The claim made is that dignity matters in both legal and recognitional aspects for flourishing and lifelong learning opportunities for young adults. Dignity is understood here as a foundational capability and functioning to be and to do in ways which matter to a person, requiring the material and non-material conditions which enable and secure…

The right to basic education of a child is a requirement of human dignity. South Africa, through its new dispensation and conformity with human rights laws, is expected to transform and be consistent with the provision of the Constitution of 1996 that promotes and protects the best interest of the child. However, the current standards in a…

The indigenous sub-Saharan African philosophy of "ubuntu" that comes down to the expression: "I am a human being because of being with other human beings", developed over centuries. This philosophy, embodying the notion of deep respect for all human beings, is rooted in a humane inclination towards kindness and sound…

South African higher education experiences low outcomes regardless of the significant financial investments made into the sector to address student poverty through financial aid. Concerning is that more than half of the low-income students who receive funding from the government do not graduate which points to the presence of other deprivations…

Transforming the learning experiences of pre-service teachers with disabilities from stigma and social exclusion to experiencing a sense of belonging, is a desirable imperative for learning mediators in the South African Higher Education (SAHE) context. This paper presents a relational content analysis of the concepts, theories and policies,…

Background: Universities, globally, and in South Africa, continue to be confronted with demands for transformation, humanisation of pedagogical practices and to embrace social justice. Aim: In this article, we bring to the surface possibilities of "Ubuntu" pedagogy within a social justice framework. We intersect Collective Fingers Theory…

This paper details my efforts as an Indigenous African scholar to indigenize the research process -- from conception to publication -- across three data collection sites in South Africa. To respect the vulnerability and culture of the participants, Zulu and Xhosa cultural values like "hlonipha" (respect) and "ubuntu"…

The aim of this paper is to search for possibilities to change the terms and content of conversations on colonial/decolonial human rights education. The content of conversations consists of what we know about human rights. The terms of conversations are the principles, assumptions, and rules of knowing in human rights education. The terms and…

The twentieth century has been characterised by the proliferation of human rights in the discursive practices of the United Nations (Baxi, 1997). In this article, we explore the continual process of rights-based education towards transformative action, and an open and democratic society, as dependent upon the facilitation of human rights literacy…

In times of economic uncertainty, questions of the purpose and value of higher education come to the fore. Such questions have particular relevance when directed towards the preparation of professionally qualified graduates who might be expected to contribute to the public good. However, definitions of the public good are contested and the role of…

The generation of a public-good, capabilities-based approach to professional education in South African universities is outlined and proposed as a contribution to wider social transformation. The relevance and importance of understanding what Amartya Sen describes as "capability failure" in the lives of people living in poverty is…

In this article, the authors situate and make an argument for a humanising pedagogy in response to the legacy of a dehumanising past in South Africa. They describe the inquiry into a humanising pedagogy by means of mining stories of living and learning in South Africa. The authors explain how the meanings and praxis of a humanising pedagogy unfold…

The article defends ubuntu against the assault by Enslin and Horsthemke ("Comp Educ" 40(4):545-558, 2004). It challenges claims that the Africanist/Afrocentrist project, in which the philosophy of ubuntu is central, faces numerous problems, involves substantial political, moral, epistemological and educational errors, and should…

In South Africa we had an education system that was content-based, inflexible, oppressive, and segregated in terms of disability and race. It was determined by time, calendar and by failing and passing at the end of the year. Learners had to "fit into" a particular kind of system or were integrated into an existing system. A shift is now…

In many western countries, corporal punishment has been abolished as a form of punishment in criminal trials and in schools. Under South African common law, persons entitled to enforce discipline may inflict corporal punishment within certain guidelines established by the Supreme Court. For the first time in the Republic of South Africa (RSA), the…