3.4 Decolonising the curriculum
A particular form of microaggression is the exclusion of cultural or ethnic groups from representation in learning resources. For learners to feel they belong, their lifeworld needs to be represented in teaching materials and examples. This can be achieved by decolonising your curriculum, that is, ensuring that diverse voices and perspectives are well represented and that knowledge and information from alternative sources has not been marginalised or omitted (Arshad, 2021).
Some educators lack confidence in approaching decolonisation of the curriculum. For example, it is recognised that white educators may experience discomfort, or a sense of ‘imposter syndrome’, and may be criticised for their lack of lived experience, when they attempt to address, or teach, issues of racism with their learners (Smith et al., 2017). However, this is not a reason for inaction. Smith and her colleagues advocate an honest position, and an opening of debate, in which educators can express that they don’t know everything and need to keep learning themselves. Being open to differences and opinions, and adopting a non-defensive stance, is most likely to contribute to non-racist identities and experiences for all learners.
Activity 9 Facilitating curriculum decolonisation
Look through the learning resources that you will use this week or next week or that represent your programme in general and consider the following questions.
- Which groups are represented?
- How are they represented?
- Is the representation diverse?
- Is a specific group represented in a stereotypical way?
- Are any groups from among your learners unrepresented or under-represented?
- How will you address this in your teaching session(s)?
Discussion
You may have noticed examples such as:
- gender stereotypes (which emotions do men and women display, which tasks do they do, does either gender take a visually different position?)
- heteronormativity (no examples of same-sex relationships)
- a lack of inclusion of people from different races in materials, or a lack of inclusion in positions of power/knowledge/skill/health
- limited cultural and social diversity in case studies
- assumptions about familiarity with cultural practices likely to be associated with a small section of learners
- non-inclusion of cultural practices representing your learners’ various communities and so on.
You may also find it useful to refer back to last week’s Section 3 on avoiding stigma in learning materials and terminology, and Section 4 on stigma-free curriculum design, to see how these can also relate here.
If possible, also ask your learners for feedback on this activity. They may identify things that you have not noticed, and it is useful for you to learn what stands out for them.
This can be a useful activity for everyone!