Convened by Sarah Godsell
We are in a long-awaited and ground-shifting moment in History Education in South Africa.
The proposed new History curriculum (grades 4 –12) has been gazetted for comment. It proposes an African- centred curriculum, taking a cue from both archaeology and oral history to not frame African and South African history around colonialism. This important move has been worked on by a task team for over a decade (since the Ministerial Task Team was put together). Now that the document is in the public domain, it is the responsibility of the History Education community to engage with it in detail and work through its implications. There have been calls for what a decolonised curriculum might look like (Maluleka, 2021; Shabangu, 2024). To what extent have these calls been responded to?
The new curriculum is sparking much discussion in History Education circles and in broader society, with several media articles critiquing the curriculum, and posts on social media sites offering both positive and negative takes. The document shows huge potential, but like any curriculum document, it is a political document and has controversies. In this fertile moment, we are proposing a small workshop to think through the content and implications of this new curriculum together. We propose looking carefully at the curriculum and analysing what has been achieved through the new approach, and, perhaps most crucially, thinking carefully about what the implications are in schools, and what kinds of shift in pedagogy and assessment the new curriculum calls for. Does the move deliver what it promised? Does the mostly unchanged assessment structure support the curriculum moves? Are the curriculum moves representative enough of marginalised voices? What is missing from the curriculum? What is overrepresented? What does this mean for learning in the history classroom? What are the theoretical orientations of the curriculum and what are the implications of this? All these questions are asked in the broader field of History Education in South Africa, Africa, and globally.
Call for Abstracts
We are calling for abstracts that speak to these questions specifically from the view of the school history classroom. What will teachers and learners experience with this new curriculum, and what, from the point of view of the History Education community, can be done to support effective history learning within this proposed new curriculum.
These abstracts will be presented in a 2-day workshop at STIAS in Stellenbosch, and will bring together in service teachers, history education students, and history education academics. There is limited space available, so abstracts that speak to a range of issues according to the call will be selected according to relevance.
If you are interested in applying for this, please send in a 300 – 500-word abstract outlining a 20 minute presentation on the questions raised above. The work should engage with the new curriculum but can extend this beyond the specifics of the curriculum into broader history education debates that are relevant to the current moment. Please include a 100-word bio with your abstract, that details your links to History Education.
Who can apply?
Applicants should be actively involved in school History Education through research or teaching (academics based in History Education, school history teachers, history education tertiary students).
What is covered?
- Return domestic flights (Into Cape Town on the 1st of June, return on the 4th of June)
- Airport shuttle Cape Town to Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch to Cape Town
- Accommodation for 3 nights in Stellenbosch with breakfast
- Dinner on the 2nd and 3rd of June
- Tea and lunch on colloquium days
What is not covered?
- Dinner on 1st of June
- Per diem
- Transport to airport in your home city
Deadline for applications: 5th May
Applicants be informed of the outcome by 8th May
Please email applications to sarah.godsell@wits.ac.za