Pupils’ Voices as Curriculum Critique: Pedagogical Mediation and Knowledge Control in Secondary School History Classrooms in Zambia

Curriculum reforms in sub-Saharan Africa increasingly emphasised learner-centered pedagogy, democratic participation, and critical thinking. However, researches continued to demonstrate a persistent disjuncture between curriculum policy intentions and classroom enactment, particularly in examination-oriented subjects such as History. This qualitative study examined pupils’ voices as a form of curriculum critique by exploring how pedagogical mediation and epistemic control shaped the enacted history curriculum in selected secondary schools in Zambia. Situated within Zambian secondary school History classrooms and informed by critical pedagogy, interpretivist curriculum theory, and phenomenology, the study foregrounded pupils’ lived experiences as a lens for interrogating how power operated in classroom interactions, knowledge selection, and instructional practices. Data were generated through focus group discussions, in-depth interviews with pupils, and classroom observations, and analysed thematically. The findings revealed that history teaching remained largely teacher-centered, with strong epistemic control exercised through authoritative pedagogical practices and assessment-driven imperatives. Pupils’ narratives exposed limited opportunities for dialogue, interpretation, and meaning-making, while simultaneously articulating a desire for participatory and critically engaging history learning. The study argued that pupils’ voices offered a powerful lens for understanding curriculum enactment and for rethinking curriculum theory and practice in ways that recognised pupils as epistemic agents. Implications for history education, curriculum theory, teacher professional development, and policy were also discussed.