Authentication of an academic culture in a Social Work programme offered at a South African university: A value-driven approach towards a decolonised curriculum

Abstract

In 2015, a campaign was launched by students and academics to decolonise university curricula in South Africa. As a response, we reflect on our experiences at Stellenbosch University, based on the premise that not only does our Social Work curriculum require adaptation and renewal through a process of authentication, but that a prerequisite for this process would entail a hybridisation of both a salutary authentic academic culture and curriculum. A value-driven approach guides us through this endeavour in order to create authentic values, principles and student attributes, based on a determined inventory of cultural dimensions.