A reflective analysis of articles published in the journal of Transformation in Higher Education (2016–2020): Beyond transformation?

Abstract

Background: The fault lines exposed by the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and global economic recession unfolding during 2020 in societies around the world, reiterated the need for transforming higher education globally. In South Africa, transformation in higher education has been a priority since 1994. The first article in this journal was published in 2016 during the 2015-2016 #mustfall protests. During the protests, decolonisation and decolonising of higher education were central. Aim: A reflective analysis of articles published in the journal of Transformation in Higher Education 2016-2020. Setting: Transformation and decolonising in global and South African higher education. Method: A reflective analysis is done through a decolonial lens. The contributions of authors are reflected upon through three themes: place (local and global), epistemology and alienation. Results: Although I find the engagement with decolonising substantive, I argue that there is still a lack of publications on specifically decoloniality and decolonial analysis. Conclusion: I argue that the journal of Transformation in Higher Education provides a platform for difficult and robust discussions on decoloniality, transformation, epistemology, issues of sexuality, gender and race, internationalisation and possible pluriversalisation in higher education for South African and international scholars.

Keywords

• alienation
• epistemology
• decoloniality
• local and global
• pluriversality
• transformation