Occupy the classroom radically

Abstract

Around the globe calls are being made to decolonise curricula and the university. Teachers in westernised universities, who are educated and socialised in the Global North, face challenges in recognising where and how western epistemologies and ways of being produce the coloniality of knowledge and the coloniality of being in the classroom. Teachers are also challenged to develop decolonial teaching practices. This paper provides an analysis of how western epistemologies and pedagogical practices structure and inflict wounds on historically marginalised students. Linkages are revealed between what happens in the classroom and resulting knowledge society has of itself. In order to transform the dehumanising effects of coloniality in the westernised university and classroom, an argument is made for the decolonisation of teaching and learning practices. The creation of decolonial atmospheres in the classroom is proposed as a prerequisite for creating the necessary conditions for students to experience a decolonised education.