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The Rule of Law

As a state, South Africa is founded on the values of the supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law.

This means, literally, that the Constitution (Links to an external site.)is supreme, that there is consensus (Links to an external site.)about the rules and regulations we must obey, and that we understand that if we do not obey these rules and regulations, we are breaking the law of the land and the state is entitled to punish us.

Within schools, the rule of law is the guarantor of accountability (Links to an external site.), for it holds us all to a common code of appropriate behaviour – not just because we know we should, but also because we understand that if we do not, those to whom we are accountable will discipline us (Department of Education 2001:18).

The educator should be clear on the rules, responsibilities of learners and consequences for those who transgress.

The rule of law is the guarantor of accountability.

Transparency in our open society (Links to an external site.) requires that learners know upfront what the consequences will be if they do not behave and participate as expected.

Learners should understand that one is responsible for one’s own behaviour and accountable to peers and others. As part of their realisation of accountability, learners will understand the consequences for displaying inappropriate behaviour, such as breaking the rules for cooperative learning (Links to an external site.) that have been decided on between the educator and learners.

When deciding upon these rules for behaviour in cooperative learning settings, the educator must guide the learners to ensure that a democratic process is followed.

This process should underwrite basic human values such as human dignity (Links to an external site.), acceptance of all, free participation, respect for others, the inclusion of everyone in activities, no discrimination against certain groupings and an equal workload (Links to an external site.) for all group members (Kitshoff, 2006:24).

Introduction: Values Entrenched In The Constitution