Miseducation: Decolonising Curricula, Culture and Pedagogy in UK Universities. HEPI Debate Paper 23

Decolonisation is rapidly becoming a familiar term in higher education institutions. Students and activist groups have helped decolonisation move onto the national agenda, backed by recent worldwide events surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement. Despite its newfound popularity, there is still substantial disagreement and misunderstanding about what 'decolonisation' actually entails. Using testimony from 16 interview respondents across academia, activism and policy, this report addresses the common misconceptions about decolonisation and recommends a series of practical steps towards its implementation. The recommendations include: (1) Get educated about decolonisation and end its conflation with equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives; (2) Reprioritise: decolonisation is both pedagogically necessary and academically rigorous; (3) Fund Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic (BAME) research; (4) Tackle discrimination, hostility and unconscious bias; and (5) Institutionalise decolonisation: create departmental roles and engage students. The findings of "Miseducation" demonstrate that decolonisation is both a vital and a beneficial next step for our universities. [Foreword written by Iyiola Solanke.]