HED4804
Assignment 3
Detailed Response
Due 2025
, HED4804
Assignment 3: Detailed Response
Due 2025
Decolonisation and Africanisation in Education: Women, Class, and Teacher
Training in South Africa
Introduction
Decolonisation in education entails dismantling the colonial foundations embedded in
curricula and pedagogy, thereby repositioning African values, languages, and
knowledge systems as central components (Massey-Jones 2019). This movement
rejects Eurocentric standards and, as Makgoba (1997) notes, "refocuses the curriculum
to Africa." Closely linked is the concept of Africanisation—integrating African histories,
philosophies (such as Ubuntu), and cultural contexts into the educational framework
(Sesanti 2024). Both processes challenge entrenched inequalities, aiming for justice by
amplifying historically marginalised voices (Du Plessis 2021). This essay applies these
debates to two thematic areas: Women and Education, followed by a critical
assessment of the historical development of teacher education in South Africa, focusing
on the integration of Afrocentric philosophies.
a) Women and Education
Colonial and apartheid education systems in South Africa were profoundly gendered
and racialised, systematically marginalising women. As Sesanti (2024) asserts, colonial
schooling "affected Africans both in racist and sexist ways." The apartheid-era
curriculum reinforced patriarchal structures and socio-economic stratification.
Thobejane (2013, cited in Akinmolayan et al. 2024) emphasises that Black women were
considered inferior in all dimensions of South African public life, a narrative entrenched
through curricular content and school policies.
Assignment 3
Detailed Response
Due 2025
, HED4804
Assignment 3: Detailed Response
Due 2025
Decolonisation and Africanisation in Education: Women, Class, and Teacher
Training in South Africa
Introduction
Decolonisation in education entails dismantling the colonial foundations embedded in
curricula and pedagogy, thereby repositioning African values, languages, and
knowledge systems as central components (Massey-Jones 2019). This movement
rejects Eurocentric standards and, as Makgoba (1997) notes, "refocuses the curriculum
to Africa." Closely linked is the concept of Africanisation—integrating African histories,
philosophies (such as Ubuntu), and cultural contexts into the educational framework
(Sesanti 2024). Both processes challenge entrenched inequalities, aiming for justice by
amplifying historically marginalised voices (Du Plessis 2021). This essay applies these
debates to two thematic areas: Women and Education, followed by a critical
assessment of the historical development of teacher education in South Africa, focusing
on the integration of Afrocentric philosophies.
a) Women and Education
Colonial and apartheid education systems in South Africa were profoundly gendered
and racialised, systematically marginalising women. As Sesanti (2024) asserts, colonial
schooling "affected Africans both in racist and sexist ways." The apartheid-era
curriculum reinforced patriarchal structures and socio-economic stratification.
Thobejane (2013, cited in Akinmolayan et al. 2024) emphasises that Black women were
considered inferior in all dimensions of South African public life, a narrative entrenched
through curricular content and school policies.
