Decolonizing education: my journey on the road less traveled

Abstract

Education is heavily influenced by colonization from the Western World. This paper addresses the historical context of colonization around the world and highlights the creation of the current power structure, categorizing people as superior or inferior- based on race. The continuation of these systemic issues is, what Anibal Quijano calls, coloniality of power, and has caused a subconscious acceptance from the oppressed and oppressor. This seeps into every aspect of education: students, teachers, curriculum, funding, and politics. Although teachers are believed to be education’s change agent, they are not truly taught how to transform the current system. They are not challenged to question coloniality of power’s impact on education. This causes teachers to begin educating the next generation without a deep understanding of who they are, what they believe, and the affects this has on their teaching practices. I will share my experiences as a black woman, explaining how this has impacted my life, how I viewed myself growing up, the norms I ingested as truth, and the lack of racial consciousness I had until my late 20’s. My late blooming of understanding led me to an exhaustive search for answers. In my quest, I found a solution to this oppressive pattern- the decolonization of education, a dismantling of the current power structure. If teachers are taught this at the undergraduate level, I believe we will have a more equitable educational system.

Keywords

• colonisation
• décolonisation de l'éducation
• colonisation du pouvoir
• témoignage
• racisme