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1. 601
aImInG for TransformaTIon: eXplorInG
GraDuaTeness In souTh afrIca
Sarah Rutherford Smith
LLB LLM
Senior Lecturer, University of South Africa
Andrea Bauling
BA LLB
Lecturer, University of South Africa
1 Introduction
The inherent power of education to improve lives and uplift a society
is universally accepted. Consequently, education must continuously be
re-imagined in order to ensure the production of the most adept citizens
possible; citizens who are prepared for the society in, and in the service of
which, they will function. The Higher Education Act 101 of 1997 recognises
the need to re-imagine our higher education system in order to meet the needs
of the changing South African society. South Africa’s higher education system
is committed to: “promote the values which underlie an open and democratic
society based on human dignity, equality and freedom”, to “pursue excellence,
promote the full realisation of the potential of every student and employee,
tolerance of ideas and appreciation of diversity”, and to “respond to the needs
of the Republic and of the communities served by the institutions”.1
The
Higher Education Act also recognises that:
“Education’s fundamental purpose must be to enrich the individual and the broader society. Education
can, and should, contribute in a more profound way by developing mature citizens with the kinds
of personal attributes, moral values, [and] emotional competences…that will make future South
Africans more than merely technically productive employees.”2
Concordant to this process of re-imagining our higher education system and
the international trend toward defining graduateness,3
some South African
universities have begun to define or rather re-imagine what graduateness
means for their specific institutions.4
They seek to determine what it is that
makes their graduates prepared for the society they will serve and what makes
their graduates unique among those from other universities. These definitions
1
Preamble of the Higher Education Act
2
A Delport Emotions, Social Transformation and Education (2010) 153
3
Examples of this can be found in publicly funded universities in Australia that are required by law to
develop statements on graduateness, see SC Barrie Conceptions of Generic Graduate Attributes (2003) 3
4
The University of Cape Town’s idea of graduateness will be discussed below, as will the University
of South Africa’s definition At the time of publication the University of Pretoria Senate Committee
had approved certain attributes associated with graduateness, but no policy has been finalised The
University of the North West confirmed that it does not have a graduateness policy at present As no
further information could be found, it is assumed that none of the other South African universities have
official policies on graduateness

2. of graduateness seek to define the essence of a university education; to define
the qualities, attributes and characteristics a university wishes to instil in its
graduates and consequently in the citizens of the country they serve.5
This article is intended to explore the notion of graduateness and how
developing definitions of graduateness for South African universities can
contribute to re-imagining our higher education system and, consequently,
to transforming South Africa. The article considers the unique demands of
university education in a country that is dedicated to “[h]eal the divisions of
our past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and
fundamental human rights”, and to “[i]mprove the quality of life of all citizens
and free the potential of each person”.6
The article proposes that due to the
Constitution and the Higher Education Act’s commitment to transform the
fabric of South African society any South African university’s definition of
graduateness should emphasise this commitment to transformation.
The first section of the article will discuss the need for transformation
within the greater South African society. This section will suggest that
the transformation of individuals is essential to the realisation of the
societal transformation that is required and facilitated by our constitutional
dispensation.7
Next, the article will explore how individual transformation
is possible through transformative education and, in particular, transformative
legal education.8
A discussion of the skills, properties and attributes
commonly encompassed in a definition of graduateness will follow.9
This
will include an evaluation of the definitions of graduateness already formulated
by South African universities to determine whether their envisaged graduate
is the transformed person.
In conclusion, recommendations for the development of new definitions
of graduateness,10
which highlight how transformative (legal) education
can assist in the development of the transformed individual, and ultimately
why the transformed individual should be an attribute of graduateness at all
universities in South Africa, will be provided.
5
Barrie Conceptions of Generic Graduate Attributes 10
6
Preamble of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (“the Constitution”)
7
As an example of the work recently done on the need for societal transformation, see the contributions to
S Liebenberg & G Quinot (eds) Law and Poverty: Perspectives from South Africa and Beyond (2012)
8
Transformative legal education is evaluated because there is an undeniably strong link between law and
society as “law constitutes both a product and an instrument of social engineering” (C Nicholson “The
Relevance of the Past in Preparing for the Future” (2011) 17 Fundamina 101 109) In this article the
principles of transformative education will be applied to the undergraduate LLB curriculum Having said
this, concepts of transformation and transformative education essentially impact all university disciplines
and it is assumed that the concepts of transformative education can and should be applied across all
disciplines
9
Where examples of these skills and attributes are required, reference will be made to the LLB curriculum
and the educational demands of the legal industry
10
Or the improvement of already formulated definitions
602 STELL LR 2013 3

3. 2 Transformation, society and law
2 1 political and personal transformation
Transformation is both a political and a personal challenge. Delport suggests
that transformation must include these two features in order to be authentic:
The first feature of transformation necessitates that society must change on
a political level; society should be organised and administered according
to a new dispensation.11
The second requires that this political change be
supported by personal change.12
This personal transformation refers to a
person’s individual perspective on life and society being fundamentally
altered.Delportfurtherarguesthatifthepoliticalchangeisnotaccompaniedby
personal change then the legitimacy of the political change is undermined.13
In 1994 South Africa underwent a regime change, and thus a much-needed
politicalchange,withtheAfricanNationalCongressbecomingtherulingparty
as a result of the first democratic elections, but “[u]nfortunately no system,
democracy included, carries within itself the guarantee of freedom”.14
South Africa’s regime change did not guarantee the personal change of South
Africans. Merely transforming the political system does not ensure the South
Africa envisaged in our Constitution; it does not ensure that citizens espouse
the egalitarian spirit of the Constitution and its values. In light of Delport’s
thesis, the goal of transformation requires people to accept and live the values
espoused in the Constitution and other legislation and this will ultimately
result in a transformed society. Each citizen needs to accept and adopt the new
dispensation on a personal level or the political change has only face-value.
If transformation does not occur on an individual level then transformation
of South Africa on a large scale may be hollow and insignificant, or indeed
impossible.15
The Constitution along with many other pieces of legislation, such as the
Higher Education Act, encapsulates the commitment to progressing towards
a transformed South Africa. Indeed, the Constitution is a call for personal
change; it is “a call to action to all South Africans to seek to build a just and free
democratic society in which the potential of each person is freed”.16
South
Africa is still experiencing political, economic and social transformation.
Despite the transformation that has already occurred post-1994 the lingering
11
Delport Emotions, Social Transformation and Education 102, 103
12
102
13
102, 103 Cornell discusses the dual meaning of the phrase “the subject of transformation” – referring
firstly to the topic being that of transformation, and secondly, to the possibility of a person or a society
undergoing a transformation (the “kind of individuals we would have to become in order to open ourselves
to new worlds”) (D Cornell Transformations (1993) 1, 2) Her work in the field of feminism further
highlights the complex nature of transformation
14
FA Sonn The Future of Education in a Democratic South Africa (1992) keynote speech at the Launching
Conference of the South African Institute of Distance Education in Johannesburg, 07-12-1992 item 4 1
15
Delport Emotions, Social Transformation and Education 103; AE Austin “Transformation through
Negotiation: The University of Port Elizabeth’s Experiences, Challenges, and Progress” in RO Mabokela
& KL King (eds) Apartheid No More 1 12
16
K O’Regan The Vision of the Constitution: A Response to the Address by Prof Kader Asmal, MP, Minister
of Education (2001) unpublished paper presented at Saamtrek: Values, Education and Democracy in the
21st Century hosted by the Department of Education at Kirstenbosch, 22-24 February 2001 as quoted in
K Asmal Manifesto on Values, Education and Democracy (2001) 12
AIMING FOR TRANSFORMATION 603

4. inheritance of the Apartheid regime is a nation which still has deep-rooted
social divisions in terms of class, race, gender and religious views.17
Much of South Africa’s transformation has only been observed in theory.18
To the impartial observer, however, it seems as if this commitment has not
necessarily been adopted by many South Africans, nor has it been their lived
experience of a post-Apartheid South Africa. When evaluating our society
against this constitutional or legislative yardstick it is quite obvious that South
Africa is not yet satisfactorily transformed; that the transformation in theory
has not always been supported by transformation in practice. Realising that
personal transformation cannot be enforced by the external transformation of
the political system (as personal transformation is, by definition, an individual
pursuit), South Africans need to find ways to assist and to produce this
personal transformation in their fellow citizens.19
Admittedly, a change in a
political dispensation will force individuals to confront their existing beliefs
but it does not automatically result in changing or transforming existing
personal beliefs and value systems.20
It is here that education plays a vital
role; through education the road to personal transformation can be paved. As
Nelson Mandela noted:
“The power of education extends beyond the development of skills we need for economic success. It
can contribute to nation-building and reconciliation.”21
Education has the power to assist and ensure South Africa’s transformation
and thus our teaching and learning should be geared towards this.
2 2 Transformative education
From the preceding discussion it is clear that South Africans must transform
the fabric of their society, transform themselves and their fellow citizens.
Education can play a crucial role in aiding this transformation. Considering
South Africa’s history it is vital that the new education frameworks reflect
that education is a transformative tool, because we need to educate for
transformation as is required by the Higher Education Act.22
Transformative education occurs when a learner, usually an adult, having
existing beliefs and opinions, is exposed to a different worldview. The learner
is then able to consider this different approach and integrate it into her own
17
H Wolpe “Education and Social Transformation: Problems and Dilemmas” in E Unterhalter, H Wolpe &
T Botha (eds) Education in a Future South Africa (1992) 1 3 See also G Arnold The New South Africa
(2000) 3, 11-19; P Langa “Transformative Constitutionalism” (2006) 17 Stell LR 351 352
18
Arnold The New South Africa 12
19
Delport Emotions, Social Transformation and Education 106
20
117, 124
21
N Mandela “Speech by President Nelson Mandela at the Education Africa, Presidential and Premier
Awards” (22-11-1997) African National Congress 65 <http://www anc org za/show php?id=3253>
(accessed 16-10-2013)
22
Preamble of the Higher Education Act See further Delport Emotions, Social Transformation and
Education 139, 146; N Alexander The Tactics of Education for Liberation transcript of college lecture
delivered at the University of Natal Pietermaritzburg, 23-09-1987 7; T Axam “A Model for Learning
and Teaching – Rights and Responsibilities in the New Legal Order” (2001) 17 SAJHR 404 405-407;
L Greenbaum “Experiencing the South African Undergraduate Law Curriculum” (2012) De Jure 104
105, 121-122; Department of Education Education White Paper 3 – A Programme for Transformation in
Higher Education in GG 180207 of 15-08-1997 7
604 STELL LR 2013 3

5. worldview.23
The theory of transformative education relies heavily on the
concept of a paradigm shift; where “a collectively held meaning perspective”
is changed or amended to a new understanding.24
But transformative education
applies the concept of a paradigm shift to the individual. The individual’s
current understandings are transformed to a “more inclusive, discriminating
[analytical], open or permeable (to different ideas), flexible, holistic, reflective
or examinable and autonomous meaning perspectives”.25
Transformative education is an “emancipatory process of becoming
critically aware of how and why the structure of psycho-cultural assumptions
has come to constrain the way we see ourselves and our relationships,
reconstituting this structure to permit a more inclusive and discriminating
integration of experience and acting upon these new understandings”.26
Thus the theory of transformative education relates to Delport’s second
requirement for transformation. Transformative education provides learners
with the opportunity to question their assumptions, to experiment with
new approaches and to “transition to a significantly new place in their
understanding of values, beliefs, assumptions, themselves and their world”.27
Transformative education thus develops and changes, or transforms people.28
It is also suggested that because transformative education improves
the individual as it can result in changing opinions and behaviours, this
transformation can be transferred to society.29
This again supports Delport’s
theory of transformation; that in order for authentic political change to occur it
must be supported by personal transformation. Thus transformative education
has the power to promote and protect South Africa’s new dispensation, to
ensure that it is supported by a deeper, personal transformation of South
African citizens. Yet universities have been criticised for their lacklustre
contribution to social transformation.30
As educational institutions, universities must recognise that they are agents
oftransformation;thattheyhaveanimportant,ifnotessential,roletoplayinthe
new South Africa, because they can assist in the development of transformed
South African citizens. South African universities need to develop, conserve
and promote “a future where all South Africans will enjoy an improved and
23
Anonymous “Mezirow and Transformation Theory” Moreno Collegium <http://www morenocollegium
com au/files/Mezirow%20and%20Transformation%20Theory pdf> (accessed 26-11-2012) 2 See also G
Quinot “Transformative Legal Education” (2012) 129 SALJ 411 418
24
Anonymous “Mezirow and Transformation Theory” Moreno Collegium 3
25
4; see also K van Marle & J Modiri “What Does Changing the World Entail? Law, Critique and Legal
Education in the Time of Post-Apartheid” (2012) 129 SALJ 209 212
26
J Mezirow Education for Perspective Transformation: Women’s Re-entry Programs in Community
Colleges (1978) 6
27
KP King Handbook of the Evolving Research of Transformative Learning (2009) 4 For a discussion
on the process of transformative education see Mezirow Education for Perspective Transformation; J
Mezirow Fostering Critical Reflection in Adulthood: A Guide to Transformative and Emancipatory
Learning (1990) and KP King Bringing Transformative Learning to Life (2005)
28
CM Clark “Transformational Learning” (1993) 57 New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education 47
47
29
Anonymous “Mezirow and Transformation Theory” Moreno Collegium 4
30
PF Iya “Fighting Africa’s Poverty and Ignorance through Clinical Legal Education: Shared Experiences
with New Initiatives for the 21st Century” (2000) Int’l J Clinical Legal Educ 13 14 Here Iya is referring
to African universities, not specifically South African universities, but the inference can still be drawn
and the statement applied to the South African context
AIMING FOR TRANSFORMATION 605

6. sustainable quality of life, participate in a growing economy, and share in a
democratic culture”.31
Therefore, apart from teaching for the other attributes
of graduateness,32
universities need to teach (for) transformation.
What follows is a discussion of arguments for including transformative
education within the LLB curriculum as an example of the potential and
importance of transformative education.
2 3 Transformative legal education
“Law schools are intensely political places.”33
This is because they have the capacity to teach or promote, albeit
subconsciously, a specific political agenda. This is achieved by means of
the “hidden curriculum (or ‘unstated norms and values communicated to
students’) and the null curriculum (what is not taught)”:34
“[R]eactive conservatism on the part of legal academics resulted in law curricula that replicate a cycle
of disadvantage, and fail to achieve transformative learning, which integrates knowledge, skills and
ethical values.”35
A break with our conservative past should thus be endeavoured for at every
turn. Further, because the law regulates society, and law graduates assume
legal, political and economic roles in society, what law students learn during
their time at university will have an effect on society. If the transformation of
law students is not authentic, then they may not be able to cope with the call
for social change, the desire to reconstruct South African society or the need
for redress, all of which lawyers in post-Apartheid South Africa are faced
with in the professional arena. Without transformative legal education, law
graduates could become lawyers who will not fulfil their personal ethical
responsibilities to the call of the Constitution and their effect on the law
and society may be damaging and retroactive.36
How can we expect of law
graduates to change the law and their view of the law if they are not made
aware of the duty to do so, imposed on them by the Constitution? The potential
effect of transformative legal education could be significant for South Africa.
31
Department of Education Education White Paper 3 11
32
See discussion below part 4
33
D Kennedy “Legal Education as Training for Hierarchy” (1982) 31 J Legal Educ 591; L Montjane
“Towards a Discursive Legal Education” (2003) 7 Education as Change 88
34
Greenbaum (2012) De Jure 105
35
L Greenbaum The Undergraduate Law Curriculum: Fitness for Purpose PhD thesis KwaZulu-Natal
(2010) v
36
Quinot (2012) SALJ 415 See also CRM Dlamini “The Law Teacher, the Law Student and Legal Education
in South Africa” (1992) 109 SALJ 595 599, 609; R Pound, JN Frank & AT Vanderbilt “What Constitutes
a Good Legal Education” (1993) 7 American Law School Rev 887 888; Van Marle & Modiri (2012)
SALJ 209, 211; P de Vos “When will the JSC begin to take Transformation Seriously?” (08-11-2012)
Constitutionally Speaking <http://constitutionallyspeaking co za/when-will-the-jsc-begin-to-take-
transformation-seriously/> (accessed 28-11-2012)
606 STELL LR 2013 3

7. Thus, it is essential that South African law students experience this form of
teaching and learning during the LLB curriculum.37
The notion of transformative legal education for South Africa is strongly
influenced by the concept of transformative constitutionalism.38
In order for
legal education to be transformative it requires and teaches a fundamental
shift from formalistic legal reasoning to substantive reasoning39
inspired
by our transformative Constitution.40
It also demands that the law be taught
responsibly.41
Morality, policy and politics impact heavily on the law
(especially in South Africa) and therefore these matters cannot be left outside
the classroom.42
Quinot calls for the critical consideration of educational
theory and states that this is the duty of all legal academics.43
He states
that putting serious consideration into theories of legal education will have
a two-fold benefit: it will improve the quality of legal education provided,
and more importantly it is also a “crucial ingredient of constitutional
transformation grounded in law”.44
The theoretical framework suggested as
37
The four year LLB curriculum is being reviewed, and potentially may change to a five year curriculum
South African Law Deans Association, the Law Society of South Africa & the General Council of the Bar
of South Africa “LLB Summit Charts Way Forward to Ensure Adequately Equipped Lawyers” (06-06-
2013) LSSA <http://www lssa org za/upload/JOINT%20PRESS%20STATEMENT%20ON%20LLB%20
SUMMIT%206_6_13 pdf> (accessed 05-07-2013) This period of revision provides an opportunity to
infuse the curriculum with a more transformative approach in both the choice of subject matter and the
pedagogical approach For a more detailed discussion on the benefits that such a dual approach could
have, see Quinot (2012) SALJ 422
38
This ground-breaking notion was first defined by KE Klare “Legal Culture and Transformative
Constitutionalism” (1998) 14 SAJHR 146 and later expanded by several others See D Moseneke
“The Fourth Bram Fischer Memorial Lecture: Transformative Adjudication” (2002) 18 SAJHR 309;
H Botha “Metaphoric Reasoning and Transformative Constitutionalism (Part 1)” (2002) TSAR 612;
“Metaphoric Reasoning and Transformative Constitutionalism (Part 2)” (2003) TSAR 20; D Davis
“Elegy to Transformative Constitutionalism” in H Botha, A van der Walt & J van der Walt (eds) Rights
and Democracy in a Transformative Constitution (2003) 57; H Botha “Freedom and Constraint in
Constitutional Adjudication” (2004) 20 SAJHR 249; W le Roux “Bridges, Clearings and Labyrinths: The
Architectural Framing of Post-apartheid Constitutionalism” (2004) 19 SAPL 629; M Pieterse “What do
we Mean when we Talk about Transformative Constitutionalism?” (2005) 20 SAPL 155; AJ van der Walt
“Legal History, Legal Culture and Transformation in a Constitutional Democracy” (2006) 12 Fundamina
1; S Liebenberg “Needs, Rights and Transformation: Adjudicating Social Rights” (2006) 17 Stell LR 5; K
van Marle “Transformative Constitutionalism as/and Critique” (2009) 20 Stell LR 286 Several examples
can also be found in Liebenberg & Quinot (eds) Law and Poverty: N Fraser “Social Exclusion, Global
Poverty, and Scales of (In)Justice: Rethinking Law and Poverty in a Globalising World” in S Liebenberg
& G Quinot (eds) Law and Poverty: Perspectives from South Africa and Beyond (2012) 4; S Sibanda
“Not Purpose-Made! Transformative Constitutionalism, Post-Independence Constitutionalism, and
the Struggle to Eradicate Poverty” in S Liebenberg & G Quinot (eds) Law and Poverty: Perspectives
from South Africa and Beyond (2012) 40; S Rosa “Transformative Constitutionalism in a Democratic
Developmental State” in S Liebenberg & G Quinot (eds) Law and Poverty: Perspectives from South
Africa and Beyond (2012) 100; DM Davis “Developing the Common Law of Contract in the Light of
Poverty and Illiteracy: The Challenge of the Constitution” in S Liebenberg & G Quinot (eds) Law and
Poverty: Perspectives from South Africa and Beyond (2012) 403; K Klare “Concluding Reflections: Legal
Activism after Poverty has been Declared Unconstitutional” in S Liebenberg & G Quinot (eds) Law and
Poverty: Perspectives from South Africa and Beyond (2012) 423
39
Here “formalistic” and “substantive” are utilised as originally intended by Klare (1998) SAJHR 188 and
Quinot (2012) SALJ 411, 412
40
Quinot (2012) SALJ 411
41
411, 432 Quinot is understood as using this term to express that law teachers should impart their students
with a socially-conscious and morally driven outlook on, and analysis of, the law and the legal system as
a whole
42
415, 416
43
432; see also Van Marle & Modiri (2012) SALJ 211-212
44
Quinot (2012) SALJ 412
AIMING FOR TRANSFORMATION 607

8. being appropriate in this regard is that of transformative legal education.45
This would entail a student-centred approach, a non-linear conception of
(transferring) knowledge and calls for substantive rather than formalistic legal
reasoning.46
Transformative legal education “allows us to acknowledge that
law as a means of organising society is mired in complexity, that the process
of teaching and learning is a complex one, and that the new knowledge world
of our networked society draws out the complex nature of knowledge rather
than suppresses it”.47
Klare explains that in a legal system where transformative constitutionalism
is the prerogative, a duty rests on legal scholars to re-think and evaluate the
role of the Constitution and its inherent power to bring about transformation
on a socio-economic front in the impoverished South African society.48
Obviously this duty should also be directly related to the teaching of law in
South Africa.
While the South African legal practice desires “skilled legal mechanics”,
it has been argued that ethically motivated, socially conscious lawyers can
only be fostered by exposing them to courses such as legal history and legal
philosophy in order to affect their thinking about the law and its development,
role and purpose in a transforming society.49
Nicholson argues that when
a legal syllabus includes elements of legal history and Roman law, students
can be made aware of the evolution of legal rules over time, as well as the
reason why a changing society demands and necessitates changes in law.50
Failing to provide students with a legal historical background “would ill
serve prospective jurists”.51
This directly links with the notion of teaching
“context” instead of purely “text”.52
Law students should be taught to
question judicial decisions, that socio-economic and political factors should
influence, and are influencing, the law and that the prevailing ideology of
a society plays an undeniable role in the law-making process.53
This can
be done more effectively by teaching students critical thinking skills at the
hand of transformed Roman law, legal history and legal philosophy syllabi.
Van der Walt postulates that it is not the historical legal sources or their
“traditional interpretation” that creates tension with transformation, but the
“deeply entrenched attitudes towards and thinking about what ‘The Law’
is”54
and how it should function in the current South African context that
are to blame.55
Legal philosophy develops skills such as critique, and this
skill “increases the potential; for the transformation of law as well as the law’s
potential to transform social relations”.56
Further, legal philosophy provides
45
412, 432
46
412, 415
47
431
48
Klare (1998) SAJHR 152, 156
49
Nicholson (2011) Fundamina 106, 114
50
106
51
102, 109
52
Van Marle & Modiri (2012) SALJ 210
53
Nicholson (2011) Fundamina 113 Also see Van der Walt (2006) Fundamina 29-30, 32, 36-37
54
Van der Walt (2006) Fundamina 6
55
5-6
56
SH Tan “Teaching Legal Ideals through Jurisprudence” (2009) 43 The Law Teacher 14 19
608 STELL LR 2013 3

9. the law student and, consequently, the legal practitioner the opportunity to
consider the purpose and value of the law and whether law achieves what
it is intended for.57
Of all the practical skills required of law graduates the
most important ones, in the transformative context, are certainly critical
thinking and creativity.58
The act of interpreting stands between a source of
law and transformation and students should be made aware of the fact that an
interpretive cue can be taken from the common law or the Constitution, with
significantly varying consequences.59
The spirit of the South African Constitution challenges law teachers “to
be creative, to imagine and develop new ways of doing things in law”,60
but
more importantly to instil this notion in their graduates.61
It is imperative
that we attempt to emancipate our minds and those of our students from the
inevitable palimpsest62
of our history; that we develop transformed South
African citizens who live the values espoused in the Constitution and who are
conscious of the transformative power of the Constitution.63
There are several pedagogies for transformative education.64
These
pedagogies fall beyond the scope of this article and it will be for each
university within their different disciplines to decide which pedagogy
serves their commitment to transformative education. For instance, the
paradigm described by Quinot provides a holistic and informed approach to
South African law, which in turn could potentially uplift a society. What is
important is that transformative education allows students to develop new
understandings of themselves and others, of their past and their role in the
future.65
Universities can contribute to this process by including transformative
education in their pedagogies. Furthermore it is essential that universities
envisage their graduates as transformed persons and subsequently their
aspirations to achieve this should be included in their individual definitions
of graduateness. As the definition of the outcome of a university education it
is imperative that graduateness includes this commitment to transformation.
The next section of this article discusses the attributes that are commonly
present within definitions of graduateness and looks at definitions that have
been drafted by South African universities.
57
H McCoubrey & ND White Textbook on Jurisprudence 2 ed (1996) 10
58
Quinot (2012) SALJ 416, 418; Van Marle & Modiri (2012) SALJ 218
59
Van der Walt (2006) Fundamina 11-12
60
Quinot (2012) SALJ 416
61
416
62
A palimpsest is defined as a “surface on which the original writing has been erased to make way for new
writing, but upon which traces of the old writing remain visible” (Johannesburg Development Agency
Number Four: The Making of Constitutional Hill (2006) 116) as quoted in K van Marle, I de Villiers & E
Beukes “Memory, Space and Gender: Re-imagining the Law” (2012) 27 SAPL 559 566
63
WP Nagan & D Visser “The Global Challenge to Legal Education: Training Lawyers for a New Paradigm
of Economic, Political and Legal-cultural Expectations in the 21st Century” (2004) 11 ILSA J Int’l &
Comp L 1
64
J Mezirow Transformative Dimensions of Adult Learning (1991); Quinot (2012) SALJ 411 in which he
suggests a constructivist pedagogy; P Freire Education: The Practice of Freedom (1976) and P Freire
Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970)
65
King Handbook of the Evolving Research of Transformative Learning xx; see also CMA Nicholson “A
New LLB for a New South Africa” (1999) 40 Codicillus 27-35 and Quinot (2012) SALJ 417
AIMING FOR TRANSFORMATION 609

10. 3 Defining graduateness
“Defining graduateness” requires a dualistic approach. Firstly the term
graduateness must be described. Graduateness can be defined as “the
qualities, skills and understandings a university community agrees its students
should develop during their time with the institution… qualities that also
prepare graduates as agents for social good in an unknown future”.66
Many
definitions of graduateness tend to be generalised, referring to “the skills,
personal attributes and values which should be acquired by all graduates
regardless of the discipline or field of study”.67
Furthermore, many rely on
or suggest a combination of field specific properties, shared properties and
generic properties.68
A discussion of these properties follows shortly. The
validity or completeness of the description of graduateness is not the topic
of this article, as this falls squarely in the realm of the theory of education.
The definition is only provided as background knowledge and included for the
sake of completeness.
The second aspect of “defining graduateness”, which lies at the heart of this
article, relates to each academic institution’s opportunity and obligation to
define its own sense of graduateness. This means that every university should
decide what graduateness means in its own context; what its graduates should
portray to the world as the legacy left by their alma mater.
The specific properties encapsulated by graduateness will now be explored.
3 1 field specific properties
Field specific properties prepare graduates for the theory requirements
of their chosen industry.69
Field specific properties refer to the theory and
knowledge related to a specific degree. For instance, a law graduate should
at the very least be familiar with the fundamentals, procedures and sources
of the relevant legal system in order to practice law or work within the legal
sphere.70
A law graduate who begins work in a specialised criminal law firm
will need a theoretical foundation in criminal law, criminal procedure and the
law of evidence. This knowledge is specific to the practice of criminal law.
Field specific properties alone are often insufficient to prepare graduates for
the market place. The field specific material which students learn at university
66
J Bowden, G Hart, K Trigwell & O Watts “Executive Summary, Generic Capabilities of ATN University
Graduates” in Australian Network Technology Generic Capabilities of ATN University Graduates (2000)
para 1
67
Higher Education Council Achieving Quality (1992) 20
68
G MacDonald Ross “Graduateness” in The Higher Education Academy Supporting Philosophy, Theology,
Religious Studies, History of Science and Philosophy of Science (2010) 1 2
69
R Bridgstock “The Graduate Attributes we’ve Overlooked: Enhancing Graduate Employability through
Career Management Skills” (2009) 28 Higher Education Research and Development 31 37
70
AU Türkbağ “The Questions of Teaching Legal Philosophy in Turkey” in IB Flores & G Uygur (eds)
Alternative Methods in the Education of Philosophy of Law and the Importance of Legal Philosophy in
Legal Education (2010) 61 64
610 STELL LR 2013 3

11. may quickly become outdated and irrelevant.71
In fields such as tax law,
intellectual property law or information technology law the industries change
so rapidly that coursework must be constantly updated. Considering that the
economic, social and technological environment can transform so rapidly, it is
difficult for educators to develop consistently relevant and up-to-date degree
curriculums.72
The employment environment has become complex, unstable and ever-
fluctuating in its requirements and field specific knowledge changes so
rapidly that field specific knowledge alone is insufficient preparation for the
working world.73
Most working environments are no longer field specific,
but rather require various fields of expertise and therefore require employees
who can work with experts from other fields and who can adapt to the
constantly changing professional environment.74
The everyday problems
and challenges faced as a professional are rarely field specific and thus
graduates need to have the skills to deal with problems from different fields as
well as different disciplines.75
For instance, environmental lawyers need a
theoretical foundation in environmental law but may also need knowledge of
contract law, property law or mining law and they need to interact with many
different professionals (such as geologists and engineers) with whom and for
whom they will work.
Furthermore, employers do not always provide intensive pre-training;
insteadnewrecruitsareexpectedtobepreparedfortheirworkingenvironment,
and perform with only “on the job” training.76
It is essential that graduates
are prepared for this high-paced environment and have developed the skills
71
P Terenzini, L Springer, ET Pascarella & A Nora “Influence Affecting the Development of Students’
Critical Thinking Skills” (1995) 36 Research in Higher Education 23; R Barnett The Limits of Competence:
Knowledge, Higher Education and Society (1994) 15; IB Flores “Unchaining Prometheus: The Struggle
for Legal Philosophy (Vis-A-Vis Legal Education)” in IB Flores & G Uygur (eds) Alternative Methods in
the Education of Philosophy of Law and the Importance of Legal Philosophy in Legal Education (2010)
23
72
PC Candy “Knowledge Navigators and Lifelong Learners: Producing Graduates for the Information
Society” (2000) 19 Higher Education Research and Development 261 271; P Washer “Revisiting Key
Skills: A Practical Framework for Higher Education” (2007) 13 Quality in Higher Education 57 60; KE
Matthews & Y Hodgson “The Science Students Skills Inventory: Capturing Graduate Perceptions of
their Learning Outcomes” (2012) 20 Int’l J of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education 24 25;
Terenzini et al (1995) Research in Higher Education 24
73
Candy (2000) Higher Education Research Development 271; P Brown & R Scase “Universities and
Employers: Rhetoric and Reality” in A Smith & F Webster (eds) The Postmodern University? (1997) 85
86; K Wong, R Kwan, K Leung & FL Wang “Exploring the Potential Benefits of Facebook on Personal,
Social, Academic and Career Development for Higher Education Students” (2012) 7411 ICHL 253; Barrie
Conceptions of Generic Graduate Attributes 10
74
M Saunders & J Machell “Understanding Emerging Trends in Higher Education Curricula and Work
Connections” (2000) 13 Higher Education Policy 287 292; Candy (2000) Higher Education Research and
Development 271
75
Candy (2000) Higher Education Research and Development 273
76
Washer (2007) Quality in Higher Education 60; Bridgstock (2009) Higher Education Research
and Development 32; G Kruss “Employment and Employability: Expectations of Higher Education
Responsiveness” in Council on Higher Education Proceedings of the CHE Colloquium (2002) 59 64
AIMING FOR TRANSFORMATION 611

12. to enable them to work under these circumstances from the get go.77
Mere
field specific knowledge will not prepare graduates for these expectations.78
In order to ensure that university graduates develop attributes that are easily
transferable into different environments and to ensure lifelong relevance and
capabilities, universities need to teach more than field specific properties:
“What professional men should carry away with them from a University, is not professional
knowledge, but that which should direct the use of their professional knowledge.”79
Thus a university education should include the transference of abilities
that allow students to gather knowledge on their own, to think about that
knowledge effectively and to be able to ask the right questions in regard to that
knowledge.80
These are not field specific skills but rather fall into the shared
and generic properties of university graduates. These skills can however
still be incorporated into the syllabus by lecturers teaching specialised field
specific courses.
3 2 shared properties
Along with field specific skills and knowledge, graduates are expected to
have skills more generally relevant to their chosen industry. For instance, a
law graduate is expected to be able to use online legal resources, to have
legal numeracy, legal language, legal writing, legal research, reasoning,
negotiating, rhetoric and critical thinking skills among several other market
related qualities.81
77
B Harrison “Embedding Graduate Skills – High-achieving Students: Workshop Model” (2011) 7 Asian
Social Science 52 53
78
J Vescio UTS Successful Graduates Project: An Investigation of Successful Graduates in the Early Stages
of their Career across a Wide Range of Professions (2005) 51 <http://www uws edu au/__data/assets/
pdf_file/0019/7363/UTS_Succ_Grads_project_report_JVescio_2005 pdf> (accessed 16-07-2012)
79
H Silver & J Brennan A Liberal Vocationalism (1988) 213; N Bennet, E Dunne & C Carre “Patterns of
Core and Generic Skill Provision in Higher Education” (1999) 37 Higher Education 71 71; P Kearns
Generic Skills for the New Economy – Review of Research (2001) 2
80
K Jaspers The Idea of the University (1959) 59
81
Y Chetty “Briefing Document: Graduateness” (16-02-2010) UNISA <http://heda unisa ac za/filearchive/
Briefing%20Doc_Graduateness pdf> (accessed 12-07-2012) 2; H Griesel & B Parker Graduate Attributes
(2009) 9-11; Türkbağ “The Questions of Teaching Legal Philosophy in Turkey” in Alternative Methods in
the Education of Philosophy of Law 65; Barrie Conceptions of Generic Graduate Attributes 262; D Bath,
C Smith, S Stein & R Swann “Beyond Mapping and Embedding Graduate Attributes: Bringing Together
Quality Assurance and Action Learning to Create a Validated and Living Curriculum” (2004) 23 Higher
Education Research and Development 313 314-315 Whether critical thinking is a shared or generic
property is a somewhat contested area It is arguable that critical thinking skills can only be developed
within a specific field and that different academic disciplines are better suited to teaching different
critical thinking skills; and thus critical thinking skills are a shared property of graduateness However,
it is also possible that teaching critical thinking skills within a domain may result in the transference of
those skills to various other fields; and is thus a generic capacity of graduates Critical thinking may be
both a generic property and a shared property (and for the purposes of this article that interpretation is
preferred) T Moore “The Critical Thinking Skills Debate: How General are General Thinking Skills?”
(2004) 23 Higher Education Research and Development 3 3; Terenzini et al (1995) Research in Higher
Education 34; J McPeck Critical Thinking and Education (1981) 4; CS Walter, RF West & KE Stanovich
“The Domain Specificity and Generality of Belief Bias: Searching for a Generalizable Critical Thinking
Skill” (1999) 91 J Educational Psychology 497 498; PM King, PK Wood & RA Mines “Critical Thinking
among College and Graduate Students” (1990) 13 Review of Higher Education 167 170-171; JH McMillan
“Enhancing College Students’ Critical Thinking: A Review of Studies” (1987) 26 Research in Higher
Education 3 12
612 STELL LR 2013 3

13. However, the shared properties of graduateness require more than just
these skills. Uygur argues that law graduates also need to have specific virtues
because the law affects people’s lives.82
Moreover, law is a public profession;
it comes with responsibilities and obligations to the public.83
Thus legal
education must also prepare students for the ethical and moral challenges of
legal practice.84
This shared property of graduateness greatly resembles the call for the
transformed person which our Constitution and Higher Education Act aspire
to. As discussed above,85
both Klare and Quinot emphasise the need to teach
law responsibly and to develop ethically motivated and socially conscious
lawyers.
3 3 Generic properties
Finally, graduates are also expected to develop generic properties which are
not unique to a field of study or discipline.86
These properties are generally
not developed in a specific module; rather they are an outcome of the ordinary
process of university education.87
The South African Qualifications Authority and Higher Education South
Africa has identified a list of attributes required by employers across the
disciplines, namely; communication skills, computer skills, problem solving
capabilities, creativity, learning skills, business skills and planning skills.88
These basic attributes seem consistent in many studies of employers’ needs;
however, workplace skills and experience, knowledge and intellectual ability,
initiative, integrity and other interactive and personal skills are also often
highlighted as employer needs.89
The generic properties of graduates are
extensive and include reflective thinking, scholarship, moral citizenship,
a capacity for lifelong learning, cognitive skills, communication and
interpersonal skills, self-motivation and the ability to work independently.
Furthermore, graduates attend university to gain expertise in a profession but
also to achieve global citizenship, to gain an understanding of their world and
people and their own place within it.90
82
G Uygur “Good Lawyers: The Education of Philosophy of Law and Alternative Methods in Turkish Legal
Education” in IB Flores & G Uygur (eds) Alternative Methods in the Education of Philosophy of Law and
the Importance of Legal Philosophy in Legal Education (2010) 37 37 (emphasis added)
83
SP Simpson “The Function of the University Law School” (1936) 49 Harv L Rev 1068 1071-1072
84
Ugyur Alternative Methods in the Education of Philosophy of Law 39
85
See part 2 3
86
Barrie Conceptions of Generic Graduate Attributes 262
87
263
88
Griesel & Parker Graduate Attributes 18-19
89
H Griesel “Universities and the World of Work: A Case Study on Graduate Attributes” in Council on
Higher Education Proceedings of the CHE Colloquium (2002) 38 46-54 Griesel comprehensively deals
with the needs of employers in relation to graduate attributes and how universities are fulfilling those
needs Barrie Conceptions of Generic Graduate Attributes 11-13, 270; WA van Schoor “What They don’t
Teach You at University: Skills, Values, and Attitudes for the South African Workplace” (2000) 20 SAJE
41 43; D Boud “Moving Towards Autonomy” in D Boud (ed) Developing Student Autonomy in Learning
2 ed (1988) 17 17
90
Jaspers The Idea of the University 52
AIMING FOR TRANSFORMATION 613

14. Generic properties also extend to include scholarship, implying scholars
who are capable of and want to be lifelong learners.91
Graduates are required
to be aware of different cultures, acquire cultural sensitivity towards different
cultures and be aware of their social responsibilities.92
The generic properties of graduateness seek to ensure that learners reach
their full potential; that they become aware of different worldviews and that
their understanding of the world and their perspectives and opinions develop
and possibly change as a result of learning.93
These generic properties
(global citizenship, the ability to make a contribution to the world, cultural
sensitivity, awareness of social responsibilities and personal development)
come close to fulfilling the aspirations of the Preambles of the Constitution
and the Higher Education Act and assist in moving towards the idea of the
transformed individual.94
4 Revisiting South African definitions of graduateness
Very few South African universities have formulated definitions of
graduateness. In fact, the University of South Africa (“Unisa”) is the only
institutionwhichhasapolicyongraduateness.OtherSouthAfricanuniversities
are either still in the process of drafting a definition of graduateness95
or
have not yet considered doing so.
At the time of researching this article the University of Cape Town proposed
a definition of graduateness which was largely concerned with graduates’
employability:
“What is important is that as a graduate you are employable. Being employable is not just about
getting a job – it goes beyond getting and keeping a job.”96
Their concept of graduateness was influenced by the work of the United
Kingdom Higher Education Academy and the Higher Education Quality
Council (also based in the UK).97
However, while focusing on employability the
University of Cape Town, relying on a definition developed in Australia, also
91
Barrie Conceptions of Generic Graduate Attributes 269; F Dochy, M Segers & D Sluijsmans “The Use
of Self-, Peer and Co-assessment in Higher Education: A Review” (1999) 24 Studies in Higher Education
331 332
92
A Bosanquet “Higher Education Guarantees Global Citizenship, or does it?” in Centre for the
Enhancement of Teaching and Learning (ed) Proceedings of the Enhancing Learning Experiences in
Higher Education International Conference University of Hong Kong (2010); Bridgstock (2009) Higher
Education Research and Development 32
93
King Evolving Research of Transformative Learning 6
94
Preamble of the Constitution; Preamble of the Higher Education Act
95
The University of Pretoria
96
This was not an official university policy – rather, it formed part of their career guidance initiative
However, the website page from which this information was sourced is no longer available University of
Cape Town, Careers Service “Making Informed Study Choices (Choosing a Degree or Subjects)” UCT
Careers Service <http://www careers uct ac za/pages-sub php?tag=&pid=5&cat=3> (accessed 20-11-
2012) (on file with authors)
97
University of Cape Town, Careers Service “Making Informed Study Choices (Choosing a Degree or
Subjects)” UCT Careers Service
614 STELL LR 2013 3

15. suggested that their graduates have something more than just employability
attributes, without emphatically stating what this refers to.98
Unisa has completed its policy on graduateness which recognises that its
graduates:
“• are independent, resilient, responsible and caring citizens who are able to fulfil and serve in
multiple roles in their immediate and future local, national and global communities
• have a critical understanding of their location on the African continent with its histories,
challenges and potential in relation to globally diverse contexts
• are able to critically analyse and evaluate the credibility and usefulness of information and data
from multiple sources in a globalised world with its ever increasing information and data flows
and competing worldviews
• know how to apply their discipline-specific knowledge competently, ethically and creatively to
solve real-life problems
• are critically aware of their own learning and developmental needs and future potential.”99
Unisa’s definition gets somewhat closer to embodying the legislative
commitment to transformation as well as the personal change that advances
and protects the legislative commitment (and is required by Delport’s theory
of transformation). Unisa suggests that its graduates are caring, responsible
citizens that have a critical understanding of African histories and challenges
and can serve roles within their communities. But the definition does not
explicitly commit itself to the egalitarian values of the Constitution nor does it
require that graduates be made aware of their moral duty to live those values.
Considering the importance of personal transformation to South Africa’s
new dispensation, the ideal of the transformed person should be included
within any South African definition of graduateness. Where institutions
have not yet started considering graduateness for their unique situation, this
should not deter law teachers from thinking about the qualities their graduates
embody and carry with them into their professional lives.
This is most certainly true in a time where academics at law schools and
faculties around the country are starting to consider a possible five year
LLB program. Not since the 1998 amendment of the LLB program has the
opportunity to re-evaluate what and how law teachers teach been so tangible
and exciting. The purpose of this article is not to provide possible curricula
outlines or frameworks in this regard, but rather to attempt to stimulate debate
and discussion on this very important topic.
5 Conclusion
Transformation requires the psychological, economic and social liberation
of all South Africans from the wake of Apartheid.100
In order to achieve the
98
Bowden et al “Executive Summary” in Generic Capabilities of ATN University Graduates para 1 as
quoted in University of Cape Town, Careers Service “Making Informed Study Choices (Choosing a
Degree or Subjects)” UCT Careers Service
99
PPrinsloo“ODLCommuniqué”(16-03-2011)UNISA<http://uir unisa ac za/bitstream/handle/10500/4088/
ODL%20Communique%2052,%2016%20March%202011 pdf?sequence=1> (accessed 13-07-2012) 3
100
Van der Walt (2006) Fundamina 2-3; P Waldmeir Anatomy of a Miracle: The End of Apartheid and the
Birth of the New South Africa (1998) 268
AIMING FOR TRANSFORMATION 615

16. much needed moral and social development of this nation, individual South
Africans must adjust to and welcome changes in our society.101
A society’s approach to education is critical and in this light it can be
said that curricula are innately political and often reflect the spirit of an
age.102
Nelson Mandela noted that “education is one of the primary means
by which the inequality in our country, between rich and poor, black and
white, is to be tackled. Education is liberation”.103
Education can and
should be the intervening measure preparing people for the new, liberated,
non-racial, democratic South Africa.104
Education can thus effectively be
used to promote self-transformation and ultimately the transformation of
an entire society.
While teaching for transformation is not a guarantee of authentic
personal transformation, at the very least universities should aspire to
develop the transformed person. Including transformative education
within a university curriculum and aspiring to develop graduates who are
transformed South African citizens is imperative; “[w]e must acknowledge
that the way we go about teaching … will shape the next generation’s
perception of … its role in this country”.105
Thus, it is crucial that we
re-think who university graduates should be, and the role they should be
equipped to play in our society.106
Consequently, this needs to be reflected
in our definitions of graduateness. Importantly, we must aim to produce
South African graduates who understand their duty towards our society
and their role and potential legacy in this regard.
Transformation (in all its forms) cannot be achieved if it is not aimed for.
For these reasons it is imperative that the formula used to define graduateness
no longer only refer to a graduate who presents the field specific, shared and
generic properties of graduateness, but that a commitment to produce the
transformed individual be made by South African universities, by stating so
in their future definitions of graduateness.
SUMMARY
South African universities need to envision a new idea of (university) education in order to support
and promote the transformation of this country’s society. Congruent to this, universities are beginning
to (and should continue to) create definitions of graduateness that embody this ideal. Defining
graduateness is an attempt to quantify the qualities and attributes with which graduates will exit their
institution and what it is that makes graduates prepared for the society they will serve.
This article explores the notion of graduateness and how developing definitions of graduateness
for South African universities can contribute to re-imagining our higher education system and,
consequently, to transforming South Africa. The need for transformation within the greater South
African society is discussed. Further, the transformation of individuals is essential to the realisation
of the societal transformation that is required and facilitated by our constitutional dispensation.
101
Delport Emotions, Social Transformation and Education 102 For more on this topic see S Schoeman
“Education for Citizenship in South African Public Schools: What and How?” in S Buthelezi & E le Roux
(eds) South Africa since 1994 (2002) 349 366
102
C van Wyk “Romeinse Reg en Regsgeskiedenis in die LLB-kurrikulum” (2012) 18 Fundamina 174 185
103
N Mandela “Foreword” in K Asmal & W James (eds) Spirit of the Nation (2002) ix x
104
Alexander The Tactics of Education for Liberation 7 (emphasis added)
105
Quinot (2012) SALJ 432-433
106
416-417
616 STELL LR 2013 3

17. Individual transformation is possible through transformative education and, more specifically,
transformative legal education. The skills, properties and attributes commonly encompassed in a
definition of graduateness are provided and existing South African definitions of graduateness are
scrutinised to determine whether the idealised graduates are envisioned as transformed persons.
The article concludes by providing recommendations for the development of new definitions of
graduateness, highlighting how transformative (legal) education can assist in the development of
the transformed individual. It is postulated that the transformed individual should be an attribute of
graduateness at all universities in South Africa.
AIMING FOR TRANSFORMATION 617