Rethinking teacher development: blending socially responsible teaching approaches with Indigenous Knowledge to enhance equity and inclusivity

Abstract Since the advent of democracy in South Africa, the education system has endeavoured to ensure not only physical access but also epistemological access to learning for all students. Consequently, the imperative of basic education is to deliver a curriculum that is equitable and inclusive. Higher education institutions’ teacher education programs serve as crucial social agents capable of driving transformative curricula grounded in a framework of social justice. This study seeks to explore the potential of decolonizing pre-service teacher education for equity and inclusivity through socially just pedagogies (SJPs). The curriculum under examination revitalizes SJPs, emphasizing the significance of personal pedagogical dimensions, the politics of difference, and the nexus between pedagogy and agency. Through interviews with nine purposively selected curriculum studies lecturers across all three North-West University campuses in South Africa, we elucidate how SJPs can inform a more equitable and inclusive curriculum aligned with transformative ideals. Lecturers advocate for the integration of new concepts/topics in teacher education to advance the transformation of knowledge, power, and identity within the curriculum. They call for the recognition and incorporation of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS), history, and languages to achieve equity and inclusivity in curriculum delivery. This study contributes to the discourse by amplifying voices from the Global South that challenge the predominant Eurocentric learning paradigm in South Africa and offer an alternative perspective on decolonized pre-service teacher education through SJPs.