Curriculum In South Africa Research Articles

Exploring child protection content in social work curricula in South Africa and Sweden

ABSTRACT Child participation and agency are vital elements in child protection. Ensuring child participation can contribute to successful interventions. Social workers are often the central agents in ensuring that children participate in matters concerning them and that the best interest of the child principle is adhered to in these matters. The aim of this study is thus to understand if and how social work education in South Africa and Sweden teaches child participation in child protection work. We study curricula for social work programmes in three South African and two Swedish universities. Results indicate broad themes of similar content in curricula in both countries and both indicate gaps in terms of in-depth training in child protection, as well as children to a very low degree are regarded as agents. Students are not explicitly trained to encourage child participation. Further research can show whether and how such knowledge is developed in practice and how the social work programmes can prepare the students for such development. If social workers should be able to promote child participation, regard them as active agents and support them in developing resilience, they need to have that perspective in their fundamental training.

An Analysis of the Contributions of Black Academics to Epistemology and Decolonisation in Higher Education in South Africa, 1940s-1990s

This paper looked at the contributions of black academics in the humanities and social sciences and uses their autobiographies as an analytical tool to help us understand their contribution to epistemology in the African higher education space. It also looks at debates on decolonisation and how their work has shaped these debates. Autobiography is one lens of doing critical analysis and understanding the progression of a scholar. This paper analyses different scholars in different generations and hopes to contribute to the search for genealogies of intergenerational Black South African scholars whose work has been forgotten and marginalised in the academic project in the humanities and social sciences curriculum in South Africa and beyond. Using autobiography as a critical method, the paper shows how black scholars from different generations navigated institutions of higher learning to achieve excellent results and produce knowledge that challenged racialised inferiority and white supremacy. The findings suggest that there is a body of work by black scholars and shows that where support is given, black scholars can shape discourse and take leadership positions in the academy.

CHARACTERIZATION OF CURRICULUM LEADERSHIP BY SOUTH AFRICAN SCHOOL LEADERS AND TEACHERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

Integrating environmental education into the school curriculum in South Africa remains a concern. Various curriculum and instructional design factors affecting environmental education have been explored. However, the role of curriculum leadership in environmental education is not well understood despite research that shows that curriculum leadership is a critical challenge facing the education system in general. Poor curriculum leadership has been shown to contribute to ineffective curriculum implementation and poor quality of education. In the current research, we used qualitative research methods to determine the characterization of curriculum leadership by teachers and school leaders involved in environmental education as a preliminary effort to understand the challenges facing environmental education. We used distributed leadership as a theoretical framework for the research. The findings show that some environmental education teachers, school managers, and environmental education subject advisors do not understand the concept of curriculum leadership. Participants' understanding of curriculum leadership was associated with socio-political dynamics rather than educational principles. We conclude that the poor understanding of curriculum leadership and its role may lead to ineffective integration of environmental education in the South African school curriculum. Keywords: curriculum leadership, distributed leadership, environmental education, school leaders and teachers

Implementation of Teacher Development Program for Integrating Climate Change Education: Natural Sciences Teachers View

The devastating effect of climate change (CC) on the environment all over the world has been a worrisome phenomenon. The effort by the government and other stakeholders at integrating climate change education (CCE) into the school curriculum in South Africa has not yielded the desired result because of the lack of teacher professional training programs for teaching CCE in the classroom. Using the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) theory as lenses, this qualitative study investigated the implementation of the in-service teacher development programs and their role in enhancing the integration of CCE in Natural Sciences lessons. Five secondary schools out of twenty schools that participated in the in-service teacher training program conducted by one higher education institution (HEI) were purposely selected. Data for this study were generated through one-on-one semi-structured interviews conducted with four participating Natural Sciences teachers at the selected schools. It emerged from the data that the implementation of in-service teacher development programs helped Natural Sciences teachers to integrate CCE into their lessons. The data also revealed that Natural Sciences teachers’ content and pedagogical content knowledge on CC was lacking thus they were not adequately integrating CCE in their lessons. The study concludes that the teacher training programs are responsible for teacher improved pedagogical practice of Natural Sciences teachers in the classroom and the integration of CCE. The paper, therefore, recommends that teacher professional development programs on CCE for Natural Sciences teachers be organized on a continuous basis.

Decolonial insights for transforming the higher education curriculum in South Africa

While there have been several calls for decolonising the curriculum in South Africa, more needs to be done at the level of policy development and especially its implementation. The curriculum decolonisation impetus gained a few years back has abated somewhat, and there is a need to reinstate its significance amidst other imperatives we face in the current troubling times. There appears to be a reluctance to continue the decolonising journey, not least of all because of the continuing dominance of European hegemony in almost all facets of the lives of decolonised people, especially evident in the education sector, and specifically through the curriculum. The paper argues that without the decolonisation of the predominantly Eurocentric curriculum, the achievement of justice for the colonised remains elusive. This entails focusing the decolonisation debate from the objectification of the colonised to centring the African being, a reconceptualisation of epistemology as pluriversal and greater visibility of the colonised and coloniality as pre-conditions for decolonising the curriculum. The article reviews the South African response to decolonial insights and considers their implications for higher education curriculum development and practice. It identifies changing attitudes of, and ownership by, academic staff as a key challenge in the implementation of a decolonised curriculum and concludes with tabulating the implication of key concepts of decolonial theory for the curriculum.

Bringing the Science of Learning and Development Into the South African Schools

Transforming the South African education system after decades of apartheid remains a dream for all. This chapter contributes on how this dream can be achieved. To this end, I raise two arguments. First, transformation will require young people to become adept at handling tensions and dilemmas. Second, I propose that the science of learning and development (SoLD) has a possibility to develop such competences. I begin with a look at the colonial education curricula in South Africa until the dawn of a democratic dispensation in 1994. This is followed by a critique of the post-1994 curriculum. In closing, I propose the SoLD model as an alternative to the classroom in South Africa as a route to equity and justice.

The challenges of institutionalising decolonization of the curriculum in South Africa

The challenges of institutionalising decolonization of the curriculum in South Africa

Integration of preconception care into the bachelor of nursing curriculum: An exploratory qualitative study

BackgroundThe significance of ensuring high quality of care has become apparent in nursing and midwifery education worldwide, especially in low- and middle-income countries. This has led to upgrades of the nursing curriculum to include several aspects of care that have been overlooked with recent evidence-based care. ObjectivesTo explore the integration of preconception care (PCC) into the Bachelor of nursing curriculum in South Africa. DesignAn exploratory qualitative study. Setting and participantsThis study was conducted in a higher education institution in South Africa that has recently revised its Bachelor of nursing curriculum. Data sources were Bachelor educators and program documents. MethodsIndividual in-depth interviews were conducted among ten nurse educators. Interviews were complemented with an analysis of the curriculum documents for the Bachelor of nursing program using the BEKA (benchmarking, evidencing, knowing, and applying) model of curriculum analysis and evaluation. FindingsBenchmarking and evidencing of the Bachelor of nursing curriculum reveals a high level of compliance with the externally set standards. Both data sources pointed to some degree of incorporating the preconception care concept into the curriculum. The educators perceived that for full integration to occur, preconception care should be taught as a standalone topic. Lack of focus and poor perception was further reported as barriers to introducing the concept. Most preconception care components and services were taught to students throughout the four hundred levels of the nursing program, especially in the sexual and reproductive health module. Gaps were noted in female genital mutilation, mental health, environmental health, preconception vaccination, and other aspects where preconception care needs emphasis. ConclusionsThere has been a high level of integration of preconception care competency in the Bachelor of nursing curriculum. Especially in the sexual and reproductive health module, most preconception care components are taught to students. However, there is a need to emphasise the preconception nursing management of women with certain conditions. To ensure nurses’ role in providing health for all, safeguarding reproductive health, and maintaining the health continuum is enhanced.

The needed categories of Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Natural Science Curriculum in South Africa: Narratives from Pongola schools

For centuries, South African education was dominated by colonial practices that devalued Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS). To reform education, the CAPS 2012 Natural Science (NS) curriculum documents instruct teachers to use IKS when delivering instruction without specifying the categories that should be used. The study was conducted to gather the views and narratives of participants on IKS categories that should be incorporated into the NS curriculum. An African renaissance theory that calls for the decolonisation and Africanisation of education guided the study. An interpretivist research philosophy was used to understand the phenomenon from participants’ point of view, and through the use of a qualitative approach, data was gathered directly from participants in their natural settings in Pongola schools. A case study design allowed the researcher to focus on selected schools and collect in-depth information from purposively selected Principals, NS Heads of Departments and teachers through interviews and focus group discussions. Data were analysed and presented narratively and verbatim under emerging themes. Findings revealed that participants advocated for the incorporation of the following six IKS categories into the NS curriculum, traditional veterinary medicines, traditional diets and food processing, traditional medicines, weather forecast, environmental and disaster management, traditional values, uBuntu lenhlonipho (humility and respect). The study recommended that the Department of Basic Education review its policy and incorporate IKS into the Natural Science curriculum as a full knowledge strand. The 6 IKS categories suggested by participants should form a firm foundation and background for the incorporation process.

Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Sustainable Learning In Rural South Africa

Calls for a decolonized curriculum in South Africa are gaining momentum. Contrary to the school curriculum that privileges knowledge from a western perspective, indigenous knowledge systems appreciate and draw from local content and forms of knowing. A number of studies have expressed the value of indigenous knowledge systems, and the need for educational processes to be properly contextualised within the local knowledge and language in South Africa. This paper suggests a break away from the current western modalities in teaching and learning and argues for unlocking and unleashing indigenous [local and latent] knowledge systems through decolonizing the curriculum. However, the uptake of such in the midst of a longstanding 'colonized' curriculum seems to be daunting. Guided by Appreciative inquiry, the paper reports on the three rural teachers' understanding towards sustainable learning through indigenous narratives as they consciously work against western hegemony and ideology (epistemologies, ontologies and axiologies). Rural learning ecologies in South Africa are constituted by over ten million learners. The learners are expected to learn western knowledge and apply such in search of sustainable livelihoods. Data generated through these stories, analysed through critical discourse analysis (at textual, social and discursive levels). The study finds that dislodging the dominant western epistemologies demystifies authenticity of learning practices, learning content and embraces indigenous communities and their knowledge. The implication involves the appreciation of indigenous knowledge systems as genuine and acceptable knowledge that may not necessarily need to be sanctioned though western modes.

Exploring the phenomenon of Afrofuturism in film in decolonizing the university curriculum: A case study of a South African university

When the #RhodesMustFall movement called for the decolonization of the university curriculum in South Africa in 2015, academics were soon under pressure to begin to explore various ways to go about beginning such a complex process. One possible approach to this would be to explore whether Afrofuturism could practically liberate the mind towards addressing any forms of cognitive injustice that students may experience as a result of a colonized curriculum, and in what ways it might do so. A literature review has found a paucity of empirical research exploring ways in which a film that employs Afrofuturism could be used to advance the decolonization project in teaching and learning practices in South African higher education. This article aims to contribute to this discourse through a case study which attempted to uncover the attitudes and emotions of a group of students who, after viewing the film Black Panther, which employs Afrofuturism, were or were not, able to make sense of and/or re-imagine their identities and relationships with others in the context of Afrofuturism, and to what extent. The article thus reports on a case study at a university of technology (UoT) in South Africa in which the film was used to attempt to advance the idea of Afrofuturism in the university curriculum and to uncover the lived experiences, social realities and ideas of self/identity of particular students from marginalized communities.

Decolonising the Criminology curriculum in South Africa: Views and experiences of lecturers and postgraduate students

Background: For many years, the lived experiences, knowledge systems and histories of previously colonised people have been misinterpreted, removed and devalued in university teaching. The present curricula of African universities are predominantly Eurocentric and Criminology is no exception. In the wake of the #RhodesMustFall student protest action, there is a recognition and need to include African epistemology within the discipline of Criminology. Aim: The study investigated the views of lecturers and postgraduate students regarding the content, transformation and decolonisation of Criminology curricula. Setting: South African universities offering Criminology as a degree and/or academic subject. Methods: A total of 87 respondents, 42 lecturers and 45 postgraduate students, voluntarily participated in an online survey. Lecturers were purposively selected whilst postgraduate students were recruited via snowball sampling. Results: Nearly all the respondents had heard of decolonisation before, with the majority of the academic staff members being aware of it prior to #RhodesMustFall. Respondents agreed that the Criminology curriculum needs to be decolonised, with statistically significant differences emanating between black lecturers and white lecturers. Conclusion: Decolonisation and transformation have been debated for many years without meaningful translation in and changes to Criminology curricula.

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

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

A comparative analysis and evaluation of the naturopathic curriculum in South Africa

Background. Naturopathy has been taught at tertiary level in South Africa (SA) for 18 years. This research paper examines the naturopathic curriculum to determine whether it is benchmarked to international standards and meets the needs of graduates in practice. It is the first research paper that critically reviews the curriculum of a complementary alternative medicine profession taught at a higher education institution (HEI) in SA. Objective. To critically review the naturopathy curriculum taught at an SA HEI. Methods. This research used a sequential two-stage qualitative methodology. In stage one, a comparative document analysis was conducted using the curriculum recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Naturopathic Federation (WNF) and the University of the Western Cape. Stage two consisted of a graduate review of the curriculum. Eighteen graduates participated in the review by providing input on all the subjects in the curriculum via email. The responses were summarised and thematically analysed. Results. It was found that the SA curriculum is aligned to international curricula. Graduate inputs suggest a restructuring of the curriculum so that subjects which are core to naturopathic training can be taught in greater depth over a longer period of time. Conclusion. The subjects offered in the SA naturopathic curriculum are on par with international standards. Concerns raised by graduates suggest a need for a restructuring of the curriculum to develop a deeper understanding of the curriculum to ensure that graduates are competent to meet the changing healthcare needs of the population.

Book review: Tella, O., & Motala, S. (Eds.). (2020). From Ivory Towers to Ebony Towers: Transforming Humanities Curricula in South Africa, Africa, and African American Studies. South Africa: Jacana Media, 563 p.

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Values for an Undergraduate Ecotourism Management Curriculum in South Africa: A Mixed-methods Study

ABSTRACT Ecotourism is one of the fastest growing tourism niches in South Africa. Higher education institutions offering undergraduate ecotourism management programmes are tasked with producing graduates that can promote the sustainability of the sector and should therefore direct their efforts to the fostering of appropriate behaviours; values are the underlying determinants of behaviour. Employing an exploratory sequential mixed methods design, the purpose of the study was to develop a framework for a values-based undergraduate ecotourism management curriculum. Thematic analysis of the empirical materials elicited from semi-structured interviews with 12 ecotourism managers resulted in the identification of 51 values. The values were subsequently rated by managers from the wider ecotourism industry through the administration of an e-survey (n = 101). A principal components exploratory factor analysis further reduced the values into four factors – “self”, “outward”, “reciprocation” and “betterment”. This informed the framework which ultimately serves as a reference point for educational practitioners.

Toward a Relevant De-colonized Curriculum in South Africa: Suggestions for a Way Forward

The debate on the de-colonization of universities in South African gained momentum after protests by students through the #FeesMustFall (FMF) and #RhodesMustFall (RMF) movements. At the center of these protests were issues like free access to education, accommodation, removal of apartheid and colonial statues, and the Africanization of the curriculum. Thus, revisiting and reimagining curricula offerings is an important aspect of the current debate on the de-colonization of education at South Africa’s educational sites. To add to the de-colonization debate, this article discusses the concept of relevance in (re)curriculation. The article will discuss the concepts of de-colonization and relevance, readiness in the implementation of new curricula offerings, challenges, and hurdles in curriculum change and important points of reference in achieving a de-colonized curriculum. Literature review and document analysis will be used to shed more light on this topic.

Student-faculty interactions within a physiotherapy curriculum in South Africa

Interactions between faculty and students in higher education has the potential to influence and shape many aspects of teaching, learning, curricula, student experiences and performance, yet has received little attention as an area of study. This study investigates student-faculty interactions within a physiotherapy curriculum from the perspectives of students, faculty and physiotherapy managers at a South African university. The data, produced through multiple methods, derive from students, faculty and physiotherapy managers underpinned by critical-feminist perspectives. Thematic analysis of the data produced four themes. Two dominant threads emerging from the analysis as characterising student-faculty relationships are the deeply hierarchical relations of power characterised by a lack of caring and concern for students, and the exclusion of wider constructs for interaction; deriving from a particular entrenched medical model. Ironically, while caring relationships with patients are overtly advocated and developed, they appear to be largely absent in the same physiotherapy curriculum spaces in the relationships between faculty and students. These findings raise questions about how the most foundational attribute of a health science professional, that of caring, is being produced through the curriculum in the relationship between faculty and students in the health sciences.

Perceptions and experiences of cyberbullying amongst university students in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa

Cyberbullying in South Africa has become a problem in the recent past. However, there is a lack of research focusing on cyberbullying at the university level. This study investigates the perceptions and experiences of cyberbullying amongst tertiary students in the Eastern Cape province. The study used a quantitative survey approach to collect data from 150 students at a university in the Eastern Cape. The results indicated that one-third of the students had been victims of cyberbullying. Overall, students considered cyberbullying as a serious issue, but less than one-third of the students could identify the indirect methods of cyberbullying. The topic has not been incorporated into policy or the university curriculum in South Africa. This study recommends that the Department of Higher Education must provide a standardised policy and curriculum on cyberbullying that universities can use to implement and enforce cyber safety behaviour at the university.

Academics' conceptions of higher education decolonisation

The urgency for a decolonised university curriculum in South Africa, occasioned by student protests, demands interrogation of conceptions of decolonisation academic staff hold, seeing that the design and implementation of decolonised education rests largely with them. To determine the academics’ conceptions, the study adopted the interpretivist paradigm, using semi-structured interviews to solicit data from 13 purposively sampled academic staff at a South African university. Data analysis took a grounded analysis approach, where content analysed categories/themes emerged from the transcribed and coded data, not from apriori assumptions. Findings reflected both the conception of decolonisation as recentring and decentring. Findings also pointed to the ubiquitous use of the terms Africa and African(s) in defining decolonisation, conflating Afrocentric philosophy and Africanisation with decolonisation. Such findings represented the conception of decolonisation as a recentring of curriculum from the West to Africa as the centre. Other academics’ conceptions also represented a decentring of knowledge from Western hegemony without necessarily recentring it to African hegemony. Much advocacy was for achieving equality and parity between extant knowledges and hitherto marginalised local knowledges. There was also a manifest vacillation in respondents’ conception of decolonisation as they responded to the different questions, almost evincing a continuum between what can be termed a hard version and a soft version of the concept. The study recommends broader, intensive, institutional discussion of conceptual issues around curriculum decolonisation prior to implementation.issues around curriculum decolonisation prior to implementation.