Decolonizing Curricular Practices in Kathmandu University School of Education, Nepal: A Qualitative Inquiry
Keywords:
Decolonization, Curriculum, Knowledge, Education, Transformation, Colonialism, Pedagogy, Indigenous Knowledge, Higher EducationAbstract
Modern Western curricula influences the university education of Nepal. There has been discussion regarding its domination and imposition on the education system and questioning whose knowledge matters? The purpose of this paper is: A) to explore the status of the curriculum in integrating Indigenous Knowledges in the curricula of the Master's Program through content analysis; and, B) to explore the status of Indigenous Knowledge from the faculties and students experience Kathmandu University School of Education (KUSOED). The method applied for the study is a content analysis and focus group discussions. Three focus groups were completed with students and four focus groups were completed with teachers of the four departments of KUSOED: Masters in Sustainable Development, Masters in Mathematics Education, Masters in Leadership and Management and Master in English Language and Teaching. The paper highlights that the teachers and students are in different phases of decolonizing higher education, i.e., the ongoing decolonization of the curriculum. There requires a complete reconstruction of the epistemological basis in the university program. The decolonized prospectus must place Nepal's diversity, local and Indigenous knowledges in the center of curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, and research; incorporate Nepal's epistemic perspective, knowledge, and thinking and have an equal basis with the Modern western philosophy. Indigenous knowledge needs to be embedded in Nepal's higher education in a holistic approach to transformative change.
References
Axinn, W. G., & Pearce, L. D. (2006). Mixed method data collection strategies. Cambridge University Press.
Bista, K., Sharma, S., & Raby, R. L. (2019). Telling stories, generating perspectives. Higher Education in Nepal: Policies and Perspectives, 1.
Charles, E. (2019). Decolonizing the curriculum. Insights, 32(1), 24.
Chilisa, B. (2012). Indigenous research methodologies. Sage Publications.
College of Education (1956). Education in Nepal: Report of the Nepal national education commission. Kathmandu, Nepal: College of Education.
Flick, U. (2019). The concepts of qualitative data: Challenges in neoliberal times for qualitative inquiry. Qualitative Inquiry, 25(8), 713-720.
Foucault, M. (1979). Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Vintage Books. Retrieved From: https://newlearningonline.com/new-learning/chapter-3/michel-foucault-on-the-power-dynamics-in-modern-institutions
Foucault, M. (1982). The subject and power. Critical inquiry, 8(4), 777-795.
Hall, B. L., & Tandon, R. (2017). Decolonization of knowledge, epistemicide, participatory research, and higher education. Research for all, 1(1), 6-19.
Heleta, S. (2018). Decolonizing Knowledge in South Africa: Dismantling the ‘pedagogy of big lies.’ Ufahamu: A Journal of African Studies, 40(2).
Laenui, P. (2000). Process of decolonization. In M. Battiste (Ed.), Reclaiming Indigenous voice and vision, pp. 150-160. UBC Press.
Le Grange, L. (2016). Decolonizing the university curriculum. South African Journal of Higher Education, 30 (2), 1-12. http://dx.doi.org/10.20853/30-2-709
Lloyd-Evans, S. (2006). Focus groups. Doing development research, 153-162.
Luitel B. C., & Taylor, P. C. (2019). Introduction: Research as transformative learning for sustainable future. In P. C. Taylor & B. C. Luitel (Eds.), Research as transformative learning for sustainable futures: Global voices and visions (pp. 1-16). Leiden Boston: Brill Sense.
Lynch, R. (2010). Foucault's theory of power. In D. Taylor (Ed.), Michel Foucault: Key Concepts (pp. 13-26). Acumen Publishing. doi:10.1017/UPO9781844654734.002
McLaughlin, J., & Whatman, S. (2011). The potential of critical race theory in decolonizing university curricula. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 31(4), 365-377.
Ministry of Education (1971). The National Education System Plan for 1971‐76. Author.
Muller, L. (2007). Decolonization: Reflection and implications for social work practice. Journal of the Australian College of Child and Family Protection Practitioners, 3 (7).
Pandey, R. R., K.C., K. B. & Wood, H. B. (Eds.). (1956). Nepalmashikchhya [Education in Nepal]. Bureau of Publications, College of Education.
Simon, D. (2006). Your questions answered? Conducting questionnaire surveys. In V. Desai, & R. B. Potter (Eds.), Doing development research, (pp. 163-171), Sage.
Stein, S. & Andreotti, V.D.O. (2016). Decolonization and higher education. In M. Peters (Ed.), Encyclopedia of educational philosophy and theory. Springer doi: 10.1007/978-981-287-532-7_479-1
Stiller, F. L., S. J. & Yadav, R. P. (1979). Planning for people. Sahayogi Prakashan.
Thiele, L. P. (1986). Foucault's triple murder and the modern development of power. Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique, 243-260.
Upadhyay, J. P. (2018). Higher education in Nepal. A Journal of Management, 96-108.
