Decolonising Academic Spaces: Moving Beyond Diversity to Promote Racial Equity in Postsecondary Education

Despite efforts to advance diversity, postsecondary institutions globally have found themselves in the midst of campus protests. Central to increased activism is the failure of postsecondary institutions to create decolonised spaces both in and out of the classroom where minoritised students can engage in learning that suggest their lives and lived experiences really matter. This chapter presents a conceptual framing for decolonised academic spaces that move beyond diversity to promote racial equity and inclusion. We address four guiding concepts: (1) decolonising the mind through ways of knowing and knowledge construction; (2) decolonising pedagogy; (3) decolonising structures, policies and practices; and (4) reimagining the academy from a decolonised lens. Thereafter, we discuss what these may look like in praxis and the implications on decolonising academic spaces.