Decolonisation in higher education

Advice on decolonising the curriculum across different disciplines and unpicking the impact of colonial and Western power structures on higher education and models of teaching and learning. These resources aim to help academics enrich education and scholarship through decolonisation, bringing in previously overlooked knowledge and voices and challenging long accepted norms within higher education.

By Eliza.Compton, 28 June, 2023

Can we really decolonise the university?

Road towards Aoraki mountain on South Island, New Zealand

To explore what is possible, non-Indigenous scholars Mahdis Azarmandi and Sara Tolbert offer an anticolonial feminist praxis for unsettling settler institutions

By Miranda Prynne, 26 June, 2023

Power and possibility: the role of universities in decolonisation

The question of decolonisation has grown in prominence in higher education in the past decade. Foluke Adebisi looks at why the concept is so often misinterpreted – and what is needed for universities to do it well

Reading time

4minutes

By Eliza.Compton, 20 June, 2023

Decolonisation to Indigenisation: how can institutions centre Indigenous knowledge?

Beyond the concept of decolonisation is the process of Indigenisation. Here, Raelee Lancaster provides four reflective questions that institutions can ask themselves when considering how to respect and elevate Indigenous knowledge

By Eliza.Compton, 4 May, 2023

Why learning to listen will help you avoid ‘helicopter research’ and make you a better science communicator

Magnifying glass over southern Africa on a globe

A year of failed fieldwork in Africa led Sallie Burrough to ask questions about how researchers interact with the societies they work in. Here, she shares five tips for transparent, inclusive practices

Reading time

4minutes

By sara.custer, 13 April, 2023

THE podcast: how to deal with the legacy of empire in higher education

Podcast discussing building resilience and protecting well-being among university staff and students

Hear from a historian who sees decolonisation as a by-product of his scholarship and a mathematician who is using original sources to teach the global history of the discipline

By dene.mullen, 15 March, 2023

Why is self-reflection core to decolonisation and anti-racism in the academy?

Self-reflection is crucial for decolonisation in higher education

To move beyond rhetoric, hollow commitments and well-intentioned one-time efforts, we must hold ourselves accountable, says a team from Simon Fraser University

Reading time

4minutes

By Eliza.Compton, 7 March, 2023

Steps to decolonise higher education: after yourself, change the curriculum

Australian aboriginal hands against red dirt road illustrating exchange of Indigenous wisdom

Opening the curriculum to First Nations’ histories and knowledge is a key part of decolonisation, as lisahunter and Karen Lambert explain in this second part of their series

By dene.mullen, 19 January, 2023

The history versus fiction debate revisited (again) thanks to ‘The Crown’

In the wake of the notorious television series it feels more crucial than ever that faculty reiterate to students the difference between historical fact and fiction

Reading time

4minutes

By Miranda Prynne, 17 January, 2023

Primary sources as a tool for greater diversity

Primary sources can be used to diversify curricula and bring in marginalised voices. Jade G. Winn and Michaela Ullmann explain what library teams can do to support faculty and students in finding and assessing diverse materials

Reading time

4minutes

By Eliza.Compton, 23 December, 2022

How to decolonise initial teacher education: start with yourself

Decolonisation has the potential to rattle higher education’s sandstones and ivory towers, yet many struggle to know where to start. Karen Lambert and lisahunter use the context of initial teacher education in Australia to explain that it starts with you

Decolonisation in higher education