scholarly journals DECOLONISING LEGAL EDUCATION IN SOUTH AFRICA: A REVIEW OF AFRICAN INDIGENOUS LAW IN THE CURRICULUM

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Mawere
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Education System ◽  
Legal History ◽  
Legal Education ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Indigenous Law ◽  
African People ◽  
The Status

The student demonstrations in universities, which began in 2015, demanded the decolonisation of higher education. The demands included free education and a decolonised curriculum. In the field of law, the demand is anchored in changing the law curriculum. The central issues accompanying the demand are the status of indigenous law, legal history, concept of law, how law is taught and the role of law in African societies. The article examines the necessity of decolonising legal education in relation to the curriculum and the teaching of law in South African universities. The article adopts a doctrinal approach to assess the need to transform the curriculum. The article is grounded in the theory of Afrocentricity in a bid to revive the African paradigm and to examine legal epistemology in post-colonial South Africa. The argument developed in this article is that the legal education system has not significantly been decolonised since 1994. Arguably, the education system is founded on European theories and systems, hence difficult or impossible for the students in Africa to relate. This article recommends that a new curriculum that reflect laws, principles and customs of the African people must be introduced in the South African legal education. Institutions are also encouraged to take positive steps to decolonise legal education and end eurocentrism.

scholarly journals Epistemologi Penafsiran Farid Esack terhadap Ayat-Ayat Pembebasan

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-191
Author(s):  
Kamaruddin Mustamin ◽  
Basri Basri
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Life Experiences ◽  
Research Result ◽  
Philosophical Approach ◽  
Critical Reasoning ◽  
African People ◽  
Library Method ◽  
Historical Origins

This article discusses Farid Esack 's epistemological side, who proposed an emancipatory interpretation of what was generally known as liberation hermeneutics in responding to social problems in South Africa. The method used in this research is the library method with analytical material and a historical-philosophical approach that functions to (a) analyze the text itself; (b) objectively trace the historical origins of the character's context, why it carried the hermeneutic idea of its liberation; and (c) analyze the socio-historical circumstances surrounding the character and find the essential building. Based on the research result, the researcher found that Farid Esack 's thought-building was highly motivated by South Africa's socio-historical circumstances enduring humanitarian problems (apartheid). Farid Esack used critical reasoning (al-aql al-naqdy) in which the role of revelation (text), truth (context), and interpreter (reader) was linked in the compilation of his tafsir book. Meanwhile, the method of interpretation was the hermeneutics of the Qur'an based on the context and life experiences of the South African people, whose results were intended as the philosophical basis for freeing the whole society from all types of inequality and exploitation of economy, race, gender, class, and religion.

scholarly journals Decolonisation and Teaching Law in Africa with Special Reference to Living Customary Law

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuma Himonga ◽  
Fatimata Diallo
Keyword(s):  
Special Reference ◽  
South African ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Legal History ◽  
Legal Education ◽  
Customary Law ◽  
The Status ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Concept Of Law ◽  
Interdisciplinary Study

The student protests in South African Universities, which started in 2015, demanded the decolonisation of certain aspects of higher education. While the primary demand is free education, issues of the curriculum and transformation connected with the country's history of colonialism and apartheid have also surfaced. In the field of law, demands for curriculum change are accompanied by the broad issue of the decolonisation of law, translating into questions of legal history, the concept of law, the role of law in African societies, the status of indigenous systems of law in the post-independent/apartheid legal system, and how law is taught in law schools.This paper examines the idea of the decolonisation of law in relation to the teaching of law in African states previously under the influence of English or Roman-Dutch colonial/apartheid legal history. The teaching of law is with special reference to the system of law that governs the majority of people in Africa in private law and aspects of governance – living customary law. The paper examines the design of legal education with respect to three elements that are essential to the decolonisation of law and legal education. The elements under review are the inclusion of living customary law in legal education, a shift in the legal theoretical paradigm within which law is taught, and the interdisciplinary study of law. Thus, the paper links the decolonisation of law to how law is taught, with special reference to living customary law. In discussing these elements, the paper draws examples from the South African legal system, because it has the most advanced jurisprudential conceptualisation of customary law on the African Continent.

A teaching philosophy of journalism education in the global South: A South African case study

Journalism ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 747-761 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ylva Rodny-Gumede
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
News Media ◽  
Global South ◽  
Journalism Education ◽  
Teaching Philosophy ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Reflexive Practice ◽  
And Function

This article sets out a teaching philosophy of journalism education in South Africa based on four assertions: re-affirmation of the role of journalism in democratic processes, the need for comparative studies and research-led teaching, journalism as active citizenship and journalism as a reflexive practice. These assertions are considered within the context of the role of the news media in a young democracy, with a particular focus on South Africa and post-colonial societies in the global South. As such, I hope to contribute to a debate around journalism education grounded in local realities rather than imported Western normative conceptualizations of the role and function of the news media and what the study of the news media in this particular context can offer not only the context that it serves but also the discipline itself.

scholarly journals EXTRAPOLATING THE ROLE OF TRANSFORMATIVE CONSTITUTIONALISM IN THE DECOLONISATION AND AFRICANISATION OF LEGAL EDUCATION IN SOUTH AFRICA

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Mudau ◽  
Sibabalo Mtonga
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Legal Education ◽  
National Review ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
Role Players ◽  
Proper Design ◽  
Curriculum Transformation ◽  
The University

This article extrapolates the role of transformative constitutionalism in the decolonisation and African of legal education in South Africa. In a constitutionally mandated transformative context, the systematic approach to the decolonisation and Africanisation of legal education advanced in this article emanates from the four drivers of curriculum transformation set out in the 2017 document entitled ‘Reimagining curricula for a just university in a vibrant democracy — Work stream on curriculum transformation at the University of Pretoria’. These four drivers are: responsiveness to social context; epistemological diversity; renewal of pedagogy and classroom practices; and an institutional culture of openness and critical reflection. Presently, South African universities do not have an existing national framework for a decolonised and Africanised legal education. The article therefore argues that the UP Document contains valuable guidelines on curriculum transformation of legal education as it resonates well with the objectives of both the National LLB Standard and transformative constitutionalism itself. As result, the universities which offer legal education in conjunction with key stakeholders and role-players in the legal fraternity can incorporate its valuable guidelines in National Review of the LLB programme through a proper design of constitutionally transformed framework for a decolonised and Africanised legal education.

scholarly journals THE ROLE OF BANKS IN THE PROVISION OF LOW‐INCOME HOUSING FINANCE IN SOUTH AFRICA: CAN THEY PLAY A DIFFERENT ROLE?

2006 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kahilu Kajimo-Shakantu ◽  
Kathy Evans
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Income Group ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Housing Finance ◽  
Doing Business ◽  
Cost Minimisation ◽  
The Status

Currently, South African banks exclude most low‐income households from access to formal housing loan finance with which to resolve housing problems. The research reported here examined the banks’ resilience to change the status quo so as to become more flexible and all‐inclusive. Using naturalistic enquiry, the research gathered evidence from five banks and a leading housing organisation. The main findings include that while there is potential for banks to expand their role in this area of housing finance; factors such as risk and cost minimisation as well as lack of research constrain this potential. The research concluded that the low‐income group requires a different business model that is suited to their needs and which calls for new ways of thinking and doing business.

ROLE OF LIBRARIANS IN TEACHING INFORMATION LITERACY IN ZIMBABWEAN AND SOUTH AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

Mousaion ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tinashe Mugwisi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
University Libraries ◽  
Information And Communications Technologies ◽  
Communications Technologies ◽  
Information Skills ◽  
The University

Information and communications technologies (ICTs) and the Internet have to a large extent influenced the way information is made available, published and accessed. More information is being produced too frequently and information users now require certain skills to sift through this multitude in order to identify what is appropriate for their purposes. Computer and information skills have become a necessity for all academic programmes. As libraries subscribe to databases and other peer-reviewed content (print and electronic), it is important that users are also made aware of such sources and their importance. The purpose of this study was to examine the teaching of information literacy (IL) in universities in Zimbabwe and South Africa, and the role played by librarians in creating information literate graduates. This was done by examining whether such IL programmes were prioritised, their content and how frequently they were reviewed. An electronic questionnaire was distributed to 12 university libraries in Zimbabwe and 21 in South Africa. A total of 25 questionnaires were returned. The findings revealed that IL was being taught in universities library and non-library staff, was compulsory and contributed to the term mark in some institutions. The study also revealed that 44 per cent of the total respondents indicated that the libraries were collaborating with departments and faculty in implementing IL programmes in universities. The study recommends that IL should be an integral part of the university programmes in order to promote the use of databases and to guide students on ethical issues of information use.

scholarly journals Truth and reconciliation in South Africa: Hindu experiences and concerns

2004 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
P.G.J. Meiring
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Faith Communities ◽  
The South ◽  
Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation ◽  
Hindu Community ◽  
The Way

The author who served on the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), focuses on the Hindu experience in South Africa during the apartheid years. At a special TRC Hearing for Faith Communities (East London, 17-19 November 1997) two submissions by local Hindu leaders were tabled. Taking his cues from those submissions, the author discusses four issues: the way the Hindu community suffered during these years, the way in which some members of the Hindu community supported the system of apartheid, the role of Hindus in the struggle against apartheid, and finally the contribution of the Hindu community towards reconciliation in South Africa. In conclusion some notes on how Hindus and Christians may work together in th

scholarly journals Teaching Mathematics during the COVID-19 Lockdown in a Context of Historical Disadvantage

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 177
Author(s):  
Brantina Chirinda ◽  
Mdutshekelwa Ndlovu ◽  
Erica Spangenberg
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Mathematics Teachers ◽  
Education System ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Education Community ◽  
South African Education

The COVID-19 global pandemic widely affected education across the world and engendered unprecedented scenarios that required expeditious responses. In South Africa, the pandemic came on top of pre-existing inequalities in the education system. Using a qualitative research method of exploratory and descriptive nature, this study engaged a social justice framework to explore the teaching and learning of mathematics during the COVID-19 lockdown in a context of historical disadvantage. A sample of twenty-three Grade 12 mathematics teachers at various public secondary schools in Gauteng, South Africa was used in the study. The teachers were selected through purposive sampling. A Google-generated open-ended questionnaire and follow-up telephonic interviews were used to collect data. Data were analysed thematically in five steps. The findings revealed that the WhatsApp platform is a valuable tool that can support the teaching and learning of mathematics beyond the classroom in the contexts of historical disadvantage. The findings also provided insights into how mathematics teachers became learners themselves during emergency remote teaching (ERT) as they had to adapt to digital teaching, find solutions to unfamiliar problems and acquire knowledge from a larger mathematics education community around the globe. The article discusses these findings and teachers’ challenges of transitioning from traditional face-to-face classrooms to ERT and how they were addressed. At the time of publishing the article, most learners in South Africa had started going to school on a rotational basis. Nonetheless, the study reported in this article is of importance as ERT in the context of historical disadvantage has foregrounded issues of inequality in the South African education system that must be dealt with urgently.

Ethnicity and Voting Patterns in South Africa

1979 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 458-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry Lever
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Categorical Data ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Party Choice ◽  
Political Choices ◽  
Electoral Behaviour ◽  
Log Linear ◽  
Published Research

There is some controversy concerning the role of ethnicity in South African electoral behaviour. Since the society is segmented on ethnic lines it is to be expected that ethnicity would play a crucial role in affecting political choices. Some writers have gone so far as to suggest that ethnicity is the only significant factor affecting voting preferences. The controversy arose at a time when Goodman's method of log-linear analysis for hierarchical models had not yet been developed. This method provides the most powerful tool available for the multivariate analysis of categorical data. A re-analysis of previously published research using Goodman's method shows that ethnicity is not the only significant factor having a bearing on voting preferences. The first four-way table of voting preferences in South Africa is presented. The order of importance of the variables affecting party choice is: (1) ethnicity (2) socio-economic status (3) age of the voter. The recursive model suggested by the analysis explains approximately 98 per cent of the data.

Conserving inequality: How private conservation and property developers ‘fix’ spatial injustice in South Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. 251484862110663
Author(s):  
Lerato Thakholi ◽  
Bram Büscher
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Structural Inequality ◽  
Conservation Property ◽  
Private Profit ◽  
Ethnographic Data ◽  
Housing Estates ◽  
Property Developers

In 2016, South Africa launched its National Biodiversity Economy Strategy. This strategy aims to facilitate the development of a ‘wildlife economy’ as a solution to unemployment, loss of biodiversity and rural development. Central to the strategy is the role of private conservation actors, who keenly posit their commercial model as the best way to achieve these objectives. This stands in sharp contrast to recent critiques that suggest that private conservation reinforces structural inequality by denying access to land and perpetuating unjust labour conditions. Using ethnographic data from the South African Lowveld region that includes the Kruger National Park, the paper takes these points further by arguing that a rapidly growing alliance between private conservation and property developers actively conserve inequality by maintaining and even extending spatial injustice in the region. Two popular recent manifestations of this alliance in particular, share block systems that distribute ownership of access to real estate in private reserves and wildlife housing estates, have established new conservation-property linkages that entrench capitalist socioecological fixes. Not only do these initiatives lead to further engrained spatial injustice, we conclude that this conservation-property alliance at the centre of the ‘wildlife economy’ also willingly sacrifices environmental sustainability on the altar of white conservation imaginations and private profit.

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