Investigating the impact of the UK higher education curriculum decolonization discourse on the global citizenship identity construction of Asian heritage students

Thesis

This dissertation aims to explore how the higher education institutions in the UK have been implementing endeavours to instill global citizenship consciousness among the learners and university teaching staffs and the decolonization of curriculum. The paper is deeply inspired by the exploration towards #RhodesMustFall campaign conducted in University of Oxford, which emphasized that UK institutions needed to address colonial pasts and change academic systems. It also focuses on the question of racism and colonialism at the heart of knowledge-generating processes and the need for building liberal curricula. Politicians and anthropologists call for a decolonisation because it helps to tackle the issues with the assumption of inherent Eurocentrism within academic settings and increase the fairness of the knowledge flow. At the same time, the dissertation reveals some current issues, including the further hegemony of whiteness and Europeaness in UK HEI. This continuous colonial imprint negatively affects the process of decolonising curricula and possibilities of integrating other epistemologies.

This empirical research focus this specific investigation on two UK higher education institutions institutions with significant number of Asian heritage students: University College London (UCL) and University of Oxford, where the anticolonial knowledge production activities of the two universities. The qualitative, semi-structured interviews focus on the respondents' views and experiences regarding the notions of global citizenship and inclusion in students and staff. The interview with Asian heritage students and teaching staff in these two UK higher education institutions aims to evaluate not only their perceptions of knowledge decolonization under UK higher education discourse, but also their sense of connection between UK higher education knowledge decolonization and their identity construction of "global citizenship" studying and teaching in the UK.

Thus, the dissertation provides the conclusion that although the UK HEIs have been engaging in the enhancement of the global citizenship and diversity, they are still lacking in their strategies to support the minority heritage learners and in their efforts to transform the curricula more significantly in terms of the decolonization. Thus, the research also reveals the necessity of further assessment and improvement of GCE to respond to the needs of the further transformation of the educational process. Thus, the paper emphasizes the necessity for diversification of the knowledge that is integrated into education, while acknowledging and incorporating cultural differences, with the purpose of enhancing global learning.

Authors: Chen, Z

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-zgzobvx1b
• Type of award: MSc taught course
• Level of award: Masters
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: Asian heritage students; UK higher education; he2024; qualitative; semi-structured interviews; higher education; decolonialism; HE; knowledge decolonization
• Subjects: Interviews; Education (Higher); Qualitative research; Education; Decolonization