Decolonisation and Africanisation Mapping

Preliminary Analysis

• There is an effort to incorporate diverse knowledges from the global South, North and African indigenous perspectives across many programmes and modules. This indicates efforts towards decolonising curriculum content. 
• Modules in disciplines like Engineering, Education, Humanities explicitly discuss indigenous knowledge and heritage, suggesting attempts to decenter Western knowledge dominance. 
• Reading lists generally include both global South and North scholars, showing an opening up of canonical perspectives. 
• Programmes largely claim to engage with knowledges from multiple periods - past, present and future. This signals efforts to move beyond Eurocentric periodisation.
• However, some programmes still primarily draw on Western/global North knowledge traditions, signifying more work is needed to transform all curricula. 
• While skills are emphasised, knowledge development also seems to be a goal, with debates around skills vs knowledge privileging. 
• Work-integrated learning opportunities provide practical exposure beyond theoretical classrooms. 
• Student development of attributes like reflexivity, critique, innovation indicates efforts to nurture decolonised graduate identities.
• Overall, it can be concluded that WIL is prioritised unevenly across the university, though there is recognition of its value for diverse applied learning outcomes and industry/community partnerships. Strategic priorities may be needed to strengthen and mainstream WIL implementation.

• A number of modules/programmes across different faculties explicitly include transdisciplinary and interdisciplinary elements. This indicates an effort to integrate knowledge across disciplines.
• The nature of integration includes aspects like sharing of modules between related fields, involvement in cross-faculty projects, inclusion of multiple subject knowledge in curricula. 
• Disciplines that lend themselves naturally to integration like Medical Anthropology strongly feature interdisciplinary approaches.
• Integration is seen both within and across faculties, through collaborations, joint topics of study and mixed-methods.
• Modules aimed at professions like education and social work incorporate related subjects to provide well-rounded training.
• Guest lectures, practical examples and skill applications also bring different disciplinary perspectives into certain programmes.
• However, not all faculties/modules reported having such elements, suggesting room for further curricular integration.

• Many programmes intentionally seek to develop students' critical consciousness through grappling with social justice concerns. This aligns with decolonisation goals of cultivating critically aware graduates.
• Issues engaged include those affecting marginalised communities, unequal societies, structural oppression - demonstrating efforts to centre minority experiences. 
• Approaches include critical readings, case studies, theoretical frameworks, community projects - showing attempts to integrate analysis and praxis.
• Cultural studies, practice modules, engagement projects indicate grounding analysis in lived realities and striving for social impact. 
• Compulsory and embedded nature of such topics in curricula of some programmes reflects strategic prioritisation of critical learning outcomes.
• However, coverage appears uneven, with some programmes not mentioning such elements explicitly. 
• Linking critical consciousness to decolonisation work indicates an understanding of their relationship in cultivating graduates attuned to dismantling power structures.

• Decolonisation practices are being implemented to varying degrees across faculties/programs, with some showing more progress than others. This suggests it is still a work in progress.
• Approaches mentioned include incorporating indigenous/community knowledge, focusing on marginalised knowledge/people, critiquing established narratives. 
• Issues arise around resources like time, funding and capacity limitations for some decolonial work, especially initiatives involving external communities. 
• Constructive critiques acknowledge unevenness but also willingness to improve, such as through strategic alignment, critical review processes and drawing on collegial expertise.
• Challenges include keeping up with changing curricular trends, large class sizes impeding engagement, staff constraints on practical teaching.
• Decolonising history and representations within the discipline remains ongoing in relevant fields like social work. 
• There is awareness that decolonisation is not a once-off exercise but requires sustained effort over time.