Situating the African ways of knowing in the decolonialisation of the academic literacy curriculum in South Africa

Abstract Since the events of 2015 to 2016 when students rioted in a quest for the ‘falling’ of colonial icons’ statues in South Africa, there have been eye-opening episodes such as the decolonisation of higher education movement in the country. The riots and demonstrations by students in 2017 prompted academics and academic institutions to focus on the decolonisation of the higher education (HE) curriculum. However, the commitment to decolonise HE has focused on decolonising disciplines such as science, psychology, philosophy and developmental studies. Decolonial engagements in academic literacy (AL) courses remains limited. The purpose of this article is to investigate strategies in teaching AL courses using multilingualism as an agent to decolonise the AL curriculum. Using a group of first-year health care students, the article investigates how students used their ways of knowing to understand an academic text. The research uses an academic text written in a South African context as a way of taping into students’ ways of knowing and understanding in relation to the learning materials. The study utilised a qualitative approach where students were asked questions that invoked their personal feelings as well as their own life experiences in relation to the text they had read. The responses from students were analysed through coding to come up with themes. Students’ understanding of the text was solicited through class discussions as students relate to the context of the text and how their cultural and linguistic practices enable them to comprehend the text. This article recommends the use of reading materials that are from a South African context to ensure that students grasp and make meaning of learning material.