of the job market subsystem. The last social subsystem to be critiqued, is the laws which specifically promote equality through equity in the workplace and economic empowerment through availability of entrepreneurism or shareholding opportunities in both medium and large enterprises.

The following subsections focus on aspects important to the democratisation of6engagements by succinctly labelling it as collaborative engagements as outlined by key social subsystems synopsised above- the re-imaging of disability, especially through empowerment and equality are crucial to this process. We will start by elaborating on principles essential for the creation of a vibrant democratic culture.

#### **4.2 Principles underpinning the creation of a democratised culture**

Discussion of social issues is the most critical step towards shaping plans and solidifying social transformation. Primarily, the involvement of all role players directly affected by these issues cannot be ignored, since recognition of diversity is the cornerstone of all democratised collaborative engagements. During the South Africa of the 1980's, the founding of the United Democratic Front (UDF) and the Democratic Alternative in South Africa (IDASA) was stimulated by role players who saw it as politically futile and immoral to hold negotiations in parliament, about the majority of citizens who did not even have one representative or voice ([17], p. 222 and 234). Certainly, the value of collaborative engagement across race, gender, medically classified human ability (disability), creed, education and economic strata still remain a highly politicised yet vital element of any nation's desire to create a just society. Appropriately, it befits the objectives of this chapter to promote democracy as a positive contagion of future adults, who are now children in the modern classrooms.

Hence this chapter promotes the assumption that a *reflective* stance should also form the basis of the discussions; where recorded narrations from the past, serve to emulate history of the social issues either magnified as similar or peculiar to those currently under review. Should that democratised ideal become realised, then these discussions can be classified as vibrant instead of just being a mere representation of a nation's diverse population.

#### **4.3 Population diversity as a cornerstone of democratisation**

Perpetuation of an image of otherness, was viewed by Fanon [10] as the oppressive systematisation of superiority stereotypes, namely colonialism. Thus, this inhumanly supremacist licentiateship to dominate others, threatens to systematically persists against citizens with disabilities in both the most prevalent areas of socio-economic competency, that is, in various institutions of learning and the workplaces. As a modern social science venture to magnify history's inhumane trends, Mhlongo and Alexander [16] conducted a research in the Free State province, South Africa; which yielded a recommendation for a strong move towards reciprocating interactions between the job seeker population with a disability and the employers, who usually opt to use print media to advertise posts. Certainly, a socially impartial interaction would be through discussions, monitoring of modern

#### *Creating a Democratic Culture in Managing Classroom Contexts of Disability – Part 1 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.96433*

pedagogic and employment trends, and availing alternative innovative frameworks by role-players intent on promoting a democratised diverse society. For example; a hotline or telephonic inquiry platform could be invited from the designated historically marginalised population of job seekers with a disability to improve the employers' methods of attracting them as qualified job applicants and potential employees. A broad stakeholder participation platform such as a union representative contributing transformative suggestions and pledging to monitor the implementation or further discussion of such, goes a long way as an reassurance of efforts to promote workplace diversity. Through such recommended progressive measures, the worrisome employment equity trends indicative of mass employer insensitivity to the instinctual need for economic participation for the job seeker citizens with a disability, could be averted in the future. Consequently, ideal classroom practices could be of assistance to shape future employers, now the present child at any South African school through a democratised teacher.

Mhlongo and Alexander [15, 16, 23] have demonstrated how the historically polarised economic participation context has been found to be showing mixed signs of employment equity trends of stagnation and regression. The assertion made just above is in consideration of **Table 2**'s quest for an ideal year 2021 transformative timeline which is best monitored by a broader stakeholder engagement based on the democratic ethos of partner collaboration within both school and workplace structures. This generally, negative employment equity trend regarding disability indicated a fragmented relationship between the employing and designate job seeker subsystems despite the review year of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) under the guise of Decent Work Agenda [3] in 2015. This lack of collaborative engagements between stakeholders thus threatens the possible achievement of some of the current Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or worse, all the SDGs by the year 2030 in most of South Africa's workplaces and schools in offering social justice redress regarding contexts of disability [24]. The first MDG, contextualises the creation of decent work for all citizens of an employable age (15– 65 years old citizens). Thus, a critical need for a visible framework promoting a culture of democracy across and beyond the curriculum via inclusive education was found to be both a morally sensitive issue and empirically valid discourse which explores disability issues in South Africa [15].

Certainly, an influx of teachers with a democratised outlook regarding the future of the learners as probable employers, post the year 2020 and beyond should flow out of modern universities. These teachers can aid in contributing postmodernist ideas, voices and resources to shape the conscience of these employers; especially regarding the polarising contexts impacting on the economic well-being of the population with a disability. Progressive pedagogic, however, should always be preceded by visible efforts.

The denial of economic participation opportunity, through employment, for educated people with a disability has since become a key aspect polarising the ideal for a socially just relationship between employees and historically marginalised citizens. As authors, we recommend the establishment of critical dialogue forum as an innovative modern pedagogical delivery tool, which could aid a postmodernity minded teacher to succeed in shaping lesson topics and stimulate debate by learners on disability issues.

Throughout centuries, countries who are today regarded as democratically progressive have contributed narratives about disability, both hurtful and encouraging ones. The 16th century history of France, as well as the various human rights laws promulgated the past decades are invited to aid in re-shaping the inclusive education discipline of South Africa, so that it can have a vibrant democratised aura.

#### **5. The international history of efforts towards citizenship equality**

The French Revolution was a period of political tyranny which reached its first climax in the year 1789, epitomised by the cold-hearted images of publicly displayed beheadings via the guillotine [11]. A humane alternative, aptly called democracy was born, hence the nationalist credo of France, *Liberty, Fraternity and Equality*. Contrastingly, the term *aristocracy*, is synonymous to supremacy serve as both the typographic (grammatical) and social justice antonym of the noun *democracy*. Nevertheless, modern teachers need to shape educational efforts which visibly shun and discourage aristocratic tendencies, where citizens who are "medically fit" assume a socio-economic status of superiority over the population with disabilities. It is because of such socio-educational polarities by role-players in positions of power, that Mahlomaholo [25] raises concerns regarding democratic politics, as a validator of community cultural wealth. Vibrant classroom discussions on disability, productivity and employment equity trends, could do well to realise Mahlomaholo (ibid) and Fanon's [10] vision of citizens being active in participating to re-image and sustain visibly humane societies.

In the modern South African context (post-1994) like anywhere across the world, democracy is paralleled with political freedom [10, 25–27]. Collaborative engagements between social subsystems to address pertinent social problems naturally promote a culture of democracy. It remains without doubt that in an educational setting inculcation of this culture should shape the daily normal interactions between teachers and students via the various subject offerings and the inclusive planning of lessons. As authors, we opt for the convenience of borrowing from the politically rich history of the French national credo to clarify the concept *political freedom*. To say, in a democratic state which is perceived to be a societal or fraternal ideal for the liberation of the social class, comprising of the majority poor segment of the population, must exist, is to create a public platform for the equal treatment of all citizens as such. Through this notion, the assumption is that every citizen share in the wealth of the country of their birth irrespective of heredity or social class, by casting a vote to politically decide (elect) who will proportionally represent his/her ideals in parliament. The presence of a candidate who is a genuine representation of disability identity on a ballot, is hard to apply in South Africa, considering the Ministry of Women, Children and People with Disabilities finds it hard to nominate a genuine disability candidate.

Surely, strong parallels exists between aspirations and the experiences of the political leaders within the post-1990 era in South Africa and those of the post 1790's France. Furthermore, we would like to entertain the contentious social justice status of the power and the right to vote, which has been magnified and critiqued from the stance that it does not scientifically and necessarily so, represent economic freedom. To attain economic freedom and eliminate the perennial reliance on monetary and food social grants as an entrenched stereotype towards disability population in South Africa, we have outlined numerous human rights laws, in a chronological fashion to emphasise the international historical efforts towards creating a socially just society (see **Table 3**). Ideal adults in a postmodern South Africa, would display a visible strive to reduce polarising aristocratic trends by citizens who hold strong stereotypes intent to demean the human survival concept of economic participation and productive labour for capable citizens with a disability. Hence, modern classrooms should stimulate lessons which simulate the accentuation of reciprocating or collaborative engagements among social subsystems by future adults- this in turn may expedite the delivery of a democratising pedagogy. For these reasons, globally influential policies and laws via conventions and colloquia are tabulated below, mostly from the United Nations [28] contributions, specifically vested by the

#### *Creating a Democratic Culture in Managing Classroom Contexts of Disability – Part 1 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.96433*

International Labour Organisation [29]. The latter mentioned issues relate to the aspect of empowerment via critical collaborative engagement, hence the context of disability could be understood within a democratic culture (see **Table 4**).

These historical developments on international labour law discipline played a crucial role in the formulation of a stable foundation for the South African labour legislative framework [1, 2, 20, 28, 29]. By recognising the value of the above international conventions, South Africa's legal framework has some policies and recommendations which represent a transformation towards a democratic culture across and within its fundamental socio-economic domains, including the school and the workplace. The ILO has directly assisted several countries in implementing employment equity policy design and inspections. Both the Ministries of the Czech Republic, in 2003 and Brazil, in 1995 launched workplace equality legislations and amendments under the leadership and mentorship of the ILO [29], p. 60. It is


#### **Table 4.**

*The influence of fundamental human rights on modern legislative framework.*

therefore not acceptable for any state anywhere in the world to claim that the backlogs in its employment equity projects cannot be remediated reciprocally, with outside expert assistance. An interesting issue to note is how the Department of Labour in South Africa has provided guidelines literature in the form of Technical Assistance Guidelines on the Employment of People with Disabilities (TAG) [12]. An interesting area of future research is: how efficient does the TAG document get activated through workplace employment equity inspections, as an Agenda 2030 tool?

#### **6. Conclusion**

The role of teachers in the process of democratising their communities through the creation of lesson plans and actions, accommodative of diversity was central to the discussion within this chapter. Both national and international legislative guidelines, imperatives, targes and influences, most specifically, the United Nations' Agenda 2030, elaborated upon. Contexts of disability were developed to reside within a case labelled X, to stimulate the readers' critical reflection and as preparation for the assessment activity hereunder. In a nutshell, the chapter's objective was to support modern teachers to respond to a postmodern or future world where both classrooms and workplaces as well as stakeholders therein. The same objective aimed to intensify collaborations through transformative engagements, with the hope of sustaining both previously achieved social justice milestones, as well as the forthcoming Agenda 2030 milestone.

#### **ASSESSMENT ACTIVITY DISCUSS & DESIGN AN INCLUSIVE LESSON PLAN WHICH DISPLAYS` A DEMOCRATISED CLASSROOM CONTEXT**

**Assessment Guideline**: To successfully complete this activity, consult **A Case in Context** Y


**Research and Design**: Consult the education policy documents in South Africa as listed below **To Do:** Discuss (300–350 words) elements of an inclusive lesson plan and later diagrammatise (Annexure) it to recognise the diversity of South Africa's population in a classroom; with specific focus on children with a disability whose learning space is within a mainstream schooling system. The policy documents below should be consulted, and thereafter be appropriately (scientifically) arranged as part of your **bibliography**.


#### **6.1 Key Concepts**

**Aristocracy:** The Concise Oxford English Dictionary: 11th Edition (2009) (source abbreviated COED) (electronic version) classifies this word as a noun (plural *aristocracies*) [treated as singular or plural]; where a class of society comprising people of noble birth with hereditary titles. A system of government in which power is held by the nobility. Derived from 15th century French word, *aristocratie*, evolved from Greek *aristokratia*, from *aristos* 'best' and *kratia* 'power'.

**Democracy:** French origin démocratie, through Latin from Greek *demokratia*, from *demos* 'the people' and -*kratia* 'power, rule'. COED (2009) recognises *democracy*, as a noun (plural *democracies*) which denotes a government wherein the people have a voice in the exercise of power, normally through elected representatives. In a democratic state, control of a group or the entire population of a country is held or decided by the majority of its members. During the 16th century France, specifically between the years 1787 and 1799; a political revolution spurred a spirit of patriotism which was mingled with open terror against and between fellow countrymen.

**Democratic culture:** Creating an atmosphere which recognises population diversity. Citizens from different backgrounds are consulted about issues which affect them, thus become part of shaping the future plans, by contributing ideas an experiences, especially through dialogic engagement.

**Empowerment:** Creating opportunities for all citizens, such as employment, while ensuring no barriers are unjustly allowed thus preventing other population groups from participating in activities. Job advertisements which do not state th recognition of people with disabilities have a discouraging effect on job seekers from this population group.

**Engagement:** Discussions, between citizens from diverse backgrounds. A sense of equality, when sharing ideas and future plans, is established to eliminate an atmosphere where other people feel that their ideas are oppressed or undermined. Hence, an opportunity to speak, and listen, while recordings of proceedings is maintained is an essential part of a democratic culture of collaborative engagement. Follow-up or subsequent discussions allows for sustenance of dialogue.

**Special Needs Analysis:** Countries perform a needs analysis according to the recommendations of documents such as Salamanca Five Years On. Introduction and Inclusive Education (United Nations: 1999), the Salamanca Statement and Framework for Action on Special Needs Education [29], The Standard Rules on the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities [28].

**Inclusive Education System:** integrating learners with disabilities into the normal classroom after a needs analysis has been conducted to determine the severity of disability and availability of "accessibility" promoting resources in mainstream schools, such as concrete-cast ramps for wheelchair mobility. Engagement in dialogue between schools and parents/community regarding disability issues and modification of resources encouraged is highly encouraged, such as relocating a classroom from first floor to the ground floor to permit mobility and accessibility.

**Mainstream Education System:** The traditional schooling where classrooms are inhabited by non-disabled learners, opposite of special need school or classroom. Key distinction of the special needs school and classroom is where the environment is equipment and human resource intensive. A physiotherapist, professional nurse, social worker, educational psychologist, occupational therapist, clinical psychologist complement the daily work done by the specific subject teachers to provide support the learners with disabilities. Wheelchairs and stairs with handling rails form a common part of the latter schooling system.

**Neo-inclusive education:** classroom actions initiated by the teacher which promote respect for population diversity, and realisation of this vision in the future, without compromising the strict pre-determined document-controlled aspects of curriculum delivery demanded by her content subject, be it physical sciences or geography.

**Post modernism:** A philosophical stance which promotes the assumption of looking beyond the demands and pressures of the present deliverables. A teacher who strives to meet pre-determined academic goals of her subject throughout the year; to complete the syllabus, is in a modernist mindset. In contrast, completing the current syllabus with the notion of shaping democracy-minded students is postmodernist.

#### **6.2 Recommended readings via the Internet**


province. Dissertation for Master's degree. Faculty of Education. University of the Free State. Bloemfontein. For direct inquiries: dumamhlongo2@gmail.com and galexander@cut.ac.za

## **Conflict of interest**

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

#### **Author details**

Gregg Alexander<sup>1</sup> \* and Duma Mhlongo<sup>2</sup>


\*Address all correspondence to: galexander@cut.ac.za

© 2021 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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[2] Department of Basic Education. 2000. Education White Paper 6: Special Needs Education – Building an Inclusive Education and Training System. Pretoria: Government Printers.

[3] United Nations' Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. 2020. From https://www.sustainabledevelopment. un.org/content/documents/21252030% 20Agenda%20for%20Sustainable% 20Development%20web.pdf. Accessed 62 2020 January 14

[4] Dhupelia-Mesthrie, U. 2007. Aboveground Organisations and Activities. The revival of the Natal Indian congress. In, The Road to Democracy in South Africa. Volume 2 (1970–1980). South African Democracy Education Trust. University of South Africa Press: Pretoria

[5] Office of the Deputy President. 1997. White Paper on Integrated National Disability Strategy. Parliament of the Republic of South Africa.

[6] World Health Organisation. 2001. International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Geneva.

[7] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/ ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/disability 08 Accessed 2019 March 15

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Sciences Research Council (HSRC). Pretoria.

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[11] Mahlomaholo, S. 2012. Validating community cultural wealth: Toward sustainable empowering learning environments. In, Culture, education and community: Expressions of the postcolonial imagination. Edited by Lavia, J and Mahlomaholo, S. Palgrave MacMillan. New York.

[12] Ngwena, C. 2007. Deconstructing the Definition of "Disability" under the Employment Equity Act: Legal Deconstruction. s.n. s.l.

[13] Vergottini M and Weyers M. The Foundations and Nature of South African School Social Work: An Overview [Internet]. Social Work Stellenbosch Online. Vol.56 n.2. 2020. http://www. scielo.org.za/scielo.php?pid=S0037- 80542020000200003&script=sci\_artte xt&tlng=es [Accessed 2020-07-11]

[14] Department of Basic Education. 2005. Screening, Identification, Assessment and Support of Learners. Education White Paper 6. Pretoria: Government Printers.

[15] Mhlongo, D. and Alexander, G. 2014. A framework to enhance the sustenance of decent employment efforts for the youth population with a disability. An unpublished article. Faculty of Education. University of the Free State. Bloemfontein. For direct inquiries: dumamhlongo2@gmail.com and galexander@cut.ac.za

[16] Mhlongo, D., Alexander, G. and Hlalele, D. 2014. The Decent Work Agenda in South Africa: Findings from *Creating a Democratic Culture in Managing Classroom Contexts of Disability – Part 1 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.96433*

interrogating the Millennium Development Goals trends regarding physical disability. Faculty of Education. University of the Free State. Bloemfontein. An unpublished article submitted to the International Journal of Educational Development (2014). For direct inquiries: dumamhlongo2@gmail. com and galexander@cut.ac.za

[17] Morris, M., Nasson, B., Young, J., Linnegar, J., Joubert E and Gool B. 2004. Every step of the way. The journey to freedom in South African. Human Sciences Research Council Press and Cambridge University Press. Cape Town

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[19] Bookchin, M. 2006. Social Ecology and Communalism. Oakland, USA. AK Press.

[20] Employment Equity Act of No. 55 of 1998, amended 2014. 2015. Government Communications and Information Systems. Pretoria.

[21] University of the Free State – Corporate Social Responsibility (UFS - CSR). 2020. https://www.ufs.ac.za/ southcampus/social-responsibility/ about-social-responsibility-projects Accessed on 2020 October 3

[22] Schenck, R., Nel, H., and Louw, H. 2010. Introduction to Participatory Community Practice. University of South Africa Press. Pretoria

[23] Mhlongo, D and Alexander, G. 2013. Creating an enabling employment environment for school-leavers with a physical disability in the Free State province. Dissertation for Masters' degree: Psychology of Education – Inclusive Education. Faculty of Education. University of the Free State. Bloemfontein. For direct inquiries: dumamhlongo2@gmail.com and galexander@cut.ac.za

[24] Ngwena, C. 2004. Equality of People with Disabilities in the workplace: An overview of the emergence of disability as a human rights issue. Journal for Juridical Science, 29(2): 167–197

[25] Freire, P. 1972. Pedagogy of the oppressed. Penguin. Hammondsworth.

[26] Freire, P. 1998. Pedagogy of freedom: Ethics, democracy and civic courage. Rowman and Littlefield. Lanham.

[27] United Nations. 2008. Millennium Development Goals. New York. From http://www.un.org/mdg Accessed on 2020 January 14

[28] United Nations' Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development. 2020. From https://www.sustainabledevelopment. un.org/content/documents/21252030% 20Agenda%20for%20Sustainable% 20Development%20web.pdf Accessed on 2020 January 14

[29] University of the Free State – Corporate Social Responsibility (UFS-CSR). 2020. https://www.ufs.ac.za/ southcampus/social-responsibility/ about-social-responsibility-projects Accessed on 2020 October 3

#### **Chapter 8**
