Higher Education Transformation in Africa: A Quest for Epistemological Rupture

by Emnet Tadesse Woldegiorgis (Editor), Logan Govender (Editor), Dennis Zami Atibuni (Editor)

Overview

This book critically interrogates the notion of transformation in higher education, focusing on epistemological and structural issues in postcolonial and contemporary Africa.

The book considers the multifaceted challenges facing higher education in the continent and uses the concept of transformation as a common thread weaving through a range of issues, including epistemology, identity, relevance, research, collaboration and decoloniality. Arguing for a holistic approach towards progressive and innovative education systems, the book calls for a fundamental transformation that expands access, enhances quality and competitiveness, addresses past injustices and improves the capacity to act together for a more sustainable and just future. Overall, the book makes a powerful case for the power of transformation in higher education to shape the social, economic and cultural fabric of society.

This book’s critical evaluation of knowledge production in Africa will be an important read for researchers and policymakers involved in Africa’s higher education sector.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781032866062
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	11/05/2024
Series:	Routledge Contemporary Africa
Pages:	292
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Emnet Tadesse Woldegiorgis is an Associate Professor and Director at the Ali Mazrui Center for Higher Education Studies (AMCHES), University of Johannesburg. He is a distinguished NRF-rated researcher with a portfolio of over 30 peerreviewed academic publications, primarily focusing on higher education research.

Logan Govender, prior to his appointment as a Research Associate at the Ali Mazrui Centre for Higher Education Studies (AMCHES), University of Johannesburg, he was a Senior Lecturer at AMCHES. A National Research Foundation (NRF)-rated researcher, he has several research-based, peer-reviewed publications to his credit, focusing on education policy analysis, teacher union-state relations and higher education transformation.

Dennis Zami Atibuni is a Research Fellow at the Ali Mazrui Centre for Higher Education Studies (AMCHES) at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. His research interests include student (research) engagement; educational assessment; pre-service and in-service teacher education; student and staff mentorship; diversity, equity and inclusion and psychological determinants of effective academic leadership at higher educational institutions.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction

Emnet Tadesse Woldegiorgis, Logan Govender and Dennis Zami Atibuni

 

Chapter 2: South–South Inter-Epistemic Dialogue and Africanisation of African Universities: Language, Knowledge and Decolonial Impulses

Hamza R’boul

 

Chapter 3: The Challenge of Locally Assisted Epistemicide to African Epistemic Autonomy

Babalola Joseph Balogun

 

Chapter 4: Decolonising and Indigenising African Indigenous Research: Why Indigenous Ways of Knowing, Being and Living Matter in Research

Monicca Thulisile Bhuda

 

Chapter 5: From Access to Success: Decolonising the Teaching of Academic Literacy

Brian Sibanda and Thandeka Maseko

 

Chapter 6: Interrogation of Decoloniality in Higher Education Curriculum Reform: Examining Influences of the Subconscious Mind

Jabulani Nyoni

 

Chapter 7: Decolonisation of Education in Africa: Imperatives for Fusing Indigenous Knowledge Systems

N’drie Assie-Lumumba

 

Chapter 8: Financial–Intellectual Complex Revisited: Framing Education Research in Africa

Joel Samoff

 

Chapter 9: Privatisation, Flawed Educational Assessment, and Encumbered Higher Education Access

Dennis Zami Atibuni

 

Chapter 10: The Resilient Epistemic Empire and Neoliberal Constructions of Higher Education and the University: A Case Study of the National University of Lesotho

Munyaradzi Mushonga

 

Chapter 11: Enhancing the Responsive Capacities of Ethiopian Public Universities: The

Role of Sustainable Professional Higher Education Leadership and Management Training Programmes

Yohannes Mehari, Rediet Abebe, Elias Pekkola, Jussi Kivistö and Seppo Hölttä

 

Chapter 12: Reimagining and Realising an Expanded Research Profile: A Case Study of Strategic Planning at the University of Johannesburg (UJ), South Africa

Kirti Menon, Saurabh Sinha, Denyse Webbstock, Nolwazi Mamorare, Letlhokwa Mpedi, Tshilidzi Marwala and Bettine van Vuuren

Chapter 13: Africa–China Engagement in Higher Education: Issues and Questions

Jane Knight and You Zhang

 

Chapter 14: Conclusion

Emnet Tadesse Woldegiorgis, Dennis Zami Atibuni and Logan Govender

 

Index