Student teachers’ perceptions and experiences of certain modules within a transformed curriculum to foster social justice

Abstract

Since 1994, numerous policies promoted social justice and the transformation of the South African society. The re-curriculated Bachelor of Education (BEd) programme at the Sol Plaatje University aims to equip students with knowledge and skills to realise the aim of social justice. The aim of this study was to explore Sol Plaatje University students’ experiences and perceptions of a curriculum that aims to promote social justice. We selected 3 education modules, with the assumption that they reflected social justice content. Four students, representative of different ethnic and language groupings at the university were chosen as participants. Data were generated through 3 reflective exercises about each of the modules, spread over a period of 3 years. The module aims, linked with the narratives of the participants’ perceptions and experiences of each module, provided an overview of their experiences of the enacted curriculum. A qualitative research design with an interpretivist approach informed by Dover’s (2013) social justice pedagogy was used. The students’ narratives shed light on the strengths and weaknesses of how the BEd curriculum worked towards social justice and revealed the students’ perceptions of otherness. From the narratives it became apparent that the 3 modules did promote a social justice orientation in prospective teachers educated at the university.