Jul 2026· International Journal of Library Science and Educational Research· 0 citations· 26 references
Abstract
This study examines the decolonization of history education in Nigeria from historical and philosophical perspectives, focusing on how colonial legacies continue to shape curriculum content, pedagogical approaches, and learners’ historical consciousness. It argues that despite several curriculum reforms since independence, history education in Nigeria remains significantly influenced by Eurocentric narratives that marginalize indigenous knowledge systems, local istoriographies, and African epistemologies. The paper situates discussion within broader debates on educational decolonization, emphasizing the need to reposition Nigerian history education as a tool for cultural reclamation, identity formation, and critical citizenship development. Drawing on documentary evidence and relevant scholarly interpretations, the study highlights persistent gaps in the representation of Nigerian pre-colonial states, resistance movements, and indigenous intellectual traditions within school curricula. It further explores philosophical arguments supporting decolonization, particularly the African-centered epistemological framework, which advocates for the validation of indigenous ways of knowing and historical interpretation. The paper contends that meaningful reform in history education requires not only curriculum restructuring but also teacher retraining, resource reorientation, and the integration of community-based historical knowledge. It concludes that decolonizing history education is essential for fostering national consciousness, cultural pride, and intellectual independence among Nigerian learners.
This article examines the enduring colonial legacy within Christian education in the Batak region, which has systematically marginalized indigenous knowledge and privileged Western pedagogical paradigms as the normative expression of Christianity. Focusing on the Sunday School ministry of the Huria Kristen Indonesia (HKI) church, the study initiates a critical inquiry into curriculum transformation through the lens of decolonial theory. Employing an interdisciplinary methodology that integrates the sociology of education, sociology of religion, and decolonial studies, qualitative data were gathered through in-depth interviews with two pastoral practitioners and contextual observations. The Batak philosophy of Sala Mandasor Sega Luhutan (SMSL) serves as a critical framework to deconstruct entrenched Eurocentric curricula and reconstruct pedagogical practices that center indigenous epistemology. Findings reveal that despite HKI’s historical resistance to missionary hegemony, its Sunday School curriculum remains dominated by hierarchical, banking-model pedagogy that treats children as passive recipients. Indigenous cultural elements are largely confined to ceremonial performances rather than substantive instructional integration, perpetuating epistemic alienation and dehumanization. The study argues that authentic decolonization requires pastors and educators to transition toward dialogical, problem-posing methodologies that recognize Sunday School children as active epistemic subjects bearing the imago Dei. By embedding Batak kinship values, oral traditions, and symbolic frameworks into core biblical instruction, Christian education can become a liberating practice that honors cultural heritage while fostering theological contextualization. This research offers a strategic pathway for ecclesiastical curriculum reform ahead of HKI’s centenary in 2027.
Herman Tampubolon, I. Lattu, Mariska Lauterboom et al.· Journal La Edusci· 1 citation· ⚡1
This conceptual paper explores the relationship between innovation and decoloniality in education, arguing that educational innovation must go beyond technocratic solutions to challenge the colonial legacies embedded in curricula, teaching methods, and institutional frameworks. Mainstream models of educational reform in the Caribbean often reproduce colonial, Eurocentric ways of knowing and uphold global knowledge hierarchies under the guise of modernization, thus there is a need for new ways of thinking about educational barriers and system change. This article introduces the term “decolonial educational innovation,” which highlights the integration of Indigenous knowledge systems, the value of diverse epistemologies, and the support of culturally relevant, community-led pedagogies. Drawing on real examples from decolonial education efforts from the Caribbean, the article demonstrates how innovation can be understood as a relational and restorative process rather than a neoliberal goal. Ultimately, it advocates reimagining educational futures a tool to advance epistemic justice and dismantle coloniality in all its forms.
Tavis D. Jules, Abigail Smith, Karen Naidoo· Comparative and Internationa...· 0 citations
The teaching of African History in Brazil endured centuries of institutional silencing, which relegated the African continent to a secondary role in school narratives. For decades, teaching materials associated Africa almost exclusively with slavery, the slave trade, and colonization, reinforcing stereotypes of backwardness and dependency. Against this backdrop, this article investigates how History textbook collections for the final years of Elementary Education represent Africa and to what extent these approaches engage with decolonial education and the requirements of Law No. 10,639/2003. The main objective is to analyze how this subject is incorporated into these textbooks, identifying the persistence of Eurocentric perspectives, historical gaps, and possible paths toward a decolonial approach. This is a qualitative study of a bibliographic and documentary nature, based on content analysis of textbooks approved by the National Textbook Program (PNLD) and on the examination of regulatory frameworks such as Law No. 10,639/2003, Law No. 11,645/2008, the National Curriculum Guidelines for the Education of Ethnic-Racial Relations (DCNERER), and the National Common Curricular Base (BNCC). The results indicate that, although legislation has expanded the thematic presence of Africa, Eurocentric narratives persist, obscuring the continent’s historical, political, economic, and cultural diversity. This situation requires critical intervention by teachers in the classroom.
Carlos Eduardo da Silva Galante· Revista de Estudos Interdisc...· 0 citations
Introduction: The cultivation of moral values has remained a central objective of education in Kenya since independence. Despite successive educational reforms and the integration of value-based education into the curriculum, concerns over moral decline among young people continue to intensify.
Purpose: This study examined the effectiveness of contemporary educational practices in cultivating moral values in Kenya.
Methodology: Adopting a qualitative philosophical research design grounded in, Kant's transcendental critique, the study relied on secondary data obtained from books, journal articles, policy documents, and commission reports.
Results: The critique revealed that contemporary education is largely influenced by European, Christian, Islamic, and other foreign value systems that often conflict with indigenous African moral traditions. Consequently, education has increasingly emphasised academic achievement, occupational preparation, and social mobility at the expense of practical character formation. The study argues that this disconnect has contributed to persistent moral challenges, including indiscipline, corruption, violence, and other forms of moral decadence. In contrast, African traditional education integrated moral instruction into all aspects of community life through experiential learning and collective responsibility.
Recommendations: The study concluded that contemporary educational practices have achieved only limited success in cultivating sound moral values and recommends a culturally grounded, practical, and holistic approach that integrates formal, informal, and non-formal education while drawing on African indigenous philosophies and participatory policy formulation to strengthen moral development.
Justine Mukhungulu Maira, D. Chikati, Pharis Murangai Muthoni· Journal of Educational Resea...· 0 citations
This article analyzes the centrality of African philosophy in teacher education within Pedagogy and Education of and in the Countryside. Aligned with the Epistemologies of the Global South and counter-hegemonic studies, the text proposes a fracture in the conventional conception of philosophy to overcome eurocentric geocultural reductionism. The objective is to evaluate the incorporation of anti-racist and intercultural debates into the curricula of these degree programs, countering the historical distance of educational sciences regarding African social thought and its transmission based on intergenerational orality. Methodologically, it is grounded in the Methodology of Afrodescendence. It concludes that the legacy of the Western civilizational project and colonialism operate as long-lasting structures that promote epistemic violence, labeling ancestral knowledge as mythological or primitive. However, compensatory legal frameworks and the struggles of social movements drive the rediscovery of African and Afro-Brazilian history and culture. This process makes it possible to break with assimilationist paradigms and reframe Black cultural identity, reorienting educational praxis based on worldviews centered on "well-living" (bem viver) and the autonomy of subalternized subjects within the context of countryside schools.
Miguel Melo Ifadireó, Belijane Marques Feitosa, Camila Silva Alves Aquino et al.· Revista de Estudos Interdisc...· 0 citations
This paper examines the historical exclusion and the persistent contemporary marginalisation of Aboriginal cultural games within Australian education, with a specific focus on how settler colonial structures and epistemic violence have shaped curriculum, pedagogy, knowledge systems and being. It also explores the role of Aboriginal cultural games as pedagogies of refusal, wellbeing, and cultural continuity in contexts of educational disruption and conflict.
A qualitative, decolonising critical review methodology was employed, drawing on Indigenous scholarship and epistemologies, historical literature, education policy documents, and literature on settler colonialism, epistemic violence, and education in conflict-affected contexts. The analysis is further informed by Yarning methodology with five Aboriginal Elders, whose cultural knowledges and lived experiences provide an Indigenous epistemological grounding through which the role of cultural games is interpreted across education, wellbeing and intergenerational learning.
The study highlights ways in which Aboriginal cultural games have been historically excluded or marginalised through settler colonial education systems that privilege Eurocentric knowledge. Despite contemporary curriculum reforms, inclusion remains inconsistent and often tokenistic. Elders’ perspectives highlight that cultural games are deeply embedded in Law, kinship, and Country, functioning as embodied pedagogies that support social and emotional wellbeing, identity formation, and learning. In contexts of disruption or conflict, these games operate as protective and trauma-informed practices that foster resilience, belonging, and intergenerational continuity.
The study is limited by its reliance on secondary literature and a small number of Elder contributions through Yarning, which, while culturally authoritative, does not claim generalisability. Instead, the study privileges validity and Indigenous epistemologies over conventional empirical generalisation.
By framing Aboriginal cultural games as pedagogies of refusal and wellbeing, this paper challenges epistemic violence within mainstream education and argues for the central integration of Indigenous knowledge systems in curriculum design. It concludes that culturally grounded, embodied practices such as Aboriginal games are essential to reimagining education as a space for healing, cultural continuity, and transformation, particularly in contexts shaped by historical and ongoing colonial conflict.
Aboriginal cultural games in Australia are more than recreational practices; they are culturally embedded pedagogies grounded in Law, Kinship, and Country that transmit knowledge, ethical frameworks, and social responsibilities across generations. Within settler colonial education systems, these practices have been historically excluded and continue to be marginalised through forms of epistemic violence that privilege Eurocentric knowledge and undermine Indigenous epistemologies. This paper examines the historical exclusion and contemporary positioning of Aboriginal cultural games within Australian education, and explores their role as pedagogies of resilience, wellbeing, and cultural continuity, particularly in contexts of disruption and conflict.
The review indicates that, despite policy efforts toward inclusion, Aboriginal cultural games remain inconsistently represented and are frequently tokenised within curricula. Elders emphasise that these games function as embodied pedagogies that support identity formation, social and emotional wellbeing, and intergenerational knowledge transmission. In contexts of systemic disruption, they also operate as trauma-informed practices that foster resilience, belonging, and cultural continuity.
The study is limited by its reliance on secondary sources and a small number of Elder contributions. However, it prioritises validity and Indigenous epistemologies over statistical generalisation, offering culturally grounded interpretive insight rather than empirical generalisability.
This paper reframes Aboriginal cultural games as critical sites of refusal and wellbeing, challenging epistemic violence within mainstream education. It argues for their central integration into curricula as part of broader efforts to reimagine education as a space for psychological healing, cultural sustainability, and transformative justice.
