Abstract:

According to the Department of Education (2002), the 1996 Lifelong Learning through a ‘National Curriculum Framework’ document, which was the first major curriculum statement of a democratic South Africa, sought to promote “a prosperous, truly united, democratic and internationally competitive country with literate, creative and critical citizens ” (Letseka 2012). The Framework further states that one of the aims of the school curriculum should be to “create a lifelong learner who is confident and independent, literate, numerate and multi-skilled, compassionate, with a respect for the environment and the ability to participate in society as a critical and active citizen” (Letseka 2012).

The Education White Paper 3 (1997) states that, one of the roles of higher education in a knowledge-driven world is the provision of high-level skills training and the development of adequate human capability to strengthen the country's enterprises, services and infrastructure. This role also assumes that the development of these professionals would have to consider cultivating skills relevant for the 21st century. Among these skills, individuals are expected to be socially responsible and conscious of their role in contributing to the national development effort and social transformation. This expectation on higher education further implies that higher education teaching and learning needs to prioritise the development of personal attributes such as “analytical problem-solving, negotiation and mediation competencies, critical thinking, team building and networking” in real world contexts. This paper therefore explores the extent to which the conceptualisation of “curriculum” in a university learning environment can promote these“21st century graduate attributes” in undergraduate programmes.

In order to achieve this, the paper will concentrate on the analysis of literature on the nature and role of curriculum design and development in promoting 21st century graduate attributes. This analysis will use a critical interpretive approach. The main assumption in this research approach is that policy documents and curriculum directions exhibit forms of life and meanings which need to be explored and interpreted.

Keywords:

21st century graduate attributes, undergraduate curriculum, teaching and learning, curriculum policy documents.