Decolonising the curriculum: Students' Perspectives

Abstract

Universities in South Africa came to a standstill in 2016 because of students’ protests in the quest for a decolonised curriculum. The university of technology in South Africa under investigation was forced to close when students’ demands for a decolonised curriculum intensified. The higher education institution (HEI) is now challenged to come up with a guideline on decolonising the curriculum in the event that students make similar demands again. The purpose of the study reported on was to explore students’ perspectives about decolonising the curriculum. The study was done using a qualitative case study and Rawls’ theory of justice as a theoretical framework. Ten student representatives were purposively selected to participate in semi-structured interviews and complete open-ended questionnaires. The data was analysed using content analysis. It was found that students’ perspectives about decolonisation were distinct, congruent and unambiguous. They were not advocating for the eradication of Western knowledge in the curriculum, but rather for decentring it.