Overview

Patrick van Rensburg (1931-2017) was an anti-apartheid activist and self-made 'alternative educationist' whose work received international recognition with the Right Livelihood Award in 1981. Born in KwaZulu-Natal into what he described as a 'very ordinary South African family that believed in the virtue of racism', Van Rensburg became a self-styled rebel who tirelessly pursued his own vision of a brighter future for emerging societies in post-colonial southern Africa. His emotional and intellectual struggle against his upbringing and cultural roots led him to reject his life of white privilege in South Africa. Determined to prevent the emergence of a privileged black elite in post-colonial society, he devoted his life to implementing an alternative, egalitarian approach to education, focusing on quality and functional schooling for the majority. Rewarded with the internationally prestigious Right Livelihood Award for his unique contribution to education, he saw this work as a 'necessary tool of development'. Exiled from South Africa in 1960 because of his involvement in the London boycott campaign that gave birth to the Anti-Apartheid Movement, Van Rensburg moved to Botswana (then Bechuanaland). There he founded cooperatives, provided vocational training and was among the earliest educationists to espouse the discipline of development studies. Perhaps his best-known legacy is the Swaneng Hill School, which he founded to provide an educational home for primary school 'dropouts' through a curriculum that combined theory and practice, and academic and manual labour. He involved his pupils in building their school, running it, providing their own food, and making their own equipment and furniture. Van Rensburg was an innovative and charismatic visionary who captured the zeitgeist of the late twentieth century, and whose work and vision still have resonance for debates in educational policy today.

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9781776146048

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This is a story that has to be told and Van Rensburg has found a worthy biographer ... The dominant image is of a man who had a great appetite for life: work, projects, parties, women, debate, travel, but who is simultaneously a semi-heroic, semi-tragic figure. - Linda Chisholm, Professor in the Centre for Education Rights and Transformation, University of Johannesburg Patrick van Rensburg's philosophies and projects were beneficial, stimulating our thinking and urging us to reshape Botswana's education. He shook our ideas. Kevin Shillington is to be commended for bringing his story to a wide audience. This book should be read by anyone interested in education, as Pat's Education with Production model is relevant to the whole education ladder, from early childhood through to university. - Gaositwe K. T. Chiepe, educationist and politician, Minister of Education, Botswana, 1995-1999

This is a story that has to be told and Van Rensburg has found a worthy biographer … The dominant image is of a man who had a great appetite for life: work, projects, parties, women, debate, travel, but who is simultaneously a semi-heroic, semi-tragic figure. — Linda Chisholm, Professor in the Centre for Education Rights and Transformation, University of Johannesburg Patrick van Rensburg’s philosophies and projects were beneficial, stimulating our thinking and urging us to reshape Botswana’s education. He shook our ideas. Kevin Shillington is to be commended for bringing his story to a wide audience. This book should be read by anyone interested in education, as Pat’s Education with Production model is relevant to the whole education ladder, from early childhood through to university. — Gaositwe K. T. Chiepe, educationist and politician, Minister of Education, Botswana, 1995–1999

Author Information

Kevin Shillington is an independent historian and biographer who holds a PhD in African History from the University of London. His recent books include, Albert René: the Father of Modern Seychelles (2014) and History of Africa 4th edition (2019).

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