The lack of collaborative summative oral assessment tasks in Paper 4 of the Grade 12 isiZulu curriculum is problematic and counterproductive because it denies learners an opportunity to learn from each other to maximise their full academic performances. In this article we report on the application of the collaborative learning theory to promote the principles of learners working together to achieve a common goal. The group-reporting approach was used to generate data during a workshop for isiZulu home and second language teachers presented by the isiZulu Education Sub-Discipline at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Engagement with teachers during the workshop highlighted the misalignment between the isiZulu curriculum and summative oral assessment in Grade 12 in public schools. Both groups of isiZulu teachers reported that the spirit of shared responsibility, which forms the everyday existence of African people, must be infused in isiZulu oral summative assessment for education to uphold the communal cosmological and philosophical convictions of Zulu societies. Tripolar education, which advocates for collaboration among learners, teachers and the community, also dominated the discussions.

https://doi.org/10.15700/saje.v46n2a2580

ORCiD iDs of authors:
Sicelo Ziphozonke Ntshangase – https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8540-8413
Nokukhanya Ngcobo - https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1738-6195