In recent years, there has been a growing outcry from various sectors in South Africa for the transformation of the curriculum taught in South Africa. This is because South Africa has been a democratic state for over 26 years, and as such, the proponents of curriculum transformation assert that much more should have been done thus far to transform the curriculum. Consequently, there is a need to engage various stakeholders in a concerted effort to collaborate in the curriculum transformation process, which is found to be complex and a demanding practice. Therefore, this chapter uses the social sciences, particularly social work education and practice, as a case study to unpack the need and relevance of curriculum transformation within the higher education sector because of its distinct focus on human relations and profound effect on every part of society. This chapter will provide insights into the relevance of curriculum transformation in the social sciences, which academics from various disciplines would find useful and engaging.
TopIntroduction And Background
The concept curriculum transformation has attracted considerable debate and research over the past years (Vorster, 2016) and, as such, the pedagogy behind curriculum transformation cannot be overlooked (Westbrook et al., 2013, p. 88). Globally, curriculum transformation is one of the most significant and relevant developments in various institutions of higher learning (Fotheringha, Strickland & Aitchison, 2012, p. 1). Therefore, a bottom-up approach, where various stakeholders are consulted on issues around curriculum development must be followed in curriculum transformation. This is because one of the forces driving curriculum development is the need to cater for diverse students, because “students are regarded as change agents” (Fotheringha, Strickland & Aitchison, 2012, p. 5).
In South Africa, curriculum transformation can be traced to the dismantling of apartheid, following the 1994 democratic elections. The apartheid regime, which ruled South Africa from 1948 until the early 1990s, had enacted the Extension of University Education Act 45 of 1959. This Act separated tertiary institutions along racial lines by establishing separate “tribal colleges” and universities for Black students and White universities (South African History Online, 2020). Following the new democratic dispensation, post 1994, policy implication of this act continued to shape decisions in the sector. As such, the newly elected democratic government saw the need to overhaul the education system. This need was fuelled by the notion that “education is a weapon of transformation” (Msila, 2007, p. 146). It was thus, crucial to introduce the transformation agenda during this period of transition, as the education sector needed to reflect on the complex changes that were required nationally at the time and going into the future.
The curriculum transformation agenda, within the higher education sector in South Africa, also features in the higher education policy discourse. To commence the transformation process, in February 1995, former President Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela appointed a National Commission on Higher Education (NCHE) to investigate the sector (Soudien, 2010, p. 5). The NCHE reported that the South African higher education system had substantial capacity and areas of excellence that were recognised internationally, and that the critically acclaimed excellence was fundamentally flawed by inequities, imbalances and distortions that originated from its history of apartheid. Following the report, the Department of Higher Education published the Green Paper on Higher Education Transformation (Department of Education, 1996). The Green Paper highlighted, among other pertinent issues, the need to redress the inequalities of the past and increase access to all higher education institutions, by all South African citizens, as imperatives for the transformation agenda.
A few months later, the Department of Higher Education published the Education White Paper 3, which outlined a programme for the transformation of higher education (Department of Education, 1997a). The White Paper reemphasised the need to transform the South African education system to serve the new social and democratic order, meet new national needs, and respond to new realities and opportunities. The Department of Education also promulgated the Higher Education Act 101 of 1997 (Department of Education, 1997b). The Act provides for, among other things, the need to restructure and transform academic programmes, so that institutions could respond better to the human resource, economic and developmental needs of South Africa. The Act also cemented the need to redress past inequalities. It aimed at ensuring equal access for all citizens. Furthermore, it was to bolster respect for and encourage democracy, academic freedom, freedom of speech and expression, creativity, scholarship, and research (Department of Education, 1997b). A few years later, in 2001, the National Plan for Higher Education in South Africa was also introduced. The plan was intended to provide an implementation framework for the Education White Paper 3.