What does it mean to decolonise the curriculum?

Thesis

The events of the summer of 2020, with the murder of George Floyd and the toppling of the statue of Edward Colston, reignited calls for curriculum change in the UK. Activists voiced the need for a more racially diverse, decolonised curriculum, particularly in school history. With the ambiguity surrounding the contested term, decolonisation, this paper explores what it may mean in practice. It considers why decolonisation is important and relevant in education before scrutinising the history curriculum more specifically. The centrality of engaged pedagogy in service of decolonisation is also emphasised. Borne out of collaboration with local history organisation, Uncomfortable Oxford, this paper examines the impact of a series of nine lessons jointly planned on local history, taught to one year seven class. These lessons aimed to provide answers to three research questions: what might be the impact of local history in decolonising the curriculum?; how does a focus on construction of history impact on students historical thinking?; and lastly, how does a pedagogy built around praxis, voice and usefulness support decolonisation? A mixed methods approach, consisting of an initial iterative questionnaire, field notes, and second questionnaire, was employed to collect both qualitative and quantitative data. The findings suggest that pupils may not initially realise the range of places history can be located, their own ability to participate in the discipline, or the importance of the topic taught (in this case, local history). But, when taught with a focus on decolonisation, revealing the processes that have constructed historical narratives, considering alternative histories, emphasising praxis and student voice, the importance, meaning and power of the discipline can be unlocked.

Authors: Patel, Z

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-d5dbd7jae
• Type of award: MSc taught course
• Level of award: Masters
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: pedagogy; qualitative; history; racism; quantitative; curriculum; school; MLT2021; mixed methods; MLT; education; questionnaire; decolonisation
• Subjects: Teaching; Qualitative research; Quantitative research; History; Education--Study and teaching; Education