Teaching for social justice: Importance of including Adolescent Literature with an Afrocentric context in the South African English Language Curriculum

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to review literature to understand the importance of including Adolescent Literature with an Afrocentric context in the English Language Curriculum. Its focus is on how crucial it is that the prescribed literary setwork for English Language learners, particularly grade 12 learners, mirror the geographical and social realities of learners, and promote local knowledge and heritage in local contexts while being sensitive to global imperatives. The theoretical frameworks of Decolonization, Afrocentricity, and Identity form the foundation of this argument as they are linked with the National Curriculum Statement’s principle of social transformation which motivated this writing, teaching literature for social transformation. The findings of this review revealed that teaching literature that is age appropriate and reflects leaners’ life experiences and history, in terms of geographical and social realities, can help learners understand literature and encourage reading. This review recommends further empirical research on Afrocentrism in education and the teaching of Adolescent Literature in South African contexts in the hopes that it would encourage South African setwork selectors to consider selecting Adolescent Literature with an Afrocentric context for South African English Language learners.