Challenges and Opportunities of Hybrid Teaching in Postcolonial South Africa

• In Event: Navigating New Horizons in Teaching and Learning: Decolonization, Presence, and Equity in Global Contexts

Proposal

South Africa is constantly rivalling the top spot for social and economic inequality in terms of income distribution. These economic inequalities that resulted in widescale social stratification have their genesis in colonialism, which was reinforced by the draconian apartheid political system. The legacies of these political eras are highly evident in a broken and unequal education system (Amnesty International, 2020), and the students cry for socially just higher education (#RhodesMustFall; #FeesMustFall). The call for decolonised higher education systems emerges against a backdrop where students who were disadvantaged during apartheid remain disadvantaged in the current political system due to policies, systemic imperatives and institutional culture that refuse to recognise and understand the lived realities and histories of the majority of South Africa’s student population. The Fallist movement was essentially a revolt against Eurocentric institutional culture and curriculum and the struggle to access higher education.

In this context, the South African Research Chair for Teaching and Learning has embarked on a project titled: A Postcolonial Critique of Curriculum Change in South African Higher Education, that investigates how lecturers are integrating digital technologies into their teaching while simultaneously navigating the challenges posed by decolonisation and Africanisation. Using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), this empirical study, which included seventy semi-structured interviews with lecturers from Humanities and Education Faculties across the country, highlights the tension between the push for decolonised curricula and the increasing emphasis on incorporating digital technologies. Lecturers expressed concerns about unequal access to digital resources and inadequate digital literacy among students, which often mirrors broader social inequalities in the country. Despite these barriers, some educators view hybrid pedagogy as catalytic for expanding educational access and fostering inclusivity, provided there is sufficient institutional support through infrastructure, training, and the development of culturally relevant content.

This contribution highlights some of the findings of this empirical investigation and their implications for a socially just higher education landscape in the country. In addition, it will reflect on the broader significance of these issues for comparative and international education, emphasising the need for a context-specific, equitable approach to hybrid pedagogy that aligns with the goals of decolonisation and Africanisation in an increasingly globalised world.

Authors

• Venise Joubert, University of Johannesburg

• Everard Weber, University of Johannesburg

• Shireen Motala, University of Johanne