Abstract

Since the political changes in South Africa, much has been done to critically examine and review historical records and to strengthen the teaching of history in schools and higher education institutions. History of education studies is both an academic discipline and an applied field of knowledge. The latter requires developing students’ research capacity in a diversity of relevant methodological approaches, including expertise in conducting oral history interviews. Key aspects of oral history research are dealing with the theoretical, procedural and practical elements of the methodological process and the contextualisation of the research within the broader historical-educational context. This paper explores the challenges of teaching oral history research in an ODL context and reports on students’ perceptions and experiences in planning and conducting oral history interviews in diverse social contexts as an essential aspect of their studies in the compulsory module “South African Education in Contex” in the BEd Honours programme.