The enduring effects of colonialism on education: three praxes for decolonizing educational leadership

ABSTRACT

After the resurgence of recent movements such as Why is my curriculum so White, Rhodes must fall and Black lives matter, educational decolonization has been a focus of scholarly discussion, but it is not clear from where decolonization of education should start and who should start it. Since educational policies have largely ignored the history of colonialism and racism, educational leaders, who are at the forefront in implementing them, are confronted with public desire expressed through decolonization movements and workplace realities they face in day-to-day basis. In this conceptual paper, drawing on some of the original decolonial thinkers mainly Fanon, Said and Mignolo, I conceptualize that political-economy, racial and epistemic dimensions of colonialism have continuously guided education system of the global South, which refers not only the developing countries but also the marginalized communities of the developed countries. By presenting a conceptual model, I discuss that educational leaders can contribute to the decolonization movement by using three leadership praxes: critical, antiracist and cosmopolitan.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the anonymous reviewers of this paper for providing some valuable suggestions for its improvement.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kapil Dev Regmi

I was born and raised in a remote village of Nepal. Through my reflective experiences I have come to know that the people who have suffered the most from global challenges such as internal conflict, social inequalities, and pandemics are those who have been historically marginalized. As Nelson Mandela argued decades ago “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” My aim of teaching and research is geared towards creating an equal, just and sustainable world. Putting lifelong learning at the center, my teaching and research interests cover a range of areas including but not limited to international political economy; sociology; critical theory; governance, policy, and leadership; community and international development; and sustainability. My engagement with a larger scholarly community through publications, conference presentations and peer-reviews has been instrumental to make my teaching a field of inquiry and learning that is interdisciplinary, critical as well as international in scope.