Decolonising the curriculum: Revitalising mathematics education in Post-Schooling South Africa

Abstract

Decolonising the curriculum has emerged as a critical imperative in South African higher education, particularly within mathematics education, where colonial legacies have historically privileged Western epistemologies while marginalising African knowledge systems. Despite mathematics often being portrayed as neutral and universal, its teaching and content are deeply embedded within specific cultural and historical contexts. This conceptual paper critically examined the extent to which South Africa’s post-school mathematics curriculum remains shaped by colonial influences and explored the potential of pre-colonial African mathematical knowledge to inform meaningful curriculum reform. Guided by African-centred epistemologies, indigenous knowledge systems, and post-colonial scholarship, the study employed a qualitative literature-based approach to analyse historical and contemporary scholarship on indigenous African mathematical practices, including counting systems, geometric reasoning, and applied mathematical knowledge embedded in social, architectural, and economic activities. The analysis revealed that contemporary mathematics curricula continue to privilege Eurocentric paradigms while overlooking Africa’s rich mathematical heritage, thereby reinforcing epistemic exclusion. The study argued that integrating indigenous mathematical knowledge can contribute to a more inclusive, contextually relevant, and socially responsive curriculum that enhances student engagement and affirms cultural identities. The paper’s primary contribution lies in providing a conceptual synthesis that bridges decolonisation theory, indigenous African mathematical knowledge, and critical mathematics education to advance curriculum transformation in post-school mathematics education. By foregrounding epistemic plurality rather than the replacement of existing knowledge systems, the study offers a theoretically grounded framework for reimagining mathematics education and promoting epistemic justice in South African higher education.