This timely work investigates the possibility of unyoking and decolonising African university knowledges from colonial relics. It claims that academics from socially, politically, and geographically underprivileged communities in the South need to have their voices heard outside of the global power structure.
The book argues that African universities need a relevant curriculum that is related to the cultural and environmental experiences of diverse African learners in order to empower themselves and transform the world. It is written by African scholars and is based on theoretical and practical debates on the epistemological complexities affecting and afflicting diversity in higher education in Africa. It examines who are the primary custodians of African university knowledges, as well as how this relates to forms of exclusion affecting women, the differently abled, the rural poor, and ethnic minorities, as well as the significance of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in the future of African universities. The book takes an epistemological approach to university teaching and learning, addressing issues such as decolonization and identity, social closure and diversity disputes, and the obstacles that come with the neoliberal paradigm.
The book will be necessary reading for academics, scholars, and postgraduate students in the fields of Sociology of Education, decolonising education, Inclusive Education, and Philosophy of Education, as it resonates with existing discourses.
Author(s): Amasa P. Ndofirepi, Felix Maringe, Simon Vurayai, Gloria Erima
Series: Routledge Research in Decolonizing Education
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 151
City: London
Cover
Half Title
Series Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
List of Abbreviations
List of Contributors
Chapter 1: Gender, Disability and Rurality: Decoding the Themes in the African University Milieu
References
Chapter 2: Reflection on Disability (and) Educational Justice in Africa’s Structurally Unjust Society During the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown: Africa’s Structurally Unjust Society During Lockdown
Introduction
Disability Justice in Education
Understanding Structural Injustice
State Obligation and Duties in Education Rights
Lockdown, Structural Injustice, and Disability Injustice in Higher Education
Recommendations on Enhancing Well-Being of ILDs
Conclusion
Note
References
Chapter 3: Improving Processes, Practices and Structures in South African Higher Education: Voices of Students with Disabilities
Introduction
Professional Knowledge in Higher Education
Professional Knowledge in Education
Methodology
Voices on Equalisation of Opportunities in Entering Education
Students’ Voices to Improve the Teaching Practice
Voice on Improving Built Environment
Possibilities of the Voices of Students with Disabilities
Possibility of Improving Entry into Education
Possibility for Improvement in the Practice of Teaching
Possibility for Improvement of the Physical Structures
Conclusion
Acknowledgement
References
Chapter 4: Social Justice in Higher Education: A Quest for Equity, Inclusion and Epistemic Access
Introduction
Theoretical Underpinning of Critical Realist Lens
Conceptualising Social Justice and Inclusive Education
Challenges of Implementing Inclusive Education in Higher Education
Developing an Inclusive Higher Learning Institution
Developing a Teaching and Learning Strategy
Conclusion and Recommendations
References
Chapter 5: Decolonising African University Teaching by Unyoking Deaf Culture from Disability
Introduction
Models of Disability and the Colonial Meaning of Teaching in University
The Medical Pathological Understanding of Deafness
The Social Understanding of Disability and Deafness
Socio-Cultural Model of Deafness in an African View of Personhood
Epistemic Accessibility for Deaf Students
Pedagogical Implications: The Meaning of Teaching Deaf Students in Universities
Conclusion
Note
References
Chapter 6: Theorising Feminist Voices in the Curriculum in an African University
Introducing a Case of Missing Voices in an African University Curriculum
Theorising Feminisms and Key Arguments on Subjectivities
Redefining the African University through Curriculum Reforms
Engaging Feminists’ Voices in Decolonising the Curriculum
Concluding Remarks
References
Chapter 7: Knowledge Democracy and Feminist Epistemic Struggle in African Universities
Setting the Context
Conceptualising the Feminist Epistemology
Theoretical Framework
Knowledge Democracy and the Feminist Epistemic Struggle
Higher Education and the State of Feminist Epistemic Justice in Africa
Gender and the Curriculum in HE
Gender and Research in HE
Gender and Positions of Power in HE
Defining the Pathways to Women’s Empowerment
Summary and Conclusion
References
Chapter 8: Globalisation and Commodification of Knowledge Liberating Women’s Academic Achievements from Conventional Global Power Hierarchies
Introduction
Background
The Concept of Commodification
Globalisation
Funding and Financing of University Education in Zimbabwe
Impact of Commodification and Globalisation of Knowledge Economy on the Contribution of Women
Conclusion
References
Chapter 9: The Place of Universities in Africa in the Global Information Society: A Critique
Characteristics of the Fourth Industrial Revolution Society
Challenges Confronted by African Universities to Fulfil Their Mandate
The Digital Divide
Epistemological Issues and Eurocentrism
Chapter Summary
References
Chapter 10: Gender, Disability, Rurality, and Social Injustice in the African University: Opportunities Going Forward
Reference
Afterword
Index
