ASSIGNMENT 1 2025
DUE 8 MARCH 2025
SEMESTER 1 2025
, ASSIGNMENT 1
QUESTION 1
a) Refer to Learning Unit 1 and explain the notion of “social
contract.”
Refers to the consensus of a group of people who have willingly
united and agreed to a system of rules by which their lives will be
governed and which provides order, protection and certainty in the
situation. Initially ordinary citizens play a pivotal role in the creation
of the legal system and processes through a social contract and later
by participating in various roles. E.g. Parties to civil or criminal
litigation.
b) What is “banking education”? Further indicate why, in terms thereof, “the
student is reduced to the level of an unthinking object with no views, values or
capacity to engage with the facts”.
"Banking education" is a concept introduced by Paulo Freire in Pedagogy of the
Oppressed, which describes a traditional, authoritarian approach to education
where students are treated as passive recipients of knowledge. In this model,
teachers "deposit" information into students’ minds, much like money is deposited
in a bank, and students are expected to memorize and later "withdraw" this
information during assessments.
This approach limits students’ ability to think critically or construct knowledge based
on their own experiences. Instead of engaging in meaningful learning, students are
expected to accept knowledge without question, leading to conformity and
mechanical repetition. As a result, students become "unthinking objects" because: