By Adam Wakefield
Professor Ylva Rodny-Gumede, the head of the University of Johannesburg’s journalism, film and television department, believes a curriculum’s quality can never be ensured if it was not relevant.
“Relevancy is always coupled to a knowledge set, to be able to engage with or think critically about a field or profession. In our current context, lecturers and scholars more broadly need to make sure that the students understand the world around them, the social, political, cultural as well as economic context in which they live and will contribute to,” Rodny-Gumede says.
For
journalists, this means having an understanding of a news agenda that can contribute to the development and broader transformation of society, and in essence, improve people's lives.
No relevancy without adaption
Dr Jeanne du Toit, who, with a colleague, manages the Rhodes University radio section and chairs the
journalism school’s curriculum forum, says they are very conscious of needing to be responsive in a radically changing world.
“One needs to adapt all the time to try remain relevant in what you need to do. You are preparing them for that radically changing environment. In doing that, you need to make sure you are also strategic and reflective in how you put those changes into place,” Du Toit says.
“You can’t, for example, just react to short term things without necessarily having thought very carefully about what the implications are. We will constantly be told by people who work in the industry there are certain things they want from us, in what we need to teach our students,” Du Toit notes.
It is important that these conversations take place all the time, to listen and be aware of how industry professionals are experiencing the realities of journalism practise.
Data journalism is gaining importance
Caxton Professor of Journalism at Wits University,
Anton Harber, says the university finds they need to review their curriculum every year to keep up to date with changes in the industry.
“For example, we have moved to give more attention to data and entrepreneurial journalism, in line with industry trends, while at the same time not shifting from our emphasis on the basics such as reporting, writing, fact-checking, and editing,” Harber says.
#FeesMustFall raised important questions
In October, tertiary institutions across the country were gripped by student demonstrations. While the driving force of the protests were rising university fees, a lesser reported aspect of
#FeesMustFall campaign was the call for curriculum change, away from a perceived Western-bias.
Du Toit says the #FeesMustFall campaign raised important questions on a campus that for a quite some time had been a dormant space for transformation. The students themselves showed an impressive grasp of the complex issues surrounding curriculum construction.
“It is quite exciting, as the way forward is unknown,” Du Toit says.
Harber says the #FeesMustFall campaign led Wits to undertake a wider, more fundamental review of “what we do and how we do it”.
“We have brought students and industry representatives into this discussion and are taking a close look at every aspect of our curriculum,” says Harber.
Some of the issues being discussed included improved knowledge of African media history and context; and putting issues of identity and representation at the centre of all their teachings.
Rodny-Gumede says in South Africa, Westernised ideas of culture or socio-economic development cannot be taken as the norm.
“The fact is, South African students of any discipline live and experience a very different reality and will have to have an understanding for how to serve this context best.”
What are your thoughts? How do you think journalism has changed? Tell us in the comments below.