Calls for society to 'reconnect with nature' are commonplace in the scientific literature and popular environmental discourse. However, the expression is often used haphazardly without the clarity of the process involved, the practical outcomes desired, and/or the relevance to conservation. This interdisciplinary review finds that the Western disconnect from nature is central to the convergent social-ecological crises and is primarily a problem in consciousness. Connectedness with nature (CWN) is therefore defined as a stable state of consciousness comprising symbiotic cognitive, affective, and experiential traits that reflect, through consistent attitudes and behaviors, a sustained awareness of the interrelatedness between one's self and the rest of nature. CWN sits on a continuum comprising information about nature and experience in nature but is differentiated as a more holistic process for realizing transformative outcomes that serve oneself and Endorsed by Karen J. Esler.

The student protests of 2015 precipitated a renewed interest in the decolonisation of the university in South Africa, and by association the decolonisation of the university curriculum. The decolonisation of the curriculum is an important conversation, and long overdue, given that the Western model of academic organisation on which the South African university is based, remains largely unchallenged. In this article I add to the conversation by discussing what decolonisation entails, why the need for decolonisation, the importance of rethinking how curriculum is conceived, and outlining some possible ways of decolonising the university curriculum. The purpose is not to provide a set of answers but to open up ways of (re)thinking the university curriculum.

This article responds to a call for rethinking the science that we teach to school learners in South Africa. Much of the debate on the nature of science and science learning is reflected in a body of literature which analyses the tensions between disparate perspectives on science education. Post-colonialists, feminists, multiculturalists, sociologists of scientific knowledge and those who refer to themselves as indigenous researchers argue that science is not universal but locally and culturally produced. Universalists on the other hand, argue that modern Western science is superior to indigenous perspectives on the natural world because of the formerÕs advanced predictive and explanatory powers. The fact that indigenous knowledge has been included in South AfricaÕs recently developed National Curriculum Statements invites a fresh look at the kind of science that is taught to South African school learners. In this article the author argues for a (dis)position that moves the debate beyond the binary of Western science/indigenous knowledge. Ways in which Western science and indigenous knowledge might be integrated are explored. Re´sume´-INTÉ GRER LES SYSTÈ MES OCCIDENTAUX ET INDIGÈ NES DU SAVOIR : LE FONDEMENT DÕUN ENSEIGNEMENT EFFICACE DES SCIENCESEN AFRIQUE DU SUD ? -Cet article re´pond a`un appel pour repenser lÕenseignement des sciences que nous de´livrons aux e´coliers en Afrique du Sud. Une grande partie de la discussion sur la nature des sciences et de lÕe´tude des sciences se voit refle´te´e dans un corpus litte´raire analysant les tensions subsistant entre des visions divergentes de lÕenseignement des sciences. Post-colonialistes, fe´ministes, multiculturalistes, sociologues du savoir scientifique et ceux qui se de´finissent comme des chercheurs indige`nes soutiennent que les sciences ne sont pas universelles mais localement et culturellement produites. Les Universalistes dÕautre part soutiennent que les sciences occidentales modernes sont supe´rieures aux visions indige`nes du monde de la nature, ces dernie`res mettant en avant des pouvoirs de pre´diction et dÕexplication. Le fait que le savoir indige`ne ait e´te´inclus dans les Rapports sur les Programmes dÕÉ tudes Nationaux re´cemment de´veloppe´s en Afrique du Sud invite a`poser un regard neuf sur le genre de sciences enseigne´es aux e´coliers sud-africains. Dans cet article, lÕauteur plaide pour une (dis)position de´plac¸ant la discussion au dela`de lÕalternative science occidentale/savoir indige`ne. On examine des possibilite´s dÕinte´gration de la science occidentale et du savoir indige`ne.

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The erosion of the three interlocking dimensions of nature, society and self is the consequence of what Felix Guattari referred to as integrated world capitalism (IWC). In South Africa the erosion of nature, society and self is also the consequence of centuries of colonialism and decades of apartheid. In this paper I wish to explore how the African philosophy of ubuntu (humanness), which appears to be anthropocentric, might be invoked to contribute to the healing of the three ecologies—how healing of the social might transversally effect healing of nature and the self. My theoretical exploration has relevance to education in South Africa, given that a mandate of national curriculum policy is that indigenous knowledge systems form part of the discursive terrains of all school learning areas/subjects.