4IR in South Africa and some of its educational implications

Abstract

This article focuses on the attempts to construct the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) in South Africa, and some of its educational implications. Using Foucault's (1972) notion of enunciative modalities, and drawing empirically on statements made by the World Economic Forum, the South African government, and some South African universities, the article shows that it is people in governments, the economy, and academia who are positioned as the authorities of delimitation who define what the 4IR is, and who bring it into visibility. The article then shows that, inevitability, STEM matter, instrumentalism, and benevolence are the coordinates around which the 4IR is being articulated. In discussing these coordinates, some of the educational implications of such articulations are explored. These include the technicist way in which education is viewed, the lack of adequate recognition of the inequalities in the educational system, and the problems with customised curricula that 4IR assumes, and which erode the possibilities of developing deep learning.