Approaches to decolonising forensic curricula

Abstract

Forensic science in UK Higher Education involves a constellation of subdisciplines, each with a biography shaped by a colonial past. Deeper examinations of the structures of curriculum design allow educators to address where colonial assumptions may reside and the impact of these legacies on the present. One process to assist this endeavour is Decolonising the Curriculum (DtC), which seeks to question and dismantle colonial structures of knowledge and support contextualisation to broaden, rather than narrow, the curricula. DtC toolkits, like those developed at the University of Winchester in the south of England, may provide practical support to programme teams to reflect on how colonial attitudes shape new and existing curricula. DtC may be seen as supporting existing quality processes that are part of the reflection cycle and tested through institutional and other accreditation quality procedures. Toolkits support programme teams to identify existing good practices and areas requiring further reflection and development. We offer perspectives on areas that would benefit from critical evaluation when teaching subjects with foundations in race science, colonial attitudes, and social injustice. The paper focuses on three main approaches to support decolonial discourse: sustained historical inquiry, questioning ethnic classifications and identity, and the presentation of international forensic work. Rather than seeing DtC as a threat to educational quality, it may be more constructively seen as an integral part of quality processes in curriculum design to support more diverse, inclusive, and authentic learning in forensic Higher Education.