Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Curriculum Studies in South Africa: Colonialism, Constructivism, and Outcomes-Based Education

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Curriculum in International Contexts

Part of the book series: Curriculum Studies Worldwide ((CSWW))

Abstract

In this chapter, Kumar provides a synoptic view of curriculum studies in South Africa. He starts with a discussion of the colonial roots of the South African curriculum and traces its development from the founding of the first slave school in the seventeenth century up to the apartheid era. Along the way, he discusses different pedagogical movements and curricular reforms that marked that period highlighting their discriminatory and exclusionist approaches towards Indigenous peoples. Next, he covers the post-apartheid curricula mainly Curriculum 2005, the National Curriculum Statement, and the Curriculum Policy and Assessment Statement, arguing against their adequacy as educational reforms due to their instrumentalist, managerial, and outcomes-based focus. The chapter concludes with several considerations to contextualize the curriculum in accordance with South Africa’s social, cultural, and political landscape.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 119.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Abadzi, H. (2006). Efficient learning for the poor: Insights from the frontier of cognitive neuroscience. New York: World Bank.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Allias, S. M. (2007). Education service delivery: The disastrous case of outcomes-based qualifications frameworks. Progress in Development Studies, 7(1), 65–78.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aoki, T. T., Pinar, W. F., & Irwin, R. L. (2005). Curriculum in a new key: The collected works of Ted T. Aoki. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Apple, M. W. (1979). Ideology and curriculum (1st ed.). London: Routledge and Paul.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Apple, M. W. (2004). Ideology and curriculum (3rd ed.). New York: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Autio, T. (2006). Subjectivity, curriculum, and society: Between and beyond German didaktik and Anglo-American curriculum studies. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Autio, T. (2014). The internationalization of curriculum research. In W. F. Pinar (Ed.), International handbook of curriculum research (pp. 17–31). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bernstein, B. (1999). Vertical and horizontal discourse: An essay. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 20(2), 157–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowels, S., & Gintis, H. (1976). Schooling in capitalist America. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bunting, I. (2004). The higher education landscape under apartheid. In N. Coelete, R. Fehnel, P. Maassen, T. Moja, H. Perold, & T. Gibbon (Eds.), Transformation in higher education: Global pressures and local realities in South Africa. Cape Town: Juta.

    Google Scholar 

  • Callan, E. (1999). A note on patriotism and utopianism: Response to Schrag. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 18(3), 197–201.

    Google Scholar 

  • Christie, P., & Collins, C. (1982). Bantu education: Apartheid ideology or labour reproduction? Comparative Education, 18(1), 59–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, R. H. (1984). Charles T. Loram and the American model for African education in South Africa. In P. Kallaway (Ed.), Apartheid and education: The education of black South Africans (pp. 108–126). Johannesburg: Ravan Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deleuze, G., & Guattari, F. (1987). A thousand plateaus (B. Massumi, Trans.). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Denoon, D., & Nyeko, B. (1987). Southern Africa since 1800. London and New York: Longman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Department of Education. (2000). Curriculum 2005: Towards a theoretical framework. Pretoria: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • Enslin, P. (1984). The role of fundamental pedagogics in the formulation of education policy in South Africa. In P. Kallaway (Ed.), Apartheid and education: The education of black South Africans (pp. 139–147). Johannesburg: Ravan Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freire, P. (1973). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Seabury Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giroux, H. (1981). Ideology, culture and the process of schooling. Basingstoke and Hampshire: Flamer Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Habib, I. (2005). How to evade real issues and make room for obscurantism. Social Scientist, 33(388–389), 3–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harley, K., & Wedekind, V. (2004). Political change, curriculum change and social formation, 1990 to 2002. In L. Chisholm (Ed.), Changing class: Education and social change in post-apartheid South Africa. Cape Town: Human Sciences Research Council.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoadley, U. (2010). Tribes and territories: Contestation around curriculum in South Africa. In W. F. Pinar (Ed.), Curriculum studies in South Africa: Intellectual histories, present circumstances (pp. 125–176). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hoadley, U. (2015). Michael Young and the curriculum field in South Africa. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 47(6), 733–749.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoadley, U. (2017). Pedagogy in poverty: Lessons from twenty years of curriculum reform in South Africa. London and New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hugo, W. (2010). Drawing the lines in post-apartheid curriculum studies. In W. F. Pinar (Ed.), Curriculum studies in South Africa: Intellectual histories, present circumstances (pp. 51–106). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Hursh, D., & Ross, E. (Eds.). (2000). Democratic social education: Social studies for social change. New York: Falmer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Illich, I. (1970). Deschooling society. New York: Harper & Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jansen, J. D. (1999). Why outcomes-based education will fail: An elaboration. In J. Jansen & P. Christie (Eds.), Changing curriculum: Studies on outcomes-based education in South Africa (pp. 203–217). Kenwyn: Juta & Co., Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jansen, J. D., & Christie, P. (Eds.). (1999). Changing curriculum: Studies on outcomes-based education in South Africa. Kenwyn: Juta & Co., Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumar, A. (2013). Curriculum as meditative inquiry. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar, A. (2014). Meditative education: A Proposal for the existential renewal of teacher education in the 21st century. In M. J. Harkins & Z. Barchuk (Eds.), Conversations with international teacher educators: Teaching in a global world [E-Book]. Halifax: Faculty of Education, Mount Saint Vincent University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumar, A., & Downey, A. (2018). Teaching as meditative inquiry: A dialogical exploration. Journal of the Canadian Association for Curriculum Studies, 16(2), 52–75. Available online at https://jcacs.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/jcacs/article/view/40339/36397.

  • Kumar, R. (2012). The charge of neoliberal brigade and higher education in India. Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies, 10(2), 258–281.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumar, R. (2015). Neoliberalism, critical pedagogy and education. New Delhi: Routledge India.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Le Grange, L. (2010). South African curriculum studies: A historical perspective and autobiographical account. In W. F. Pinar (Ed.), Curriculum studies in South Africa: Intellectual histories, present circumstances (pp. 177–200). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Le Grange, L. (2014). Curriculum research in South Africa. In W. F. Pinar (Ed.), International handbook of curriculum research (pp. 466–475). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Le Grange, L., & Reddy, C. (2000). Introducing teachers to OBE and EE: A Western Cape case study. South African Journal of Education, 20(1), 28–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Malherbe, E. (1925/1937). Education in South Africa, 1652–1975 (Two Volumes). Cape Town: Juta & Co., Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mason, M. (1999). Outcomes-based education in South African curricular reform: A response to Jonathan Jansen. Cambridge Journal of Education, 29(1), 137–143.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morais, A. M., & Neves, I. P. (2018). The quest for high-level knowledge in schools: Revisiting the concepts of classification and framing. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 39(3), 261–282.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morrow, W. (2007). Learning to teach in South Africa. Cape Town: HSRC Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muller, J. (1996). Dreams of wholeness and loss: Critical sociology of education in South Africa. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 17(2), 177–195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muller, J., & Gamble, J. (2007). Curriculum and structuralist sociology: The theory of codes and knowledge structures. In B. McGraw, E. Baker, & P. Peterson (Eds.), International encyclopedia of education. New York: Elsevier.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muller, J., & Taylor, N. (2000). Schooling and everyday life. In J. Muller (Ed.), Reclaiming knowledge: Social theory, curriculum and education policy. London and New York: Routledge/Falmer.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Council of Educational Research and Training. (2005). National Curriculum Framework. New Delhi: Author. The online version is available at http://www.ncert.nic.in/rightside/links/pdf/framework/english/nf2005.pdf.

  • Pinar, W. F. (Ed.). (2010). Curriculum studies in South Africa: Intellectual histories, present circumstances. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Probyn, M. (2006). Language and learning science in South Africa. Language and Education, 20(5), 391–414.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ross, E. W., & Gibson, R. (Eds.). (2007). Neoliberalism and education reform. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saha, L. J. (1978). The ‘new’ sociology of education and the study of learning environments: Prospects and problems. Acta Sociologica, 21(1), 47–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Setalvad, T. (2005). Comments on National Curriculum Framework 2005: The South Asian. Available online at http://www.thesouthasian.org/archives/2005/comments_on_national_curriculu.html.

  • Soudien, C. (2005). Racial discourse in the commission on native education (Eiselen Commission), 1949–1951: The making of a ‘Bantu’ identity. Southern African Review of Education, 11(1), 41–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Soudien, C. (2010). “What to teach natives”: A historiography of the curriculum dilemma in South Africa. In W. F. Pinar (Ed.), Curriculum studies in South Africa: Intellectual histories, present circumstances (pp. 19–50). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Soudien, C. (2012). Realising the dream: Unlearning the logic of race in the South African school. Cape Town: HSRC Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Soudien, C., & Baxen, J. (1997). Transformation and outcomes-based education in South Africa: Opportunities and challenges. Journal of Negro Education, 66(4), 449–459.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, F. W. (1911). The principles of scientific management. New York: Harper and Brothers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, N., & Vinjevold, P. (1999). Getting learning right: Report on the President’s Education Initiative Research Project. Johannesburg: Joint Education Trust.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thapar, R. (2005). National Curriculum Framework and the social science. Social Scientist, 33(388–389), 54–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tyler, R. (1949). Basic principles of curriculum and instruction. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Union Government (U.G.). No 53/51 (1951). Report of the commission on native education. Pretoria: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • Velaskar, P. (2010). Quality and inequality in Indian education: Some critical policy concerns. Contemporary Education Dialogue, 7(1), 58–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waghid, Y. (2003). Peter’s non-instrumental justification of education view revisited: Contesting the philosophy of outcomes-based education in South Africa. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 22(3–4), 245–265.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waghid, Y. (2010). Towards authentic teaching and learning in post-apartheid South Africa: In defence of freedom, friendship and democratic citizenship. In W. F. Pinar (Ed.), Curriculum studies in South Africa: Intellectual histories, present circumstances (pp. 201–220). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Waghid, Y. (2013). African philosophy of education reconsidered: On being human. London: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Waghid, Y. (2015). On the (im) potentiality of an African philosophy of education to disrupt inhumanity. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 47(11), 1234–1240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yadav, M. (2017). Midday meals scheme: Are corruption claims exaggerated? Ideas for India. http://www.ideasforindia.in/topics/governance/midday-meals-scheme-are-corruption-claims-exaggerated.html.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mount Saint Vincent University, Halifax, NS, Canada

    Ashwani Kumar

Authors
  1. Ashwani Kumar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ashwani Kumar .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Kumar, A. (2019). Curriculum Studies in South Africa: Colonialism, Constructivism, and Outcomes-Based Education. In: Curriculum in International Contexts. Curriculum Studies Worldwide. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01983-9_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01983-9_2

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-01982-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-01983-9

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation