The teacher’s role in using literature to contribute to social transformation : a case of two selected universities in post-apartheid South Africa

Abstract: For nearly half a century, Black South Africans suffered from the kind of education modelled towards social reproduction. In many instances then, school curricula and syllabi were used as mechanisms for restricting African students from access to quality and critical pedagogy that would prepare them as critical citizens in their society. Black students were deprived of the opportunity to acquire sound knowledge and skills necessary for questioning and probing critically the socio-political realities that shaped their immediate environment. Literary curricula were used as a carrier of dominant cultures, and the teacher of English literature was seen as an educated fellow who was to assume the role of protecting and promoting cultures, ideological beliefs and practices of the ruling elite. Consistent with this background, this study sought to investigate whether the teaching of literature to teacher-trainees at the two selected universities (here referred to as the University in Limpopo (UL) and the University in Gauteng (UG)) could prepare students with pedagogic practices to empower learners with knowledge and skills to contribute to the process of social transformation in South Africa...Ph.D. (Education and Curriculum Studies