Decolonising the Curriculum and the Epistemic Aims of Education

Jane Gatley (University College Swansea)                 

5.30-7.15 pm          

Decolonising the curriculum serves a range of social goods. It counters social injustices, reverses damage caused by colonialism, and outlines a concrete course of action. I ask whether these social goods conflict with epistemic aims. Plausibly, it might be the case that the best curriculum for promoting social goods veers away from the most epistemically sound curriculum.  I summarise the possible epistemic aims of education, and conclude that decolonising the curriculum does not conflict with pursuing epistemic educational aims. In fact, a positive epistemological case for decolonising the curriculum can also be offered, thus strengthening calls to decolonise the curriculum.

A paper is attached here.

Jane Gatley is a lecturer in education at Swansea University. Her first book, Why Teach Philosophy in Schools is due to be published in April, and draws on her research as a PhD student and ESRC fellow at the University of Birmingham. She is interested in questions surrounding the aims of education, what these imply about the curriculum, conceptual analysis as a philosophical method, and the meaning of ‘knowledge’ in education. Before studying for her PhD, Jane was a Religious Education teacher.

For further inquiries: Yuxin Su, Programme Administrator (yuxin.su.16@ucl.ac.uk).

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