Curriculum content: a quest for relevance¹

Abstract

As a consequence of the school-going population of South Africa being predominantly Black and located largely within the subjugated class of society, it is argued that curricula currently in use, specifically in the subject disciplines referred to as the humanities, are irrelevant. Curriculum irrelevance is argued on two counts: one is that curricula, by being Eurocentric in nature, exclude the cultural experiences of the majority of the country's population. The other is that because content selection for curricula is limited to dominant class experiences and cultural forms, members from the subjugated class have their voices silenced in this way as well. The consequences of curriculum irrelevance are discussed as a contributory factor in partially explaining Black school failure. As a result of the process of curriculum renewal having been set in motion, an argument is then developed for the inclusion of the cultural experiences of Black people as members of the subjugated class in the curricula of the future, so that the conditions for the release of silenced voices is created, thereby enhancing the possibilities of Black success in school.