“In the South African context, when we consider the curriculum as a contested space, the following may come to mind: #RhodesMustFall, #ScienceMustFall and #DecolonisteTheCurriculum. I would however like to share a broader perspective and focus on how different stakeholders jostle to include – and exclude – selected voices in the curriculum in service of their own visions of the future.”

This was the opening remark by Prof Paul Prinsloo, research professor in Open and Distance Learning (ODL) in the College of Economic and Management Sciences at the University of South Africa (UNISA), during the recent North-West University (NWU) Teaching and Learning Conference. The conference was hosted in Vanderbijlpark and saw Prof Prinsloo taking to the stage as one of the keynote speakers.

During his address he provided an understanding of the different claims on the curriculum, raised awareness of the voices that are included and excluded (and the criteria for their in/exclusion), and provided alternative consideration for the curriculum in service of a more just and sustainable future.

“At this moment in time, it is curial that higher education institutions seriously (re)consider their definitions and illusions that informs their vision of the future. As a sector our claims that university knowledge has a particular status and a monopoly in defining the future and, that our curricula are ideologically neutral should also be revisited,” said Prof Prinsloo. He is furthermore of the notion that South Africa’s higher education sector has at present an opportunity to contest historical knowledge claims and visions of the future; formulate alternative and revolutionary accounts of the world; engage with and validate knowledge claims for a range of contexts and backgrounds and create curricula as uncomfortable spaces for critical action.

More about the keynote speaker

Prof Prinsloo’s academic background includes fields as diverse as theology, art history, business management, online learning, and religious studies. He is an established researcher and has published numerous articles in the fields of teaching and learning, student success in distance education contexts, learning analytics, and curriculum development. His current research focuses on the collection, analysis and use of student data in learning analytics, graduate supervision and digital identity.

More about the Teaching and Learning Conference

The seventh annual NWU Teaching and Learning Conference – hosted by the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) – took place on 6 and 7 June 2017 at the Riverside Sun in Vanderbijlpark.

The theme for the conference was: “Going Places: Let’s Invent the Future!”

The two-day conference saw experts such as Prof Paul Prinsloo and Mr Willie Maritz delivering keynote addresses.

 Prof Paul Prinsloo