The theme of leadership and leadership development is integrated throughout the Academy in both its academic and social activities. This emphasis on leadership is rooted in the South African principle of ubuntu/botho which encompasses the ideals of humanity, compassion and service to others. The spirit of ubuntu/botho is incorporated throughout the Academy and is central to the way in which learners think, speak and interact with others.
Throughout their years at the Academy, learners come to embody the spirit of ubuntu/botho and are able to harness their critical thinking and leadership skills to serve and to inspire those around them. Their self-confidence is balanced by compassion and empathy and their assertiveness by a sense of responsibility to others.
Most importantly, the experience of attending the Academy will produce graduates who are able to navigate a variety of social and cultural contexts throughout the world, but who remain committed to the development of South Africa and the African continent.
RECONSTRUCTIONISM (George Counts, Theodore Brameld)
1. Education must commit itself here and now to the creation of a new social order that will fulfill the basic values of our culture and at the same time harmonize with the underlying social and economic forces of the modern world.
2. The new society must be a genuine democracy, whose major institutions and resources are controlled by the people themselves.
3. The child, the school, and education itself are conditioned inexorably by social and cultural forces.
4. The teacher must convince his pupils of the validity and urgency of the reconstructionist solution, but he must do so with scrupulous regard for democratic procedures.
5. The means and ends of education must be completely re-fashioned to meet the demands of the present cultural crisis and to accord with the findings of the behavioral sciences.
“Social reconstructionism is a philosophy that emphasizes the addressing of social questions and a quest to create a better society and worldwide democracy.” (Cohen, 1999). These educators believe that a main focal point of education should be social reform. With this, they base their curriculum on taking social action on the real problems of today. Reconstructionists believe that change is necessary in order to overcome the problems of society.