Invisible Minorities: Understanding White Student Attrition and the Politics of Belonging in Zimbabwean Education

This paper examined the phenomenon of white student attrition from Zimbabwe’s educational system as a critical lens for understanding the politics of belonging in a post-colonial state. Moving beyond economic explanations for white emigration, this qualitative study investigated the micro-dynamics within schools that influenced the decisions of white families to withdraw their children. It drew on in-depth interviews with parents, students, and educators, the paper argued that attrition is not merely a demographic trend but a symptomatic response to a contested national identity. Findings revealed that the formal curriculum, daily social interactions, and institutional culture created an environment where white students often occupied a liminal space—physically present but socially and symbolically peripheral. This paper concluded that the attrition of white students reflected broader, unresolved tensions in Zimbabwe’s nation-building project, raising critical questions about the inclusivity of national institutions and the possibility of a genuinely multicultural citizenship.

Zimbabwe, education, whiteness

1. Apple, M. W. (2019). Ideology and curriculum (4th ed.). Routledge. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Bloom, D. E., Canning, D., & Chan, K. (2006). Higher education and economic development in Africa. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Africa Region Human Development Working Paper Series, (102). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Bourdieu, P. (1991). Language and symbolic power. Harvard University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Chimbunde, P., & Kgari-Masondo, M. C. (2021). Decolonising curriculum change and implementation: Voices from Social Studies Zimbabwean Teachers. Yesterday & Today Journal for History Education in South Africa and Abroad, 25. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Chung, F., & Ngara, E. (1985). Socialism, Education and Development: A Challenge to Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe Publishing House. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Crush, J., & Tevera, D. (2010). Zimbabwe’s exodus: Crisis, migration, survival. IDRC. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Dorsey, B. J. (1989). Educational development and reform in Zimbabwe. Comparative Education Review, 33(1), 40–58. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Dorsey, B.J. (1975). The African school leaver: Aspirations, academic achievement and post school employment. In M.W. Murphree (Ed.) Education, Race and Employment in Rhodesia. Artca publications. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Edwards, L. & Tisdell, C.A. (1990). The Organisation of Education Finance in Zimbabwe Before and After Independence. International Journal of Educational Development, 10(3), 159-170. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Feagin, J. R., & Sikes, M. P. (1994). Living with racism: The Black middle-class experience. Beacon Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Kubatana. (2021, August 23). Zim Schools Still Face Numerous Challenges in Providing Quality Education: Report. Kubatana.net. https://kubatana.net/2021/08/23/zim-schools-still-face-numerouschallenges-in-providing-quality-education-report/ [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Mapako, R. (n.d.). Rugare Mapako claims education to Africans offered limited academic and foundational skills in order to promote labor exploitation and indentured servitude. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Mavhunga, N. (2006). Styles of knowing: A postcolonial reconstruction of science education for double consciousness. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 1(3), 445-466. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Mlambo, A. S. (2018). A history of Zimbabwe, 1890-2000. Cambridge University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Ndlovu-Gatsheni, S. J. (2009). Do Zimbabweans exist? Trajectories of nationalism, national identity formation and crisis in a postcolonial state. Peter Lang. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Ranger, T. (2018). Writing Revolt: An Engagement with African Nationalism, 1957-67. James Currey Publishers. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Steyn, M. (2001). Whiteness just isn’t what it used to be: White identity in a changing South Africa. State University of New York Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Summers, C. (1994). From civilization to segregation: Social ideals and social control in Southern Rhodesia, 1890-1934. Ohio University Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Yuval-Davis, N. (2006). Belonging and the politics of belonging. Patterns of Prejudice, 40(3), 197–214. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Assessment of the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Repositioning TVET for Economic Development in Nigeria
• Teachers’ Use of Assure Model Instructional Design on Learners’ Problem Solving Efficacy in Secondary Schools in Bungoma County, Kenya
• “E-Booksan Ang Kaalaman”: Development, Validation, and Utilization of Electronic Book in Academic Performance of Grade 9 Students in Social Studies
• Analyzing EFL University Students’ Academic Speaking Skills Through Self-Recorded Video Presentation
• Major Findings of The Study on Total Quality Management in Teachers’ Education Institutions (TEIs) In Assam – An Evaluative Study