Natural law theory resolving equity-excellence debates: Reimagining mathematical giftedness at the heart of sustainable education
Authors: Mhlolo Michael 
Published: February 2025

<p>Although South Africa committed itself to the achievement of the United Nations (UN) sustainable development goals, progress in education has been hampered by controversies about equity and excellence. Although some believe that the equity vs. excellence tension will and should never be resolved, this paper’s point of departure is that learner achievement will be made less difficult when equity and excellence are prioritized correctly. The paper proposes that prioritization is possible through the natural law theory, yet few if any studies have explored that perspective in South Africa. Four research questions then shape the arguments. Following a dialectical approach, the paper shows that since Aristotle’s time, the notion of natural law has been accepted as one of the most fundamental concepts of our civilization. Through the natural law theory, equity is not only viewed as the highest form of law but is also the highest form of any good or pleasure, hence excellence. This implies that in education, without actualizing learners’ potential or excellence of their nature, equity has not been achieved for them. Through the theory, the paper shows South Africa’s behaviors that violate natural law. However, this is not sustainable as it only provides the nation with temporary happiness instead of true happiness in accordance with nature. This according to Aristotle’s natural law theory is hedonic happiness instead of eudemonic happiness. Contrary to beliefs that violators of natural law go scot-free, nature is red in tooth and claw and its punishment is evident in the vicious cycles, such as a low happiness index, high crime rates, high unemployment rates and poor service deliveries that plague South Africa. In terms of theory, the natural law theory allows for more precise definitions of equity and sustainable development which are currently lacking in all the previous debates. In terms of practice, both the natural law theory and sustainable development converge in the capability approach to education. The relation between the capability perspective and education is acknowledged in the 2002 UNESCO Report “Education for all”, and its distinctive feature, the human capability approach is its assessment of policies not on the basis of their impact on incomes, but on whether or not they expand the real freedoms that people value. This approach and its conversion argument say that these internal converting capabilities are highly diverse among people, which weakens the supporting argument for a resource-based equality. The conversion argument says that the importance of primary goods or resources [external conversion factors] is derivative of the individual capability [internal conversion factors] to convert them into valued functionings. A recommendation coming from such observations is that our future depends crucially on how we educate the next generation of gifted people, especially in the mathematical sciences. The paper concludes by providing an example of how a critical mass of gifted people or excellence could create equity as knowledge cascades down in an organization or society. Singapore is an example that achieves equity through its gifted education programs. The paper recommends a similar approach if South Africa were to achieve the equitable and sustainable education it aspires for its learners.</p>