Decolonizing the Curriculum

Active learning helps students confront the complexities of decolonizing the curriculum by moving from abstract discussion to concrete analysis. When students debate, design, and reflect, they practice the critical literacy skills required by CCSS while engaging with real questions about representation in their own education.

• 12th Grade
• English Language Arts
• 3 activities
• 25 min–60 min

Learning Objectives

1. Critique the historical and ongoing impacts of colonial perspectives on educational content.
2. Analyze how the inclusion of post-colonial literature challenges dominant narratives and promotes critical thinking.
3. Synthesize arguments from diverse sources to propose specific strategies for decolonizing a high school English curriculum.
4. Evaluate the ethical considerations involved in selecting and presenting texts within a diverse classroom setting.

Structured Academic Controversy

⏱ 60 min·Pairs

Structured Academic Controversy: Should Classic Texts Be Replaced?

Assign pairs to argue one of two positions: 'classic texts should remain central' or 'post-colonial texts should replace them.' Each side presents evidence, then pairs switch positions and argue the opposite view. After both rounds, partners work together to write a synthesis that acknowledges the strongest points from both sides.

Prepare & details

Justify the importance of decolonizing educational curricula.

Facilitation Tip: During the Structured Academic Controversy, assign roles carefully to ensure students engage with counterarguments rather than just defending a position.

Setup: Pairs of desks facing each other

Materials: Position briefs (both sides), Note-taking template, Consensus statement template

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Town Hall Meeting

⏱ 50 min·Small Groups

Collaborative Design: Draft a Reading List

Small groups receive a hypothetical 12th grade reading list budget: twelve texts. They must select a list that is both rigorous and representative, justifying each inclusion with a specific rationale. Groups share their lists and the class compares what different groups prioritized.

Prepare & details

Analyze the benefits of including diverse literary voices for all students.

Facilitation Tip: In Collaborative Design, provide anchor texts with diverse perspectives as starting points to avoid overwhelming students.

Setup: Chairs in rows facing a front table for officials, podium for speakers

Materials: Stakeholder role cards, Issue briefing document, Speaking request cards, Voting ballot

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Decision-Making
• Social Awareness

Think-Pair-Share

⏱ 25 min·Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Who Benefits from This Reading List?

Students examine a traditional 12th grade reading list and a diversified one. They write briefly on who each list benefits and why, share with a partner, then contribute to a whole-class discussion that identifies patterns in both lists.

Prepare & details

Design a proposal for incorporating more post-colonial literature into a curriculum.

Facilitation Tip: For Think-Pair-Share, limit the pair discussion to two minutes so students stay focused on analyzing the reading list’s implications.

Setup: Standard classroom seating; students turn to a neighbor

Materials: Discussion prompt (projected or printed), Optional: recording sheet for pairs

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Teaching This Topic

Teach this topic by modeling how to question assumptions in canonical texts before asking students to do the same. Avoid framing the debate as a competition between old and new, and instead focus on how multiple traditions inform our understanding of literature. Research shows that students benefit most when they see decolonization as an ongoing process of revisiting and revising rather than a single correct approach.

What to Expect

Successful learning happens when students move beyond agreeing or disagreeing to analyze how texts shape worldviews, question whose perspectives are centered, and propose changes with clear evidence. Look for students who connect their arguments to specific texts, historical contexts, and classroom discussions.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

During the Structured Academic Controversy, watch for students who claim that decolonizing means removing Shakespeare and other canonical authors entirely.

What to Teach Instead

Use the Structured Academic Controversy to push students to articulate how a decolonized curriculum might include canonical texts in conversation with others rather than eliminating them. Provide examples of syllabi that recontextualize Shakespeare alongside post-colonial responses to his works.

Common Misconception

During Think-Pair-Share, watch for students who say that curriculum diversification only matters for students of color.

What to Teach Instead

Use the Think-Pair-Share to ask students to analyze which perspectives benefit from the current reading list and whose voices are marginalized. Provide data on how diverse reading lists improve critical thinking for all students, using this to ground the discussion in evidence.

Assessment Ideas

Discussion Prompt

After the Structured Academic Controversy, facilitate a Socratic seminar where students address the question: 'Beyond adding a few diverse authors, what fundamental shifts are necessary to truly decolonize an English curriculum?' Use their claims as evidence of their ability to connect text analysis to curriculum design.

Exit Ticket

During Collaborative Design, ask students to complete an exit ticket: 'Identify one specific colonial assumption embedded in a traditional curriculum. Then, name one post-colonial text or author that directly challenges this assumption and briefly explain how.' Collect these to assess their ability to connect assumptions to texts.

Peer Assessment

After Collaborative Design, have groups exchange proposals and use a rubric to assess each other’s work on clarity of justification, relevance of the chosen text, and feasibility of integration. This peer feedback helps students practice evaluating curriculum changes with specific criteria.

Extensions & Scaffolding

• Challenge students who finish early to design a mini-unit that integrates a post-colonial text with a canonical work, including rationale and assessment ideas.
• For students who struggle, provide a partially completed reading list with gaps clearly marked, asking them to identify whose voices are missing and suggest replacements.
• Spend extra time on Collaborative Design by having groups present their proposals to the class and invite feedback on feasibility and inclusivity.

Key Vocabulary

Decolonization (in education)	The process of critically examining and dismantling colonial assumptions, biases, and power structures within educational curricula and practices.
Hegemony	The dominance of one social group or ideology over others, often maintained through cultural and institutional means, which can shape what knowledge is considered legitimate.
Post-colonial literature	Literary works that engage with the aftermath of colonialism, often exploring themes of identity, resistance, cultural hybridity, and the critique of imperial power.
Canon	A collection of literary works considered to be the most important, influential, and representative within a particular tradition or time period.
Epistemicide	The destruction or suppression of ways of knowing and knowledge systems, often resulting from colonial imposition of dominant worldviews.