An exploration of higher education teachers’ experience of decolonising the Bachelor of Education honours curriculum at a South African university
The ongoing 2015/16 student unrest (#RhodesMustFall; #FeesMustFall) has displayed heightened calls for the decolonising of the curriculum in the higher education (HE) sector. Students have highlighted in the recent protests that the curriculum remains largely Eurocentric and continues to reinforce...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of the Free State
2019-04-01
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| Series: | Perspectives in Education |
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| Online Access: | http://196.255.246.28/index.php/pie/article/view/3803 |
| _version_ | 1797258030390181888 |
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| author | Preya Pillay Eben Swanepoel |
| author_facet | Preya Pillay Eben Swanepoel |
| author_sort | Preya Pillay |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
The ongoing 2015/16 student unrest (#RhodesMustFall; #FeesMustFall) has displayed heightened calls for the decolonising of the curriculum in the higher education (HE) sector. Students have highlighted in the recent protests that the curriculum remains largely Eurocentric and continues to reinforce white and Western dominance. In response to the need for a decolonised curriculum, higher education lecturers at a university in South Africa embarked on a Bachelor of Education honours writing exercise workshop with the purpose of decolonising the curriculum. This entailed rethinking ways of knowing and a deconstruction of old epistemologies, with the aim that transformation in the classroom would be reflected in what is taught and how it is taught, as a means to ripple through to grassroots classroom level. This study explores, through using Foucauldian discourse as theoretical frame, the experiences of eight lecturers at a university involved in teacher induction of honours-level education students. This link serves as a fundamental basis between societal change that speaks to creating a space for the African child in challenging teacher conceptions of power and privilege and rethinking the norms of praxis that manifest when teachers enter the classroom. Semi-structured interviews were transcribed and thematically analysed to gain understanding as to the prominent methods used and the dominant conceptualisation of what decolonising the curriculum entails. Findings suggest a need to return to grassroots classroom level as a means to involve stakeholders, such as teachers and tertiary students, in shaping the curriculum. It is further found that lecturers lack the means to engage with a solely Afrocentric theoretical basis and that Western discourse remains a prominent source of knowledge due to the lack of indigenous knowledge systems and research.
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| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T22:47:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9fa54b4099644e18b15a3e293f2f759a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0258-2236 2519-593X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T22:47:03Z |
| publishDate | 2019-04-01 |
| publisher | University of the Free State |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Perspectives in Education |
| spelling | doaj.art-9fa54b4099644e18b15a3e293f2f759a2024-03-18T11:10:25ZengUniversity of the Free StatePerspectives in Education0258-22362519-593X2019-04-0136210.18820/2519593X/pie.v36i2.10An exploration of higher education teachers’ experience of decolonising the Bachelor of Education honours curriculum at a South African universityPreya Pillay0Eben Swanepoel1University of the Witwatersrand, South AfricaUniversity of the Free State, South Africa The ongoing 2015/16 student unrest (#RhodesMustFall; #FeesMustFall) has displayed heightened calls for the decolonising of the curriculum in the higher education (HE) sector. Students have highlighted in the recent protests that the curriculum remains largely Eurocentric and continues to reinforce white and Western dominance. In response to the need for a decolonised curriculum, higher education lecturers at a university in South Africa embarked on a Bachelor of Education honours writing exercise workshop with the purpose of decolonising the curriculum. This entailed rethinking ways of knowing and a deconstruction of old epistemologies, with the aim that transformation in the classroom would be reflected in what is taught and how it is taught, as a means to ripple through to grassroots classroom level. This study explores, through using Foucauldian discourse as theoretical frame, the experiences of eight lecturers at a university involved in teacher induction of honours-level education students. This link serves as a fundamental basis between societal change that speaks to creating a space for the African child in challenging teacher conceptions of power and privilege and rethinking the norms of praxis that manifest when teachers enter the classroom. Semi-structured interviews were transcribed and thematically analysed to gain understanding as to the prominent methods used and the dominant conceptualisation of what decolonising the curriculum entails. Findings suggest a need to return to grassroots classroom level as a means to involve stakeholders, such as teachers and tertiary students, in shaping the curriculum. It is further found that lecturers lack the means to engage with a solely Afrocentric theoretical basis and that Western discourse remains a prominent source of knowledge due to the lack of indigenous knowledge systems and research. http://196.255.246.28/index.php/pie/article/view/3803DecolonisationHigher educationCurriculum reformFoucauldian discourseTeacher inductionIndigenous knowledge |
| spellingShingle | Preya Pillay Eben Swanepoel An exploration of higher education teachers’ experience of decolonising the Bachelor of Education honours curriculum at a South African university Perspectives in Education Decolonisation Higher education Curriculum reform Foucauldian discourse Teacher induction Indigenous knowledge |
| title | An exploration of higher education teachers’ experience of decolonising the Bachelor of Education honours curriculum at a South African university |
| title_full | An exploration of higher education teachers’ experience of decolonising the Bachelor of Education honours curriculum at a South African university |
| title_fullStr | An exploration of higher education teachers’ experience of decolonising the Bachelor of Education honours curriculum at a South African university |
| title_full_unstemmed | An exploration of higher education teachers’ experience of decolonising the Bachelor of Education honours curriculum at a South African university |
| title_short | An exploration of higher education teachers’ experience of decolonising the Bachelor of Education honours curriculum at a South African university |
| title_sort | exploration of higher education teachers experience of decolonising the bachelor of education honours curriculum at a south african university |
| topic | Decolonisation Higher education Curriculum reform Foucauldian discourse Teacher induction Indigenous knowledge |
| url | http://196.255.246.28/index.php/pie/article/view/3803 |
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