Global challenges, local responses: Exploring curriculum reform in South African engineering education

Abstract

Background and Aim: There have been significant higher education curriculum reform initiatives over the past 30 years across different global regions in response to a range of drivers such as employability, global citizenship, and sustainability. In professions such as engineering, a key focus has been on holistic graduate attribute development for scarce skills needs in increasingly complex socio-technical sectors. This paper sets out to explore the drivers of engineering curriculum reform in higher education institutions (HEIs) in a Global South context. Design/Method: Drawing on semi-structured, recorded focus group interviews with 28 program coordinators and academics across 15 of the 16 HEIs offering engineering qualifications in South Africa, the research team set out to determine what kinds of curriculum reform initiatives were being undertaken, who was responsible for initiating, implementing, and supporting these initiatives, and what were perceived to be challenges and successes. The emergent drivers were framed in relation to curriculum responsiveness theory analyzed using an overarching “critical realist” framework with structure, culture, and agency dimensions that systemically influence how curriculum reform is constrained or enabled. Results: The findings reveal both internal and external drivers that align with economic, institutional, and pedagogical responsiveness. The dominance of some levers over others is influenced by the underlying structural and cultural dimensions that affect agency. While some institutions show agency in curriculum reform, the dominant structure–culture dynamic often constrains innovation and maintains the status quo. Conclusion: The structure–culture–agency relationships that are presented highlight factors that constrain or enable curriculum reform, which has implications for practice and policy. To drive meaningful and sustainable reform, policymakers must develop frameworks that incentivize not only compliance with accreditation standards but also pedagogical innovation and social responsiveness, ensuring that curriculum transformation aligns with both economic demands and societal needs. © 2025 The Author(s). Journal of Engineering Education published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Engineering Education.

Keywords

Author Keywords

Curriculum reform drivers Global South responsiveness structure–culture–agency relationship

Index Keywords

Teaching Curricula Engineering education High educations Students Engineering research Global challenges Higher education institutions Regulatory compliance Accreditation Registration of engineers Sociology Curriculum reform Driver Education curriculums Global south Local response Responsiveness Structure–culture–agency relationship

Author Affiliations

Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa

University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

University of Pretoria, Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa

Funding & Acknowledgements

Royal Academy of Engineering, RAENG

In the South African context, as in much of the Global South, meeting the challenge of education reform designed to address 21st\u2010century needs is constrained by significant infrastructural, human, and technological resource availability (CHE, 2013 ). The education and training of graduates with the much\u2010needed technological skills for economic progress and global competitiveness resides with post\u2010secondary vocational and professional program educators, the majority of whom teach in large\u2010class and poorly resourced contexts with increasingly diverse and ill\u2010prepared cohorts. Although engineering programs across the country draw from the relatively elite pool of top achieving school leavers (based on mathematics and science admission scores), three decades since the dawn of the new SA, we are still grappling with poor retention and throughput rates on engineering programs (CHE, 2022 ; Fisher, 2011 ). Attempts to address these challenges have included increased national funding for academic capacity\u2010building, with several international collaborative projects designed to enable engineering educators to review curricula, redesign pedagogical strategies, and engage in personal professional development. One such project is the \u201CTransforming Systems through Partnerships \u2013 Innovative Engineering Curriculum\u201D (IEC) project, co\u2010funded by the Transforming Systems through Partnership Grant from the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE) and the South African Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) through their University Capacity Development Program (UCDP). The primary focus of these types of funding initiatives is to connect and grow partnerships that can lead to systemic, strategic, sustainable change. The IEC project specifically focuses on transforming the engineering education sector by adopting an integrated curriculum approach and identifying the support engineering academics need to effectively teach in these innovative programs.

Iowa Energy Center, IEC

In the South African context, as in much of the Global South, meeting the challenge of education reform designed to address 21st\u2010century needs is constrained by significant infrastructural, human, and technological resource availability (CHE, 2013 ). The education and training of graduates with the much\u2010needed technological skills for economic progress and global competitiveness resides with post\u2010secondary vocational and professional program educators, the majority of whom teach in large\u2010class and poorly resourced contexts with increasingly diverse and ill\u2010prepared cohorts. Although engineering programs across the country draw from the relatively elite pool of top achieving school leavers (based on mathematics and science admission scores), three decades since the dawn of the new SA, we are still grappling with poor retention and throughput rates on engineering programs (CHE, 2022 ; Fisher, 2011 ). Attempts to address these challenges have included increased national funding for academic capacity\u2010building, with several international collaborative projects designed to enable engineering educators to review curricula, redesign pedagogical strategies, and engage in personal professional development. One such project is the \u201CTransforming Systems through Partnerships \u2013 Innovative Engineering Curriculum\u201D (IEC) project, co\u2010funded by the Transforming Systems through Partnership Grant from the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAE) and the South African Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) through their University Capacity Development Program (UCDP). The primary focus of these types of funding initiatives is to connect and grow partnerships that can lead to systemic, strategic, sustainable change. The IEC project specifically focuses on transforming the engineering education sector by adopting an integrated curriculum approach and identifying the support engineering academics need to effectively teach in these innovative programs.

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Global challenges, local responses: Exploring curriculum reform in South African engineering education

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