1st Edition
Higher Education Transformation in Africa A Quest for Epistemological Rupture
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.
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
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
Biography
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 peer-reviewed 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, Dr Govender was a Senior Lecturer at AMCHES (September 2019 - April 2024). 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.
