Decolonising the Curriculum Through Language: Lessons from the Soweto Uprising for Contemporary South African Distance Teacher Education

Abstract

This qualitative case study explored how pre-service history teachers in a South African Open and Distance Learning (ODL) institution understand and engage with the linguistic dimensions of curriculum decolonisation, drawing lessons from the 1976 Soweto Uprising. Through online semi-structured interviews with 10 student teachers, the study examined their perspectives on language as a vehicle for decolonisation in contemporary higher education. Framed by an integrated theoretical framework combining postcolonial theory and critical pedagogy, and analysed through thematic analysis, the research reveals that students recognise language as central to epistemic justice, but face institutional constraints in multilingual pedagogical practice. Findings indicate tensions between decolonial aspirations and practical implementation, with participants advocating for indigenous language integration while navigating persistent colonial language hierarchies. The study contributes to History Education scholarship and to scholarship on decolonising teacher education by demonstrating how the Soweto Uprising—as a historical and pedagogical lens illuminates the relationship between language, epistemic justice, historical consciousness, and the preparation of history teachers. The study offers implications for curriculum reform in ODL environments.