Decolonising Educational Development: Opportunities and Challenges

Most university lecturers are required to complete a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCHE) in which they learn from and with Educational Developers about what good pedagogy entails. The PGCHE is therefore an important site to develop and model decolonised or decolonising academic practices. As a module convenor and lecturer on the University of Kent’s PGCHE, I can change the PGCHE curriculum to promote decolonisation as part of addressing persistent racial inequalities within the University and sector, supported by Kent’s Anti-Racism strategy and the decolonisation actions it contains. Working toward more inclusive practices is also consistent with the UK Professional Standards Framework, to which PGCHE courses are aligned and which requires participants to meet standards of equality, diversity and inclusion in their PGCHE submissions and teaching observations.

However, when it comes to addressing decolonisation directly, certain challenges arise: in overcoming the antagonism this provokes in some; in helping others to make sense of this in their specific disciplines; in rethinking canonical readings and resources in educational development; and in understanding what true decolonisation means for universities rooted in colonial structures, ways of knowing and ways of valuing knowledge. In this talk, I reflect on recent efforts and associated challenges in decolonising knowledge on Kent’s PGCHE.