Over the rainbow: the role of academics in a 'post-hope' South Africa Online publication date: Sun, 10-Sep-2017
by Nicole Dodd; Justin Van Der Merwe
International Journal of Education Economics and Development (IJEED), Vol. 8, No. 2/3, 2017
Abstract: The proponents of decolonisation in South Africa's higher education system have tended to overlook the usefulness of critical pragmatism as a guiding paradigm. This article explores the merits of critical pragmatism as a suitable research orientation to resolve the current impasse in South Africa's higher education system. While the arguments for decolonising curricula and academic spaces are valid and credible, promoting decolonisation in a blindly ideological manner, without a sound basis, could be impractical. This article argues that the adoption of critical pragmatism would allow for the achievement of a home-grown, credible research paradigm which encourages researchers to apply a context-specific orientation within developing environments. The article tentatively proposes that blending critical theory with pragmatism would support transformation and development while still maintaining scientific rigour.
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Education Economics and Development (IJEED):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:
Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.
If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com
Our Blog 
Follow us on Twitter 
Visit us on Facebook