Abstract
Higher Education in South Africa has been jolted over the last few years by the fervent calls for decolonisation, initiated by student protests that took place from 2015. Thus, with the recent discourse of decolonisation within the Higher Education landscape, it has proved to be Faculties such as the Humanities, that have found the realm of curriculum decolonisation, a somewhat familiar territory in which to manoeuvre. For faculties such as Engineering however, the road towards curriculum reform is plagued by a number of complex factors and constraints. These factors include professional body curriculum design requirements, international alliance agreements and responses to industry. This qualitative study of the University of Johannesburg’s Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, illustrates the depth and extent of this exercise in the engineering discipline. The study, which has encompassed in-depth semi-structured interviews with both academic staff and students of the engineering faculty, found that greater collaboration and flexibility regarding the integration of decolonisation into the design and outcomes of an engineering qualification, was required. This study has revealed that unless decolonisation becomes a regulated outcome of the engineering programmes in South Africa, its integration is bound to be unevenly prioritised across institutions in the country. Thus, South African professional engineers would graduate with varying levels of a truly decolonised curriculum and its associated skillsets, which is counterintuitive to the regulated standardisation prescribed for the profession.
M.A. (Social Impact Assessment)