Background: Universities, globally, and in South Africa, continue to be confronted with demands for transformation, humanisation of pedagogical practices and to embrace social justice.Aim: In this article, we bring to the surface possibilities of Ubuntu pedagogy within a social justice framework. We intersect Collective Fingers Theory and Social Justice Theory to propose the notion of Ubuntu pedagogy, which draws from African philosophy of Ubuntu. We argue that Ubuntu pedagogy provides an alternation to the current pedagogies that draw from European theories for teaching and learning in the South African higher education context. We put forward that, Ubuntu pedagogy, when embraced with understanding and dignity it deserves, has the potential, firstly, of initiating students from other cultures other than African cultures to the values of Ubuntu and, secondly, of reconnecting students with their values and cultures, but it has a capacity to cultivate social justice values of equity, recognition and fair participation amongst students from diverse social backgrounds.Setting: South African Higher Education.Methodology: The authors draw from literature to position the article within Ubuntu philosophical framework and social justice lenses. Themes emerging from literature are as follows: Intersection of Ubuntu philosophy and social justice, Ubuntu pedagogy and transformation in higher education and guiding principles for possible implementation of Ubuntu pedagogy.Results: At the intersection of Ubuntu pedagogy and social justice, classroom practices are designed to respond to students’ cultural competencies and to embrace all linguistic repertoires that students bring to the classroom for learning. Students are treated equally and with dignity and respect regardless of their social backgrounds.Conclusion: We argue that higher education classrooms in post-apartheid South Africa should enable equal access, equity and inclusivity for all students. We therefore recommend Ubuntu pedagogy as a culturally and socially just pedagogy for transformative higher education classrooms. This article contributes to the continuing dialogues about transformative pedagogies, decolonisation and social justice in South African higher education.

The focus of this study is the emergence of distinctive graduate attributes in flagship programmes at Universities of Technology in South Africa. The theoretical framework chosen for this study, Legitimation Code Theory (Maton 2014), offers an explanation of the underlying knowledge principles that make different kinds of thinking, doing and being possible. This article studies how favourable graduate attributes were achieved, identifies similarities across underpinning structures, and highlights the challenges faced by universities of technology in creating environments in which desired graduate attributes might be developed. The article offers a means of understanding the potential for the emergence of graduate attributes across undergraduate programmes in vocational and professional higher education contexts.

Education in South Africa, and Africa at large, has always been construed from Eurocentric perspectives despite Africa being rich with indigenous philosophies and knowledge systems such as the Ubuntu philosophy. In this paper, we bring forth the viability of Ubuntu pedagogy, which draws from the indigenous Ubuntu philosophy, for the promotion of co-existence, social cohesion and inclusivity in education. Drawing from the Collective Fingers Theory, we examine the extent to which the principles of Ubuntu philosophy can cultivate and restore African indigenous values and cultures in diverse educational settings. We draw from literature to position Ubuntu pedagogy within educational practices. Themes emerging from the subject literature are: Collective Fingers theory, Ubuntu philosophy, principles of Ubuntu pedagogy. As a transformative approach, Ubuntu pedagogy, when embraced with the understanding and dignity it deserves, has a potential not only for reconnecting students with their indigenous values, heritage and cultures, but it also has a capacity to cultivate Ubuntu social values of solidarity, co-existence, respect and cooperation among students. We recommend Ubuntu pedagogy as a transformative and decolonial approach that promotes inclusion and social justice. The paper provides principles that guide the possible and effective implementation of Ubuntu pedagogy in diverse educational settings and implications for practice. The paper contributes to the ongoing debates on the decolonisation of education and the role of Ubuntu philosophy in the restoration of African values in the South African education system.

These articles have been peer reviewed by the members of the Technical and Scientific Committee and approved by the Editor-in-Chief, who affirms that this document is a truthful description of the conference's review process.Reviewers were instructed to assess the quality of submissions solely based on the academic merit of their content along the following dimensions;