Academic Freedom and the Decolonisation of Knowledge: Curriculum Transformation in South Africa from a UNESCO Perspective

Y

11

Academic Freedom; Universities; International Organizations; Foreign Countries; Colonialism; Criticism; Social Change; College Faculty; Compliance (Legal); Case Studies; Educational Change; Curriculum Development; Academic Standards

10.1080/03075079.2023.2186389

0307-5079
1470-174X

Decolonisation aims at exposing the ills of colonialism in an attempt to undo their long-standing effects. Important criticism of curriculum decolonisation has focused on potential conflicts with academic freedom. However, this criticism has to some extent suffered from a perceived lack of agreement on the concept and status of academic freedom itself. The present study views decolonisation in South Africa from the perspective of the international standard afforded by the UNESCO recommendation concerning the status of higher-education teaching personnel (1997). It is argued that, whereas some conceptions of decolonisation are intrinsically in conflict with the recommendation, compliance depends in other cases on implementational details. Moreover, regarding several conceptions, furthering decolonisation and implementing the UNESCO recommendation go hand in hand. In a case study, the Nelson Mandela University Transformation Plan 2018-2020 is critically examined. Finally, it is suggested that there may be considerable benefits associated with using the UNESCO recommendation as a guide in and throughout curriculum transformation.

As Provided

2023

EJ1394654