The Historical Significance of Decolonizing History Education in British and Commonwealth Universities

This article examines the educational colonization and decolonization networks between British universities and (former) colonial universities through the colonial university development projects undertaken by the British Empire. Based on this analysis, it seeks to explore the patterns and significance of the decolonization of history education within the Commonwealth by investigating the academic interactions in history education between British and Commonwealth universities.<br/> There were colonial efforts of African and Caribbean universities to adapt history education to their local contexts, particularly since the late 1950s, when faculty members began collaborating with local scholars and publishing national history textbooks. However, the political and economic context of colonization heavily influenced these efforts for localizing history education. With the political independence, African universities could expand their academic scope such as opening the Institute of African Studies. It also helped to decolonize studies in British universities and academia. Nonetheless, decolonizing history education is a complex task, especially given the deeply ingrained British academic structures. In order to overcome this, critical questions such as “Why my curriculum is so white?” and practical changes in history education, such as those currently underway in the UK and Commonwealth, will need to be more widely practiced.