ABSTRACT
It is commonly assumed that families and schools are, or should be, complementary partners in education. But are they, given feminist concerns about the family and its influence? This chapter argues, first, that families tend to exercise an influence that is in some respects antithetical to the development of democratic citizenship. Second, arguments against critical scrutiny of gendered practices on the grounds of the family’s status as a private sphere need re-assessment. While the discussion engages with international debates, its starting point is South Africa and its project of reconstructing schooling and consolidating the democracy achieved in 1994.
