Rethinking curriculum reform through a triadic lens: Transformation, decolonisation, and digitisation in higher education

Abstract

Curriculum reform in higher education increasingly unfolds at the intersection of three imperatives: transformation, decolonisation, and digitisation. However, these agendas frequently develop in isolation, resulting in disjointed outcomes that perpetuate epistemic and structural inequities. In South Africa, transformation has focused primarily on access and demographic equity; decolonisation has sought epistemic renewal through African and indigenous knowledge systems; and digitalisation, accelerated by the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and the COVID-19 pandemic, has redefined pedagogy while exposing persistent digital divides. This study conducts a systematic review of peer-reviewed research published between 2020 and 2025 to examine how these trajectories converge to shape curriculum reform in higher education. Guided by the PRISMA 2020 protocol and informed by a triadic conceptual model anchored in epistemic justice, the review synthesised 460 records from Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC, and Google Scholar, of which 25 met inclusion criteria. Thematic analysis revealed that decolonisation dominated 84% of studies, serving as the moral and epistemic anchor of reform. Transformation functioned as the institutional mechanism translating decolonial aims into policy, while digitisation operated ambivalently—both enabling and constraining epistemic justice. South African universities emerged as leaders in integrating indigenous epistemologies, participatory pedagogies, and digital inclusion, though challenges of sustainability and coherence persist. The review proposes a triadic framework that aligns social redress, epistemic plurality, and digital equity as mutually reinforcing principles. By conceptualising reform as a dynamic negotiation among institutional, epistemic, and technological forces, this study advances curriculum theory and offers actionable insights for achieving socially just and digitally inclusive higher education.