Postcolonial Curriculum Decolonisation in Africa

Abstract In this chapter, the decolonisation of the educational curriculum in Africa is approached differently from its common portrayal as, on the one hand, some reform or change of the knowledge tradition that feeds the curricula and, on the other, co-option into the curriculum of the dethroned knowledges of communities living under conditions of coloniality. What makes this intervention distinctive is that it takes both knowledges as requiring decolonisation, which is meant to overcome their respective closedness so that they become open to inter-epistemic conversations and suit the ever-changing human requirements. The aim is to revisit the debate on the decolonisation of the educational curriculum in Africa. It is suggested that decolonisation of knowledge must focus on not only colonising knowledges but also those produced within African socialities, in order to make possible inter-epistemic conversations. In the final section, the chapter showcases the merits of decolonising both sets of knowledge if they are to be well-suited to sought outcomes of the evolving human circumstances. Overall, the aim is to argue that both sets of knowledges need to undergo decolonisation to be open to inter-epistemic conversations, which are necessary for a curriculum meant for a cosmopolitan learning environment.