HED4805 Assignment 3 (COMPLETE ANSWERS) 2026 - DUE 10 August 2026

Question 1 (25) Read the given extract titled, “Colonialism, coloniality and post-colonial Africa: a conceptual framework”, from chapter 7 of the prescribed book (Seroto, Davids & Wolhuter 2020), and then answer the questions that follow. Colonialism, coloniality and post-colonial Africa: a conceptual framework Post-colonial reconstruction of African societies cannot be limited to political and economic transformation. Due to the predominance of Western epistemologies and systems of education during and after colonialism, the African masses often became oblivious to their forgotten history. Western European colonial policies such as ‘assimilation’ (French) and ‘assimilados’ (Portuguese) were based on a rejection of the local culture and an adoption of a foreign, European culture – essentially a denial of an African identity. The African elite that worked in close collaboration with the colonial administration often became the main protagonists of European culture. When a few African leaders met in Addis Ababa in 1963 to establish the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the objective was to liberate the continent from colonialism and apartheid. While apartheid was abolished in 1994, African countries remained largely dependent on foreign aid, which compromised their political and economic independence. Without achieving its objectives, the OAU was dissolved in July 2002 and transformed into the African Union (AU), which aimed to unite its fifty-three member-states politically, socially and economically. The AU intended to address the old African problems afresh through the promotion of democracy, good governance and foreign investment (Carbone, 2002). For a long time, Africa seems to have been suffering from the aftermath of colonialism, which has posed serious challenges to its economic development and independence. The colonial legacy left behind structural inequalities that were difficult to eradicate. However, Smith argues that ‘there can be no social justice without cognitive justice’ and calls for an ecology of knowledge(s) that enables alternative ways of knowing and scientific knowledge to co-exist (Smith, 2012:214). The inspiration of an African Renaissance, which is mainly about cultural and intellectual revitalisation, should become an integral part of transforming and reconstructing the socio-economic landscape of Africa. Therefore, the restoration of Africa’s intellectual and cultural history needs to be at the centre of political and economic reconstruction and should not be treated in isolation. Assignment 03 History of Education Due date: 10 August 2026 Unique assignment number: 100 marks HED4805/101/0/2026 29 A common observation in previously colonised societies during the post-colonial period is the patronising continuation of colonial myths and stereotypes that portray the culture of the colonised as inferior (Alvares, 1991). Colonial powers regarded Asian and African people as belonging to ‘backward’ or ‘child races’, who were inherently inferior because of their skin colour and perceived immorality, laziness, as well as a disregard for the sacredness of human life (Kies, 1953). These stereotypes became an integral part of the colonial educational systems. To maintain the political and social dominance of the colonisers, the real history of colonies was suppressed and replaced with the history of the coloniser, which was alienating to the local populations. The continuation of a colonial worldview and lifestyle after achieving political independence became a defining characteristic of post-colonial Africa, which had to be confronted. Conceptually, Maldonado-Torres (2007) explains the irony of colonial continuity by drawing a distinction between ‘colonialism’ and ‘coloniality’. Colonialism designates political and economic relations in which the power of a people rests on a foreign colonial/ imperial power, while coloniality refers to institutionalised colonialism, i.e. colonial practices, expressed in a longstanding pattern of culture, social relations and knowledge production (Maldonado-Torres, 2007). This duality between colonialism and coloniality has previously been addressed by Mignolo (1999) who sees the imaginary of the modern/colonial world as a function of ‘colonial difference’ that operates on a notion of a ‘coloniality of power’. Mignolo borrows the concept ‘double consciousness’ from WEB du Bois, which captures the dilemma of subjectivities formed within the colonial difference, i.e. the experience of anyone who has lived and lives modernity from coloniality (Mignolo & Ennis, 1999:29–30). Double consciousness becomes a crucial concept in explaining the ambivalence and tendencies of liberated Africans towards colonialism. 1. Define “colonialism” in your own words. (3) 2. How does Maldonado-Torres explain the concept of coloniality? (2) 3. Explain the difference between colonialism and coloniality. (5) 4. Sketch the sociohistorical background of colonialism and coloniality in the South African context. (10) 5. Do you agree with the colonial policies that were implemented by the European powers? Substantiate your answer. (5) Question 2 (25) Read the given extract titled, “Paradigms in education historiography”, from chapter 2 of the prescribed book (Seroto, Davids & Wolhuter 2020), and then answer the questions that follow. All the questions are based on the extract. 30 Paradigms in education historiography The first fault line in the panorama of published research on the History of Education is the presence of different paradigms. Thomas Kuhn (1971) defines a paradigm as the way in which a scientific or professional community views a field of study, identifies appropriate problems for study, and specifies legitimate concepts and methods. Four major paradigms in History of Education can be distinguished: Idea history, History of Acts and policies (or a ‘perspective from above’), Social history (or a ‘grassroots perspective’), and Cultural history. Idea history presents the ideas of great thinkers about education through the ages, chronologically, as the main theme, typically with some background knowledge of the times in which the thinkers lived. An example is Robert Ulich’s (1947) 3, 000 years of educational wisdom. Other publications in this stable include those of Power (1962) and Cole (1950). These books, which were popular in the mid-20th century, usually limited their discussion to Western educational thought, with at most a token admission of educational thought outside the Western world. The line of Western education philosophers typically begins with Socrates and Aristotle, then goes chronologically through the canon of Western educational thought, i.e. St Augustine, Erasmus, Luther, Comenius, Rousseau, Spencer, Herbart, ending with Dewey and Montessori in the early 20th century. A welcome exception, and recent publication outside the Western world, is the book by Gu Mingyuan (2014) Cultural Foundations of Chinese Education, surveying 5, 000 years of evolution of thought that underpin education in China. On the heels of the idea followed a history ‘from above’: the history of policies and education Acts and the institutional types they created; the purposes and curricula of these institutions, even the methods; and the school attending population (which social strata attended these institutions). Some of these publications still contain a good dose of idea history too, for example Duggan (1916), as well as Boyd & King (1975), many of which are still Eurocentric. However, there have been many publications on the History of Education on circumscribed geographical areas (usually nation-states) outside Western Europe and North America. An example is A Babs Fafunwa’s (1974) A History of Education in Nigeria. However, the problem is that these publications have never been integrated into the main corpus of the History of Education literature or scholarly discourse. For example, the book by Fafunwa (1974) did not receive any review in a single History of Education journal, despite providing ground-breaking literature on the largest education system in Africa. In the 1960s a new paradigm emerged, the social paradigm, as the focus shifted from ideas shaping education to actual education practice (Depaepe, 2002:2–3). Education policies and changes were viewed in their broad social and political contexts (Wolhuter & Karras, 2016). Over time, and in line with developments in the discipline of history and the social sciences, new topics gained prominence, for example, the history of the role of women in education, the role of the family, the role of minorities, and the role of excluded or marginalised individuals and groups (ibid.). In contrast to the preceding two paradigms, this paradigm presented a grassroots perspective on education at various times, i.e. how learners and teachers experienced education. In South African educational historiography, for example, Hartshorne’s (1992) Crisis and Challenge: Black Education, 1910–1990 and Hyslop’s (1999) The Classroom Struggle: Policy and Resistance in South Africa, 1940–1990 present, respectively, a view from above and from grassroots level on the same era. The establishment of the oral history projects at the universities of the Witwatersrand (Wits) and Cape Town (UCT) in the 1970s contributed HED4805/101/0/2026 31 significantly to this historical paradigm. These institutions addressed the neglect of oral history, especially the experiences and memories of the colonial and apartheid periods, enriching the historical archives now available for researchers. The archives consist of sound and visual materials that preserve significant events and experiences of ordinary people. A popular field of interest of historical significance was the forcible removals that emanated from apartheid’s Group Areas Act (1950). The Wits oral history project recorded memories of places such as Sophiatown and Fietas (Gauteng), while UCT preserved the forced removal memories of Cape Town communities where black people were uprooted to make way for white people. Here, the histories of Claremont, Newlands, District Six and so many others are recorded (Field, S (ed), 2001). Social history, commonly referred to as ‘people’s history’, is increasingly becoming part of the dominant alternative narrative in the post-apartheid period. 1. What was Thomas Kuhn’s (1971) main contribution to empirical research in the modern era? (5) 2. Critique the social history approach, and explain why it is relevant to decolonisation studies. (5) 3. Why can oral history be an essential decolonisation approach to history? Give an example to justify your answer. (5) 4. Complete the following application question/task: 4.1 As a history teacher and researcher, select a topic for research that relates to indigenous knowledge. (2) 4.2 Why is this topic important from the perspective of a decolonised history of education? (3) 4.3 Provide three data sources from the literature on this topic. (5) Question 3 (See chapter 5 of the prescribed book.) (25) 4.1.1 Three waves of migration led to the formation of the post-apartheid Muslim community in South Africa. Describe how did these migratory waves unfolded in South Africa? (10) 4.1.2 Explain the contribution made by the Turkish professor, Abu Bakr Effendi, to the development of education in South Africa during the late 17th century and early 18th century. (15) 32 Question 4 (25) 4.2 Do you agree that there were “research gaps and silences” in the educational history of South African Muslims? Substantiate your answer with appropriate evidence. (Refer to the section titled, “Muslim educational history”, in chapter 5 of the prescribed book.)