Designing and delivering teaching to facilitate a decolonising of the classroom

Reflections from a Black Bahamian male

Abstract

Global conversations about racial inequities have grown significantly, including in the United Kingdom. These conversations include critical discourse about the impact of colonialism and its legacy that manifests in physical, socio-cultural, and political structures and our higher education institutions. Many of these structures are still apparent in formerly colonised countries such as The Bahamas, which gained independence from England in 1973. This made teaching a module which aims to unravel the making of our current global systems particularly relevant and of critical importance. 

This article reflects on the experience of teaching an undergraduate module in Politics and International Studies about the impact of colonialism and its legacy from a Black Bahamian male perspective. It highlights how reflection as praxis, choice examples and studies, and feedback can be used in the delivery and design of teaching to facilitate a decolonising of the classroom.  

As higher education institutions consider ways to decolonise, teachers must be deliberate in the tools and techniques used to enact necessary change.