- ‘University as we understand it today can be traced to a western genealogy’ (Icaza and Vásquez, 2018, p.111) cited in p.7.
- Calls to decolonize teaching and learning interrogate the extent to which universities in their current state are able to offer a learning environment that can be effectively engaged with by everyone. p. 7
- ‘For Fomunyam (2017, p.6797) decolonisation is a move ‘away from the political or traditional notion of decolonising which means the process of relinquishing control of a territory by the coloniser to the colonised, to the more rigorous intricacy of shedding away colonial legacies from the education system be it material or ideological’. Expectations, goals, and the process to achieve the decolonising agenda are further complicated by the origins of the institution itself. Abdi (2020, 06:00) raises the question, ‘to what extend can we actually do that work [decolonising in practice] within systems and within organisations that are not designed to do that work’. p.11
- ‘Indigenous knowledge is local knowledge: knowledge that is unique to a given culture or society […] Indigenous knowledge is not yet fully utilised in the educational development process.’ Oladimeji (2018, pp. 95-100, cited in Tran, p. 13).
- ‘Decolonising reading lists is not about kicking out white scholars on the basis of their whiteness, but rather critically thinking about their arguments and assumptions and reading them alongside scholars that produce alternative knowledges from non-Western standpoints.’ (Haffner, 2018, cited in Tran, p. 13)
Inclusivity and Decolonizing – what’s the difference?
- ‘Morgan and Houghton (2011, p.5) define an inclusive curriculum as ‘one that takes into account students’ educational, cultural and social background and experience as well as the presence of any physical or sensory impairment and their mental wellbeing.’ (p.14)
- ‘Get educated about decolonisation and end its conflation with equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives.’ (Liyanage, 2020, cited in Tran, p.14)
- ‘A decolonised curriculum would bring questions of class, caste, race, gender, ability and sexuality into dialogue with each other, instead of pretending that there is some kind of generic identity we all share […] Ultimately, to decolonise it to ask difficult questions of ourselves.’ (Gopal, 2017, The Guardian cited in Tran, p. 15)
- ‘Despite the paradox of working under (what purports to be) a ‘decolonial’ agenda, widespread calls to decolonise our universities have further embedded rather than dismantled whiteness, thus continuing to characterise the careers, wellbeing, and daily lives of faculty of colour […as…] institutions advance rather than dismantle racism by adopting the work of a few racially minoritised groups, but exploitatively draining the useful parts of their scholarship to meet institutional metrics and marketise fashionable buzz-words that appear to social media hashtags.’ (Doharty, Madriaga, and Joseph-Salisbury, 2020, pp.1-9, cited in Tran, p.27)
- NOTE: Bernadine Idowu-Onibokun contributions, featuring student voices, is a really rich source of reflection. p. 35 onwards.
- Reflections from philosophy student from Idowu-Onibokun’s contribution which is an insightful jumping off point for my action-research: ‘I was offered a chance to explore different opinions and thoughts on particular subjects like existentialism, evil, and religion in general. However, this did not change the fact that as a student coming from an underfunded state school with a less economically robust background, I found university challenging and inclusivity only extended to a point. Especially as the gaps in my learning, due to a lack of preparation from my secondary school, meant that I lagged somewhat behind my peers despite my ability to engage in class.’ (pp.39-40).
- ‘Lecturers faily to listen and understand what coming from a disadvantaged background looks like.’ (p. 41)
The TRAAC Model: CH. 3
- A reflective and reflexive entry point to help encourage challenging conversations around decolonizing teaching and learning.
- Each aspect of the TRAAC model explores different areas in which inequalities might appear in teaching, and require the user to reflect on their own position and perspectives, as well as those which they have incorporated into their teaching.
Teaching Approach segment of TRAAC:
- ‘Decolonising pedagogy aims at interrupting Eurocentric knowledge at the level of the classroom with the hope that these interventions help undermine historical distributions of power structures.’ (Zembylas, 2017, p.495).
- ‘Power in a university classroom is linked to how students are being led to learn. Such power may be expressed explicitly or implicitly, conscious and unconsciously. When an individual(s) deliver a class, an array of teaching approaches may be used […] through the student-centred approach, the teacher becomes more of a facilitator than instructor.. ‘Students react positively when allowed to make decisions about theirown learning.’ (Harden and Laidlaw, 2012 p.80)
- ‘When support is made explicit and accessible through various avenues by staff, students’ mental health and general wellbeing are highlighted as priorities’. (p. 52)
- ‘Engaging in peer teaching observations can help to uncover what power dynamics are generated from our teaching. going to observe others teach and developing through peer feedback can help to fill the gaps in our knowledge as it can be difficult to understand how our actions and approaches are being interpreted and understood by others.’ (p. 54)
Relationship segment of TRAAC:
- The power of storytelling as a decolonising approach and tool for inclusivity has been discussed by scholars in different fields of research (Bisht, 2017; Dumbrill and Green, 2008). The act of storytelling is personal yet communal at the same time with values and lessons being shared. The behaviour of a group during shared storytelling is one that is united as people are sat around together on equal footing. ‘Stories in Indigenous epistemologies are disruptive, sustaining, knowledge producing, and theory-in-action. Stories are decolonisation theory in its most natural form’ (Sium and Ritskes, 2013: ii). While students should feel empowered to speak knowing their stories will be respected, it should not be an expectation that students share their personal experienced. Reflecting on different avenues of entry into deeper discussions across areas of study is important as they can significantly impact on students’ teaching and learning experiences.’ (pp. 54-55)
- ‘The question on shared connections also implicitly asks individuals to consider those they feel they do not have shared connections with, and how connections can be formed with these students so as to develop a classroom environment that is inclusive for all.’ (p. 55)
- ‘It can be helpful for staff to note down how they would describe their different student groups and examine what their descriptions releave about the ways in which students are being positioned or located in comparison to themselves.’ (p. 56)
- ‘In a study of how race impacts the univesity experiences of BAME students at Goldsmiths College and Goldsmiths Students’ Union, Akel (2019, p.17) notes, ‘it became clear through the data collection process that many students favoured building student-academic relationships with their tutors when they shared an ethnic identity.’ p. 57 NOTE: Interesting to reflect on how this might feed into tutorials – I most often see European white female students, female students from mainland China, and female students from Korea. I can count on one hand the number of black students and male students I have seen in tutorials – it is worth reflecting on what I am doing to perhaps alienate these students. Is this something which is reflected in the rest of the AS team?
Activity and Assessment segment of TRAAC:
- ‘Marginalised groups such as women; non-white people; lesbian; gays; bisexuals and transsexuals (LGBT); young people and people with disabilities have been, and continue to be pathologised, dominated and even exploited through both qualitative and quantitative research […] the fact remains that research plays a role in the marginalisation process.’ (p. 58)
Content segment of TRAAC:
‘Portelli (1993, p. 343) differentiates between the ‘formal curriculum […] which is officially recognised,’ ‘the actual curriculum, that which is actually carried out’, and ‘the hidden curriculum [which] is usually contrasted with the formal curriculum and may form part of the actual curriculum.’ ‘At a micro-level, the hidden curriculum is expressed in terms of the distinction between ‘what is meant to happen’ that is, the curriculum stated officially by the educational system or institution, and what teachers and learners actually do and experience ‘on the ground’, a kind of de facto curriculum’ (Sambell and McDowell, 1998, p. 392). Cotton et al. (2013, p. 192) note, ‘In higher education, [the hidden curriculum] may be made up of societal, institutional or lecturers’ values that are transmitted unconsciously to students.’ (p. 62)
Moving away from Passive Inclusivity CH. 5
- A significant amount of scholarship has focused on how diversifying and internationalising a curriculum can help to achieve greater levels of inclusivity. Highlighting greater levels of visible globaility across a module or program helps to familiarise students with a variety of contexts and studies. This is indeed important and behind these choices should be reflections and reasoning as to why they were chosen, contemplation of how they might be effectively explored in class, and what opportunities will be given for students to thoughtfully question and critically discuss the knowledge(s) put forth to them.’ (p. 88)
- ‘a diversified curriculum created for diversity’s sake highlights rather than values difference’. (p. 89)
- ‘Feelings of belonging should help students to feel empowered to raise questions while surrounded by supportive peers and colleagues. If this is what belonging can be said to be, how can it be measured? Levels of engagement may be one answer, but attendance records and data concerning the amount of time a student may be spending on a program’s VLE platform can be interpreted differently. Student retention and attainment may be another way of looking into levels of belonging, but while such information may help to show which students are continuing and progressing well, it does not offer an explanation as to why this is not the case for all students. It has previously been argued that when materials are made relevant to students, engagement levels increase as students become more connected to their curriculum. As a result, feelings of belonging are enhanced. But materials cannot be expected to speak for themselves, their exploration needs to be facilitated by the teacher who helps to open up different avenues for further discussion.’ p. 91
- ‘Gomes (2018, p. 201) underlines the need to ‘investigate and accept shared responsibility for ameliorating colonialism, including linguistic. imperialism […] ‘treat prior cultural and rhetorical knowledge as an asset for learning and a resource for writing; recognise students’ experience and expertise with culture and language’ (p. 93)
- ‘It [is] important to acknowledge the limitations of language and question the extent to which a decolonised curriculum can be achieved through problematising the language of instruction. By doing so, students and staff become engaged in a critical dialogue that is a learning experience for all involved.’ (p. 93)
- NOTE: Interesting to consider from an ‘approaching research perspective’ for my AS teaching: ‘efforts to carry out research online via search engines are subtly influenced by popularity algorithms which themsevles have not been tested for assumptions which may hunder inclusivity and decolonisation. These search results may unconsciously influence our perception of materials we come across online’. As Richardson Jr (2011, p. 1) points out, ‘the most authoritative pages may not be retrieved at the top, rather only the most popular pages. Not surprisingly, an English language website is most likely the top page or even fills the first pages of the retrieval set. I suppose you could call that a kind of cultural imperialism.’ p. 94
IDEA FOR ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT:
How do we measure ‘belonging’. Traditional metrics indicate problems but don’t inform us of anything we can do to resolve them. What is belongingness – having tutors that look like us (reflect on student contributions above)? Having curriculum that reflects and values their cultural capital and knowledge?