Reimagining pedagogy of theological education at a South African University : a practical theological approach

Abstract

Curriculum transformation within Higher Education in South Africa is an ongoing process. This thesis explores pedagogy for theological education at a South African University, using Ethnographical Phenomenology. Key concepts include, Pedagogy, reimagine, intercultural and coloniality. These concepts are used to understand pedagogy as demonstrated in historical literature as well as current expressions thereof within theological education at a South African university. A historical exploration of South Africa’s oppressive systems; Slavery, Colonialism and Apartheid, provided key insights into the education systems within those periods. A brief history of theological education demonstrated the transition from the ‘Athens’ model to the ‘Berlin’ model and gave insights into the Westernized pedagogy in South African Universities and its theological faculties. Insights into the pedagogy of theological education was gained from fieldwork that was conducted for four months within a South African university, by means of participant observation of five modules, interviews with lecturers, and group discussions with students. This study concluded with taking all the evidence and data into consideration and integrating it via a practical-theological praxis-theory hermeneutical circle to arrive at a new praxis theory as a reimagined pedagogy. This thesis adopts the stance that a reimagined pedagogy is needed, and a new and evolved pedagogy is presented as an intercultural pluriversital pedagogy for theological education.