ERIC Number: EJ1465591
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1744-9642
EISSN: EISSN-1744-9650
Available Date: 0000-00-00
What Does It Mean to Decolonise the Curriculum: Is It Possible?
Ethics and Education, v20 n1 p63-76 2025
What does decolonising the curriculum (DtC) entail and is it possible in the current context? I distinguish between a thick and thin idea of DtC. Thick DtC acknowledges that alternative knowledge systems exist, other than our western view of knowledge as 'justified true belief'. Thick DtC calls for recognition of epistemic injustice to indigenous people when their culture is downgraded as inferior, which may amount to epistemicide (De Sousa Santos). The language of colonisation plays a part in this process. Adopting the colonisers' language can distort indigenous knowledge. Thin DtC is where minor modifications are made to curriculum content to include contributions of indigenous minorities and racialized people and/or an acknowledgement of the wrongs done to colonised people. While thin DtC is to be welcomed, it is not sufficiently radical to combat the wrongs done in repressing or ignoring indigenous knowledge systems and therefore cannot compensate for epistemic injustice.
Descriptors: Decolonization, Curriculum Development, Indigenous Populations, Cultural Awareness, Language Usage, Indigenous Knowledge, Social Justice, Native Language, Story Telling
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Department of Culture,Communication and Media, UCL Institute of Education, London, UK