Curriculum development encompasses specific beliefs or ideologies regarding what schools should teach and the interactions between educators and students. These ideologies are embedded in subject curricula in varying proportions based on the educational goals intended. One of Lesotho’s educational objectives is the pursuit of a just society. This study examines the Lesotho Secondary Religious Education (LSRE) syllabus to identify its dominant curriculum ideology and assess its impact on cultivating social justice competences among students. The study is grounded in Schiro’s ideologies, focusing on LSRE’s aims, pedagogy, and assessment, with the inclusion of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy (CAP) of 2009 to provide context. The findings aim to inform educational practices, LSRE curriculum development, and Lesotho’s policies in promoting a socially just societal environment. The findings reveal a plurality of ideologies in the LSRE syllabus, with a particular emphasis on learner-centred (LC) and social-reconstructive ideologies within the aims. It was also revealed that the scholar’s academic (SA) ideology dominates the assessment of the LSRE syllabus. The recommendation is that assessment methods within LSRE should include both theoretical assessments and practical evaluations, allowing students to demonstrate their understanding of social justice.
Religious Education, ideologies, social justice, competences
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