Social Realism, Curriculum Selection, and South Africa: A Critique From a Robust Social Justice Perspective

• In Event: 65.080 - Roundtable Session 24
  In Roundtable Session: 65.080-8 - Curriculum, Difference, and Spatial Implications

Abstract

Social Realism (SR) is a vanguard movement within global trends to bring more rigorous knowledge-selection criteria ‘back’ into curriculum design. Nowhere has SR gained more sway—in academia and government education fields—than South Africa. This paper applies robust social justice criteria—joining a Vygotskian ‘funds of knowledge’ orientation, and Nancy Fraser’s philosophical arguments for pursuing strong justice in post-Westphalian conditions—to critique SR rationales. We argue that SR imposes overly ‘cognitivist’ claims for curriculum purposes, suppressing ethical purposes and failing to see that cognitive and ethical purposes for schooling are inextricably entwined. The latter view, we conclude, is vital to address the learning-and-justice needs of diverse populations in ‘post-colonial’ nations, such as South Africa, in a globalizing world.

Authors

• Lew Zipin, Victoria University - Melbourne

• Aslam Fataar, Stellenbosch University

• Marie T. Brennan, Victoria University, Melbourne