Decolonialisation of education: the pre-service teacher turn

Utilising the critically conscious teacher preparation framework and social constructivism, this qualitative case study conducted in 2021 set out to explore how pre-service teachers make the turn towards decolonialisation of education. The research site was a large South African contact-based, research-intensive university situated in the Gauteng province. Data comprised a mix of an online survey and semi-structured interviews. Forty-one pre-service teachers responded to the survey. Twelve pre-service teachers were interviewed. Inductive thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Findings reveal that pre-service teachers held divergent and nuanced conceptions of decolonialisation of education which seeped into their practice. Pre-service teachers are constituted of multiple identities. Changes in beliefs, values, attitudes and mindsets are prerequisites for meaningful educational change. A glimmer of hope surfaced from the few pre-service teachers who ‘turned towards’ becoming transformative intellectuals and agents of change as they navigated through the road less travelled: the inclusive agentic route.