Grappling With Curriculum Decolonisation in South African Primary Schools: The School Managers’ Perceptions

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the South African school managers (principals) perceptions of how they cope with the contested view of curriculum decolonization. Situated in the interpretivist paradigm, the study adopts a qualitative approach and utilizes a descriptive phenomenological design to examine the school managers lived experiences of the curriculum decolonization agenda in their schools. A total sample size of 20 participants was sampled for the data generation process, which followed the completion of unstructured questionnaires. The qualitative data were analysed thematically while quantitative data was analysed using inferential statistics. The key conclusion arrived at was that true freedom has not yet been obtained in South Africa given that genuine curriculum transformation towards decolonization has not happened at the required rate and the country is still reeling in a state in which the non-achievement of goals set out at the dawn of the democracy really need a critical re-examination.