Abstract
M.Ed.
During the first five years of South Africa's democratic government, a coherent policy framework was established in all sectors of life, including health, social welfare, education and systems of government. This was an impressive achievement, given the extent to which apartheid had become entrenched, not only in spheres of administration and policy, but at all levels of practice and in all systems of government (Taylor, 1999:8). The present new policy vision strikes a balance between developing excellence on one hand, and expanding opportunities to those who were denied the opportunity in the past (National Youth Policy, 1997:3). Unfortunately, the present government has commissioned little research on the possible impact of the policies they implement on its society, particularly
the adolescents who are often the most vulnerable. Furthermore, evaluative educational research on policy seems to be lacking. Consequently educational and public policy makers have had to rely on findings of research conducted in socio-economic and political settings quite different from our own (President Education Initiative (PEI) Research Report,1998:2). It should be noted that the implementation of the public policies depends on the financial and human capacity of the country (Cameron, 1996:289).