Decolonisation and anti‐racism: Challenges and opportunities for (teacher) education

Abstract

AbstractIn the past two decades, we have seen a renewed interest in decolonisation. A proliferation of literature produced on the topic, the establishment of journals on decolonisation, student protests such as the #RhodesMustFall campaign at universities in South Africa and Oxford University in Britain, French President Emmanuel Macron's call for the repatriation of African heritage from European museums, the appointment of a Deputy Minister of Decolonisation in Bolivia, bear testimony to a heightened consciousness on the topic. Moreover, we are witnessing the internationalisation of Indigenous knowledge as colonised peoples across the globe use the spaces that globalisation affords to build solidarities in order to resist the homogenising and normalising effects of globalisation and to decentre western epistemologies. In this article, which contributes to the Special Issue onDecolonial and Anti‐racist Perceptions in Teacher Training and Education Curricula, I do three things: discuss the concept of decolonisation including its meanings produced in different geographies, discuss the connection between decolonisation and anti‐racism, present challenges and opportunities for decolonising (teacher) education programmes through the concepts ofcurrere, complicated conversation and land education. I conclude that decolonisation is not an easy task in the neoliberal university and other institutions offering initial teacher training/education. However, there always exists opportunities for invigorating decolonial desires in such teaching/learning spaces.