A critical examination of the contextual relevance of industrial psychology training at a University in the Western Cape

Abstract

The dominant influence of Western and European psychology on the African educational system brought about a specific point of view for the teaching curriculum (Heleta, 2016), which also spilled over into the workplace and job training practices. The present study gave a brief review of the history and development of the Industrial Psychology curriculum in South African higher education institutions. It also highlighted the dominant influence of Western and European psychology on the African educational system that brought about a non-African (i.e. Western scientific model) psychological discipline in the teaching curriculum. The study sought to examine the contextual relevance of Industrial Psychology training at a University in the Western Cape. Furthermore, the study investigated how the concepts and frameworks of Euro-Western Industrial Psychology affect graduates entering into a multi-cultural work context. The need was found for a teaching and learning curriculum that prepares students with multi-cultural knowledge, thus enabling graduates to embrace a diverse work environment. The researcher followed a qualitative research design with semi-structured interviews to collect data. The method of thematic analyses was used and the themes identified manually from the transcribed interviews. The researcher followed a qualitative research design with semi-structured interviews to collect data. The method of thematic analyses was used and the themes identified manually from the transcribed interviews. The researcher followed a qualitative research design with semi-structured interviews to collect data. The method of thematic analyses was used and the themes identified manually from the transcribed interviews.