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Item Introduction : theorising curriculum approaches and praxis(BRILL, 2020-01-01) Khoza, Simon Bheki; Fomunyam, Kehdinga George; Fomunyam, Kehdinga; Simon, KhozaCurriculum studies is at the core of the educational endeavour: it informs what happens in every educational institution. As a result of the criticality or primacy of the curriculum, every educational practitioner appears to claim expertise in curriculum matters, and in the direction the field of curriculum studies should take. The curriculum practitioner, especially in Africa, has been given little or no space to theorise, orienting the future of the field in Africa. Instead, European and American curriculum theorisers have been allowed to exert a marked influence on the nature and direction of African theoretical and philosophical underpinnings, especially in relation to curriculum studies. This situation raises fundamental questions about the future of education in Africa in general, and curriculum studies in particular. While Europe and America seem to be experimenting with new philosophical paradigms in curriculum studies, Africa seems to be trailing behind by ten or fifteen years. A case in point is the implementation in South Africa in the late nineties of outcomes-based education (OBE) (a European and American theoretical enterprise), although there was clear evidence that it would not work. Is Africa, therefore, doomed to repeat the mistakes of Europe and America in curriculum studies? Has educa-tion in Africa preconditioned the theoriser only to explore traditions from the global North, rather than experimenting and articulating alternative pathways for education in Africa? Must curriculum theorising in Africa slavishly follow the traditions of theorising laid down by the global North, or can such tradi-tions be used as springboards for the articulation of alternative perspectives, as we strive to develop African curriculum matters?Item Theorising open curriculum charges as pathway to responsiveness in South African higher education(BRILL, 2020-12-14) Fomunyam, Kehdinga George; Khoza, Simon Bheki; Fomunyam, Kehdinga; Simon, BhekiCurriculum discourse in South African higher education has always involved debates around responsiveness and how best to make the curriculum respond to local needs. This was amongst the reasons for the call to decolonise the curriculum. With encounters in education being a function of the curriculum at play, it follows that the curriculum shapes the educational experience, and how prepared students are for the job market, be it to create employment or to seek such. With the rate of unemployment in South Africa increasing, the nation needs graduates who are job creators, not jobseekers. The open curriculum offers an excellent pathway for educational encounters which are not only responsive, but uniquely career-oriented. This chapter adopts Aoki’s conceptualisation of the curriculum as lived experience, making three fundamental arguments. First, the chapter argues that there is a need for the deconstruction of academic curriculum standardisation. Second, the chapter argues for an itinerant curriculum; and lastly, the chapter argues for curriculum encounters propelled by responsive curriculum matters in the South African higher education. The chapter concludes that career pathways have been hindered by poor curriculum choices. Such has been engendered by curriculum standardisation and hegemonic curriculum practices adopting a one-size-fits-all approach. For a higher-education curriculum to be responsive, students, as co-constructors or creators of knowledge, need to be part of the process, driving the change they want to see in their future.Item Rationalising the teaching intention of international postgraduate student lecturers(Horizon Research Publishing Co., Ltd., 2021) Matola, Noluthando; Fomunyam, Kehdinga George; Khoza, Simon BhekiHigher education students around the globe have continually searched for opportunities to further their education abroad, looking beyond the provisions of their home country in pursuit of quality education. Most of these students are either tutors, teaching assistants, or in lecturing roles within the university environment. Using a qualitative case-study approach, this paper investigates the teaching intention of international postgraduate student lecturers at a university in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. This is in a bid to understand why these students choose to become involved in the teaching and learning process as lecturers. Participants were purposefully selected from a sample population of registered international postgraduate students at the university; and these participants were chosen in an order which ensured representation. Semi-structured interviews and observation methods were used, and data generated were analysed using grounded analysis. Findings reveal that international postgraduate students in this university chose lecturing, owing to the financial preconditions of undertaking postgraduate studies, to improve their interpersonal, communication, and cross-cultural skills, and also owing to legal restrictions. This paper therefore concludes that these reasons are valid and recommend several ways of helping these student lecturers function both effectively and efficiently.Item Theorising responsiveness and potentialities in curriculum studies(BRILL, 2020-12-14) Kehdinga, George Fomunyam; Khoza, Simon BhekiItem Can alignment of digital resources with needs produce a new curriculum theory for teaching?(BRILL, 2020-12-14) Khoza, Simon Bheki; Fomunyam, Kehdinga George; Fomunyam, Kehdinga; Simon, KhozaTeaching and graduating students have become important responsibilities for academics, helping their universities to fulfil disciplinary, societal, and personal needs. Academics use digital resources to support their teaching processes, in order to increase the student completion rate for their universities, improving the world rankings with funding. Digital resources divided into hardware, software, and theories work well when they are aligned with relevant needs. Therefore, this chapter presents an interpretive case study of eight academics who taught students specialising in Curriculum Development at a university in South Africa. The study explored and understood the alignment of digital resources with human needs involved in the teaching of master of education (MEd) students. Semi-structured interviews, focus-group discussions, and document analysis were used for data generation. Purposive with convenience sampling was used to select the eight most accessible participants. The study revealed that, when digital resources were used for teaching, this created competing perceived and conceived spaces that had to be integrated into lived space. This chapter, consequently, recommends the understanding and the use of the lived space, which is capable of helping individuals to self-actualise and be able to address societal and disciplinary needs.