A Critical Approach to Curriculum Implementation: Reflecting on Lecturer Preparedness to be Transformative Intellectuals

South African Higher Education Institutions (HEI’s) have been subjected to drastic changes over the past two decades. However, despite restructuring, demographical changes and curriculum changes, it appears that from a students’ perspective that little has changed, as Eurocentric curricula continue to prevail, where lecturer-centred approaches are still maintained. Students want to be involved in the decisions regarding their learning. The question is, are lecturers prepared to share their authority with students in the lecture room? Are they prepared to be transformative intellectuals? In this paper, the authors reflect on the findings of a larger study related to academics’ readiness to apply a critical approach to curriculum implementation. Special reference is made to these academics’ critical tendencies to applying a critical approach to curriculum implementation. Finally, the paper also highlights the implications of the study and proposes the KECAR critical approach model, whose aim it is to enhance the application of a critical approach to curriculum implementation. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.