Abstract:

The questions and discussions around “decolonization” in the higher education curricula have been trending in recent months. The discussions around this topic, particularly in a South African context are often emotionally constrained. More often than not the mantra of “Colonialism Must Fall” appears to infiltrate this discourse, and often very few actually understand what this stands for. The topic has extended to decolonizing education, but experts are still not speaking in a collective voice. In the interim, the topic is entering the classrooms. The purpose of this study is to understand and appreciate the responsiveness and effect of decolonized education on Fashion design students after they apply new knowledge to a practical task. Using a cross sectional analysis, this study analysis the understanding and awareness of students studying fashion design against their own previously defined descriptions of decolonized education. The participants engaged in lectures on District Six, a cosmopolitan neighborhood in the heart of Cape Town where residence was forcefully removed during the apartheid era because of the racial group areas act, and now a campus of the largest University in Cape Town. The results of the study show that there is a clear misconception amongst students on the term decolonized education. The task of expressing themselves through a creative reflection shows how the participants focus less on the emotional argument when creatively engaged. The study definitively answers the relation between theoretical knowledge discussions and applied knowledge and how it differs. Further studies are needed where participants engage in emotionally sensitive knowledge but reflect on it through a practical presentation.

Keywords:

Decolonized education, higher education, design.