Reframing the curriculum: a transformative approach (original) (raw)
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Reframing the Curriculum: A more equitable higher education
This is a keynote given to the Stellenbosh Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Conference on the 26 October 2016. Although here has been rapid expansion of higher education around the globe it has not resulted in a more equitable higher education. Drawing on Fraser’s definition of justice as ‘parity of participation’, equity in higher education is conceptualized as both equity of access and outcomes. The tensions between expansion and equity are illustrated by comparing South Africa’s equity challenges with those of Brazil and the United States. Focusing on South Africa’s critical choices, the paper then offers four scenarios or possible futures to illustrate some of the trade-offs and strategic choices. The main argument is that if South Africa’s higher education system continues to expand without a concomitant investment in the effectiveness of teaching and learning, it will not achieve the policy goals of equity of access and outcomes. Furthermore the investment needs to be strategically targeted to interventions that have a catalytic effect, serving as systemic levers of change that lead to reduced drop-out rates and improved graduation rates. To this end the paper argues that the state needs to prioritize over the next decade an investment in an undergraduate curriculum more ‘fit for purpose’. In the final section, a proposal is made for what this educational investment would like at the institutional level. Fraser’s concept of ‘reframing’ is drawn on to conceptualize a transformative curriculum reform strategy.
Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 2020
This paper reports on a study that focuses on students from rural areas of South Africa and their experiences of higher education. These students have attracted little attention in widening participation research in South Africa, despite being one of the most marginalised groups (Mgqwashu 2016a). The paper, drawing on the experiences of student co-researchers and using the concepts of decoloniality and curricular justice as a theoretical framework, argues for greater acknowledgement of epistemic reciprocity in curriculum development as a way to ensure more socially just curricula. Findings illustrate the importance that students attribute to being able to relate to curricula that reflect their experiences, curricula that they do not experience in higher education. Students report feelings of marginalisation, lack of recognition of the importance of knowledge and skills developed in their communities and their relevance to higher education together with the challenges they face accessing and engaging with the curriculum.
Transformation in Higher Education, 2016
Universities, in their multiplex roles of social, political, epistemological and capital reform, are by their constitution expected to both symbolise and enact transformation. While institutions of higher education in South Africa have been terrains of protest and reform – whether during apartheid or post-apartheid – the intense multiplex roles which these institutions assume have metaphorically come home to roost in the past 2 years. Not unlike the social-media-infused rumblings, coined as the ‘Arab Spring’, the recent cascades of #mustfall campaigns have brought to the fore the serious dearth of transformation in higher education and have raised more critical questions about conceptions of transformation, and how these translate into, or reflect, the social and political reform that continues to dangle out of the reach of the majority of South Africans. What, then, does transformation mean and imply? How does an institution reach a transformed state? How does one know when such a state is reached? These are a few of the concerns this article seeks to address. But it hopes to do so by moving beyond the thus far truncated parameters of transformation – which have largely been seeped in the oppositional politics of historical advantage and disadvantage, and which, in turn, have ensured that conceptions of transformation have remained trapped in discourses of race and racism. Instead, this article argues that the real challenge facing higher education is not so much about transformation, as it is about enacting democracy through equipping students to live and think differently in a pluralist society
PEOPLE: International Journal of Social Sciences, 2017
This article seeks to situate curriculum transformation in the South African learning environment on the landscape of critical race theory. The article acknowledges that the need for curriculum transformation in South Africa is a matter beyond any contestation. However, it argues that what has been lacking to date is the absolute resolve on the theory or philosophy that underpins the transformation agendawhich to a certain extent has reduced curriculum transformation to superficial infusion of the principles and values of uBuntu in the curricular; and the drive towards decolonisation of the curricular without much tangible alternative being offered. As part of the execution of the study in this article the author critically examines the literature on critical race theories critical the theory, and examines the applicability of this theory as the bar that underpins curriculum transformation. The researcher contextualises this article with reference to curriculum development agenda at the College of Law of the University of South Africa where he is an academic in the discipline of law.
(Mis)framing Higher Education in South Africa: (Mis)framingHigherEducation inSouthAfrica
UWC Research Repository (University of the Western Cape), 2012
The question of how to make higher education more inclusive has been a central concern in South Africa and elsewhere over the past two decades. However, in South Africa there remains a disjuncture between policy aimed at promoting inclusivity and the experiences of students and staff in the higher education sector. In this article, the relationship between equity of access and equity of outcomes and the expectations that follow from these policy imperatives are examined from the perspective of Nancy Fraser's normative framework of social justice. In particular, her notion of misframing is used to analyze the current situation in the higher education sector in South Africa. The article concludes that a focus on individual higher education institutions is not sufficient to gain a perspective on the social arrangements required for participatory parity in higher education, and in fact, such a focus is an instance of misframing and thus a form of injustice.
Intersection of Ubuntu pedagogy and social justice: Transforming South African higher education
Transformation in Higher Education, 2021
Background: Universities, globally, and in South Africa, continue to be confronted with demands for transformation, humanisation of pedagogical practices and to embrace social justice. Aim: In this article, we bring to the surface possibilities of Ubuntu pedagogy within a social justice framework. We intersect Collective Fingers Theory and Social Justice Theory to propose the notion of Ubuntu pedagogy, which draws from African philosophy of Ubuntu. We argue that Ubuntu pedagogy provides an alternation to the current pedagogies that draw from European theories for teaching and learning in the South African higher education context. We put forward that, Ubuntu pedagogy, when embraced with understanding and dignity it deserves, has the potential, firstly, of initiating students from other cultures other than African cultures to the values of Ubuntu and, secondly, of reconnecting students with their values and cultures, but it has a capacity to cultivate social justice values of equity, recognition and fair participation amongst students from diverse social backgrounds. Setting: South African Higher Education. Methodology: The authors draw from literature to position the article within Ubuntu philosophical framework and social justice lenses. Themes emerging from literature are as follows: Intersection of Ubuntu philosophy and social justice, Ubuntu pedagogy and transformation in higher education and guiding principles for possible implementation of Ubuntu pedagogy. Results: At the intersection of Ubuntu pedagogy and social justice, classroom practices are designed to respond to students' cultural competencies and to embrace all linguistic repertoires that students bring to the classroom for learning. Students are treated equally and with dignity and respect regardless of their social backgrounds. Conclusion: We argue that higher education classrooms in post-apartheid South Africa should enable equal access, equity and inclusivity for all students. We therefore recommend Ubuntu pedagogy as a culturally and socially just pedagogy for transformative higher education classrooms. This article contributes to the continuing dialogues about transformative pedagogies, decolonisation and social justice in South African higher education.
Challenges for curriculum in a contemporary South Africa
2011
This question also relates to a tension as to whether curricula get influenced from inside the academy or by the external political economy, which Bernstein (2000) referred to as 'introjection' and 'projection', respectively. Drawing on the work of Moore (2001), Clegg and Bradley (2006) suggest that in South Africa, higher education curricula, which have traditionally been the product of academic influence (introjection), is increasingly being influenced by external global forces and the need to redress past inequalities (projection).
Jurnal Penelitian dan Pengkajian Ilmu Pendidikan, 2022
Globally, the universities are recognized as the centres of higher learning, which are considered as expedient agents of development in the nation building. Curriculums determine the skills and knowledge that will be obtained from the qualification, and these are vital in the progress and transition of one's life. However, in South Africa higher education requires a synergy to engage the issues of redress. In addressing apartheid legacy, transformation in higher education curriculum remains a mechanism for achieving the needed change. Although, the general purpose of higher education may change overtime, as it remains important for individuals to gain access to education. This study is premised on the belief that, the purpose of higher education is to meet the socioeconomic and developmental needs of a country. As a result, this study investigated the challenges of transformation in higher education curriculum development in South Africa. A qualitative approach was employed. The finding was that institutions of higher learning in South Africa are still mired in the past, as a result, the curriculum in place isn't geared towards meeting the residents' economic needs or the country's overall social goals. Furthermore, South Africa government raced towards reforming the higher education curriculum system shortly after 1994, when the new government took control, with the primary goal of repressing everything, notably in education. The researchers recommend that effective transformation for higher education curriculum in South African institutions requires an alignment of skills and knowledge taught in universities qualifications should address the need of the society.
In the context of the complex challenges facing higher education, this article aims to illustrate how the translation of theoretical insights into a carefully formulated set of questions, can function as a flexible, discipline-specific developmental framework for curriculum development. Drawing primarily on Bernstein's (2000) concept of the pedagogical device and also on the work of Maton and Muller , Muller , , and Wheelahan , the authors argue that this process, without either alienating or patronising staff, has the potential to strengthen the theoretical understanding of their curricula by raising awareness about differentiated knowledge domains and the extent to which this impacts on curriculum design. This facilitates a collaborative process of critical discussion and debate which highlights the importance of access to knowledge, and encourages exploration of the nature of disciplines; their shaping values; the kinds of curricula that emerge from them; and the associated student and staff identities.