Decolonising the curriculum at a university of Technology in South Africa

Abstract

A good number of universities in South Africa came to a standstill in 2016 when student protests in quest for a decolonised curriculum intensified. Today, decolonisation has become a buzzword in the country's higher education institutions as academics are challenged to meditate around the term and integrate it into the curriculum. The purpose of this study is to investigate ways in which lecturers decolonise the curriculum. The study was done using a qualitative case study at a university of technology in South Africa. Rawls' theory of justice was used as a theoretical framework. Sixteen lecturers were selected to complete open-ended questionnaires. Data was analysed using content analysis. It was found that lecturers decolonise their curricula by integrating indigenous African knowledge and at the same time retaining Western knowledge in order to prepare students to be able to live and work in an international, intercultural and global environment.

The Curriculum Ideologies Underlying the AfriMEDS Curriculum Framework for Undergraduate Medical and Dental Education in South Africa

“…This transformation includes broader societal objectives like reconciliation and nation-building through higher education [27]. Ideological reform also includes decolonizing higher education and the curriculum by reversing the hegemony of Eurocentrism in teaching, learning, and research [28]. This includes transforming pedagogical practices, teaching, and learning [29] and integrating and contextualizing students' realities into curriculum designs [30].…”

The Role of Intercultural Education in a Bachelor of Education Program at Nelson Mandela University in South Africa

“…In 2015-2016, two significant protests in higher education in South Africa have been the Rhodes must fall protest which strives towards a decolonized curriculum and the "fees must fall" movement which strives for equal access to these spaces. As a response, academics in South Africa were challenged to re-evaluate the curriculum and integrate Indigenous African knowledge into the curriculum while at the same time retaining Western knowledge so that students were able to work and live in an international, intercultural, and global environment (Meda et al, 2019). Le Grange (2016) argued that decolonizing the curriculum is about rediscovering knowledge that have been disregarded during the colonial and apartheid era.…”