AN INVESTIGATION ON THE CHALLENGES OF DECOLONISING SOUTH AFRICAN HIGHER EDUCATION CURRICULUM

Abstract

Ponte Academic JournalMar 2022, Volume 78, Issue 3 AN INVESTIGATION ON THE CHALLENGES OF DECOLONISING SOUTH AFRICAN HIGHER EDUCATION CURRICULUMAuthor(s): Jeremiah MadzimureJ. Ponte - Mar 2022 - Volume 78 - Issue 3 doi: 10.21506/j.ponte.2022.3.8 Abstract:South Africa (SA) like all other former colonized African countries, is grappling with the politics of the challenges regarding decolonizing its higher education curriculum. There are perceived number of various probable challenges to decolonizing the higher education curriculum in South Africa. One of the perceived probable challenge is that of various differing views about what the concept ‘decolonizing the curriculum’ means. This challenge can be addressed by investigating views from various key figures in the higher education landscape in SA. An investigation about the various views of key figures in the SA higher education landscape about the challenges of decolonizing the higher education curriculum was conducted using in-depth interviews with a selected sample of research subjects. This research project was strictly qualitative. Among other things, the study also found that one of the challenges relates to the resistance from lecturers and managements of certain disciplines in various institutions in SA to implementing policies that seeks to decolonize the curriculum. Also, the unsurprising finding was the differing views about the concept ‘decolonisation of the curriculum’. This study underscores the importance of adequate understanding of the concept ‘decolonisation of the curriculum’ which will in turn help illuminate the challenges of decolonizing the curriculum in Higher education. The findings in this article may help anticipate challenges faced by the higher education institutions and curriculum developers. Furthermore, they can help in informing the conceptualisation the curriculum in SA higher education environment Download full text:Check if you have access through your login credentials or your institution Username Password