DECOLONISING SOCIAL

SCIENCES IN THE
EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM
ECET71216: Education 2: Contemporary
Education Theory in Current Social Context

Lecturer: Dr K.L. Teise

King Moima, 202117554

Handri Melk, 201802240
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Table of Contents
The Definition of Decolonization. ................................................................................ 2

Concepts of decolonization. ....................................................................................... 2

The role that decolonization plays in transforming education. .................................... 3

The significance of decolonization for SA education .................................................. 3

The decolonisation of Social Sciences ....................................................................... 4

Strategies to decolonise Social Sciences ................................................................... 5

Embracing the diverse cultures and identities of all learners .................................. 5

The encouragement to take a stand ....................................................................... 6

Raise the awareness of the subject importance post-colonialism (in the

contemporary world) ............................................................................................... 6

Ubuntu Education ....................................................................................................... 7

References ................................................................................................................. 8
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The Definition of Decolonization.

South Africa much like other African countries such as Nigeria, Tanzania, Ghana and
Congo were colonized by Western countries during the late 1800s. As time progressed
many countries gained their independence from their colonial rulers. Though these
countries may have not been under the colonial rule anymore they struggled to adapt
to life post colonialism. This is where decolonization comes in. There are quite a few
concepts of decolonization but first we need to define what decolonization is. Ramose
(2004) states that the objective of decolonization is to challenge and decode western
structures and of how knowledge and cultural values were forced on African natives
during the colonial era. Additionally, the goal of decolonization is to recognize and
correct the historical wrongs caused by colonialism, including resource exploitation,
cultural loss, and the psychological toll of oppression. By tackling systematic injustices,
it seeks to build a society that is more just and equitable.

Concepts of decolonization.
There are a few key concepts of decolonization and one of them is the “reclaiming and
centering African knowledge and identity”. This concept deals with identifying and
treasuring African languages, cultural beliefs and rituals that were disregarded or
wiped out during the colonial times. In addition, decolonization is not only implemented
to rectify injustices from the past but it also seeks to include the native experiences of
Africans into the educational system by encouraging the use languages that are native
to this continent as well as instilling a sense of pride in being African (Chapfika, 2024).
Moreover, decolonization is closely related to Africanization, which is defined as an
African-centric way of thinking (philosophy) where indigenous knowledge and cultures
are embraced. The phenomenon of Africanization puts pressure on African
governments to provide importance to the launch of educational institutions that
embrace diversity, encourage diverse approaches, and raise consciousness regarding
possible blind areas. The once dominant Eurocentric viewpoints in forming institutions,
values, and knowledge are largely being criticized by decolonization. It aims to
undermine the idea that Europe is better and provide room for other ways of thinking
and being. Lastly, recognizing and attempting to address historical injustices caused
by colonialism, including resource exploitation, cultural degradation, and psychological
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impacts of oppression, is another concept of decolonization. Hence, by tackling

systematic disparities, it seeks to build a society that is more just and equitable.

The role that decolonization plays in transforming education.

In education, decolonization is about more than just incorporating African content into
pre-existing curriculum. In order to build inclusive and equitable learning environments
that represent the experiences and ambitions of all students, it demands for a
drastic transformation of teaching, assessment techniques, and the entire learning
environment. (Chapfika, 2024) claims that a critical evaluation of the pedagogy,
national curriculum, and “power structures” in educational establishments is required
for decolonization. It involves opposing the viewpoint behind what is instructed, how it
is instructed and the people in charge of steering students' educational paths. It
requests for welcoming other viewpoints, encouraging dialogue, and examining
conventional power systems. Lastly, decolonization put emphasis on how significant
it is for educators to examine their own prejudices, confront them, and welcome a
range of viewpoints. This entails appreciating “indigenous knowledge approaches”
and realizing the limits within the Eurocentric aspects (Lebeloane, 2018).

The significance of decolonization for SA education

It is crucial to decolonize the curriculum because it will help children understand and
deconstruct the dominant colonial concepts of race, gender and ethnicity.

Therefore, when talking about South Africa’s education system it is hard to look past
the role that apartheid played. Hence, because of its long history of colonialism and
apartheid, South Africa has a very uneven educational system that prioritizes Western
knowledge while marginalizing indigenous African viewpoints. (Plessis, 2021 ) claims
that Eurocentric philosophical frameworks are still deeply ingrained in South African
educational institutions and demands the decolonization of academic spaces.
Additionally, the South African educational system is still overcoming the effects of
colonialism while taking social and global developments into account. This is evident
since there are still many aspects of South African education that have not changed.
Furthermore, this is demonstrated by the way curricula are organized in classrooms,
the availability of high-quality education, and the fact that a large number of South
African schools still use a structure based on class (upper-class and middle-class etc.).
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The process of decolonizing education necessitates challenging ideas of meritocracy

that have benefited certain groups of people within society and disrupting a
Eurocentric mentality. (Lebeloane, 2018) argues that deconstructing skewed material
and reconstructing it to create a balanced curriculum that benefits students is a crucial
step in decolonizing education for equity and social justice. For instance, it's crucial to
clarify in a history lesson who owned the surroundings where gold and diamonds were
found, what happened to them, and how much of the profits from the minerals went to
those people (Lebeloane, 2018)

The decolonisation of Social Sciences

The decolonisation of Social Sciences as a topic is of paramount importance, because
the subject alone consists of the integration of various disciplines, predominantly
History, Sociology and Geography. However, on school level, the focus is more on
History and Geography, while Sociology is only emphasised more at tertiary level.
History should be taught using the teaching approach of a liberationist, in order for the
curriculum to be decolonised. The decolonisation of the subject includes the focus
being on the learners more than the teacher (Swartz, et al., 2020). This promotes
teaching styles such as the inquiry-based teaching approach, flipped classroom,
cooperative learning, active learning and other teaching strategies that promote the
notion that learners ought to become active members and not passive subjects in a
classroom. This is because according to the history of South Africa, although
colonisation has long ended, degrees of segregation were implemented in the land,
which ultimately affected the educational system of the country.

During apartheid (from 1948), South Africa had experienced unjust systems of
education which was only in favour of the white race. The white race had all the
benefits of educational resources from the government, while the native South
Africans (Black race) had to suffer the price thereof, which was suppression (Swartz,
et al., 2020). This historical background helps us understand the significance of the
decolonisation of the subject in the curriculum, as well as the practical application of
decolonisation in the execution of the lessons.

With reference to the historical background in the paragraph, it is evident that the
learners that are being taught have minds that need to be liberated in order for them
to be able to engage in the classroom. This brings back the insurance that the teaching
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and learning environment is filled with the atmosphere of peace, which leaves the
learners comfortable to engage in the classroom. In other words, there should be
enough confidence in both the teacher as well as the learners to engage in
“uncomfortable topics” (Swartz, et al., 2020). For example, in a classroom that consists
of learners of different races, the learners should, with the involvement of the teacher,
be able to engage in the detail concerning the topic of apartheid. This is because there
are substantiated facts and objectives in all history topics. Since the facts have been
tested and proven to be of quality knowledge, there should be enough comfortability
in the engagement of the topics. As a result, the learners are made aware of the power
of knowledge they may receive in such lessons, which carry the potential to complete
the race of decolonising nit just the educational system or the schooling subjects, but
the country at large.

Strategies to decolonise Social Sciences

Embracing the diverse cultures and identities of all learners
The learners need to be taught how to embrace their cultures, languages, traditions,
and their ethnicity. This is done effectively when the teachers teach the learners on
the interdependency of all cultures, and the significance of them all (Moosavi, 2023).
With the significance of Geography in the subject, we are also able to refer to the
geographic settlements and how each cultural tribe has its region where it is
predominantly found. For example, the Zulus are found mainly in KwaZulu Natal, the
Pedis, Ndebele’s, Swati’s, Tsongas and Venda’s mainly in the northern provinces of
South Africa (Mpumalanga and Limpopo). Such information can be used to explain to
learners why we find that the societal notion is that each culture has its “home
province/ town/ village”. Historic references can be made to further substantiate the
role of colonialism in the residential segregation of the tribes into colonial “provinces”.
Teaching the learners on the history of their tribes by finding out the present diverse
cultures in the classroom can help the learners to embrace their diversity. As a result,
the decolonisation of the subject has begun to take place because the learners are
then encouraged to embrace and be proud of their cultures more than the colonial
language(s), which are English and Afrikaans, in the context of South Africa. The
learners living their true identities that are originally established pre-colonialism is the
fulfilment of the decolonisation of their minds (Moosavi, 2023).
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The encouragement to take a stand

The learners should be able to take a stand in what they firmly believe in, without
having the fear of what others may think of their perspective. This means overcoming
the fear of rejection. Particularly in History, the learners should feel comfortable
enough to object if they feel that some information that they are studying is irrelevant
or is subjective – which is possible if the author is writing based on their side of their
story and not the overall story (Moncrieffe, et al., 2020). This promotes the learners’
right of voicing out their opinions without the fear of facing discrimination afterwards.
Another example may be that the learners want to take a stand to represent their home
language as a language that is just as important as the language used for medium
instruction. Although some schools want their learners to value the language of
teaching and learning as a language more superior or important than other languages,
the decolonisation of the educational system contradicts that notion, and rather
promotes the learners taking more pride in their native and home languages. This way,
cultural roots are restored and gradually replacing the use of English and Afrikaans in
our homes (Moncrieffe, et al., 2020). A good example of this result is that today,
learners are privileged enough to have the opportunity to study in their language of
choice, should the school have enough resources to provide it.

Raise the awareness of the subject importance post-colonialism (in the

contemporary world)
Most learners have that one or 2 subjects that they feel as if they are irrelevant for
their futures. While the role of history is lucid, many learners are forced to join the
geography class against their will because you might find that the other subjects are
too full. However, it is the teacher’s responsibility to make the learners aware of the
importance of the subjects they are learning. For Geography, as its link to History has
been previously explain ed to ultimately form the subject of Social Sciences,
Geography is important in producing potential fieldworkers such as archaeologists,
sociologists and geologists that are operating in the fields of geomorphology as well
as biogeography (Anuar, et al., 2021). This helps us to discover the remains of
deceased bodies. This may be human bodies that are found in a geographical place.
The DNA results can help to link a family or race to the geographic place where the
body was found. This can be used to continue the history narratives. For we study
History that has been recorded in the past, but the truth is that History evolves as
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humans and the world evolves. It is inevitable and can never be stopped. This
information can be taught by Social Sciences teachers to make the learners more
interested in the field in which they are studying. As a results, the learners can end up
developing a passion for the subject and end up choosing modules/ subject majors in
future according to their interests, and not necessarily what the “peer pressure” forces
them to take (Anuar, et al., 2021).

Ubuntu Education
According to Ngubane and Makua (2022), ubuntu cannot take place when one does
not know him or herself. One is obliged to first discover who they are by knowing their
history and their cultural background, so that they may excellently practice the African
Philosophy of Ubuntu. Ubuntu is the practice of humanity and the valuing thereof.
Therefore, Ubuntu pedagogy is the execution of humanity and the valuing of humans
in the setting of teaching and learning (Ngubane and Makua, 2022). It entails the
valuing of learners as humans and not just passive subjects that absorb information.
Ubuntu pedagogy is also the accommodation of diversity in the class, while validating
the learners’ diverse ethnic backgrounds, races, cultures and etc. The learners should
feel accommodated and loved. The discrimination of a learner who thinks or acts
different should not be tolerated. Ubuntu pedagogy also encourages the engagement
of learners as part of the lesson. The learners should be able to voice out their thoughts
and opinions (Ngubane and Makua, 2022).
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References
Anuar, A.M., Habibi, A. and Mun, O.L.G.A., 2021. Post-colonialism in comparative and
international education. The Bloomsbury handbook of theory in comparative and
international education, pp.109-128.

Chapfika, B., 2024. Towards a relevant African philosophy of education. Journal of

Philosophy of Education.

Lebeloane, L. D. M. “., 2018. Decolonizing the school curriculum for equity and social
justice in South. KOERS.

Moncrieffe, M., Race, R., Harris, R., Chetty, D., Riaz, N., Ayling, P., Arphattananon,
T., Nasilbullov, K., Kopylova, N. and Steinburg, S., 2020. Decolonising the curriculum.
Research Intelligence, 142(9).

Moosavi, L., 2023. Turning the decolonial gaze towards ourselves: Decolonising the
curriculum and ‘decolonial reflexivity in sociology and social theory. Sociology, 57(1),
pp.137-156.

Ngubane, N.I. and Makua, M., 2022. Intersection of Ubuntu pedagogy and social
justice: Transforming South African higher education.

Plessis, P. D., 2021. Decolonisation of education in South Africa: challenges to

decolonise the university curriculum. South African Journal of Higher Education.

Plessis, P. D., 2021. Decolonisation of education in South Africa: challenges to

decolonise the university curriculum. South African Journal of Higher Education, 35(1).

Swartz, S., Nyamnjoh, A. and Mahali, A., 2020. Decolonising the Social Sciences
Curriculum in the University Classroom: A Pragmatic-realism Approach. Alternation,
27.