South African school history textbooks on the representation of BRICS countries

The research focused on the representation of BRICS countries in South African school history textbooks. Three different textbooks were analysed across grades 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12. Only sections that related directly to BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries were analysed. Because the dataset was quite large, the data collection chapter was divided into five parts, one for each BRICS country and for the representation of the BRICS block itself.Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse my findings from each textbook. Due to the nature of qualitative content analysis, open coding was used to analyse the data. Data is repeatedly analysed until themes emerge from within the data. No preconceptions are established before data collection, the emergent themes are themes that only emerged once analysis commenced. The methodological choice, underpinned by the interpretivist paradigm, worked for the study, as the themes needed to emerge from the data as opposed to working with pre-established themes. Through this, we can then learn how BRICS countries are represented in South African history textbooks.