Towards ‘decolonizing’ engineering education: an integrative review

This paper presents an integrative literature review examining decolonizing engineering education (DEE) across diverse global contexts. While decolonization efforts in higher education have gained traction, much of the literature has overlooked these debates within Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields, particularly engineering, focusing instead on the social sciences and humanities. Beginning with foundational works from 2012, the review analyzes 47 papers published over the past 12 years to address three key questions: (a) How is decolonization understood in engineering education? (b) How is it actualized in engineering curricula? (c) What challenges hinder DEE? Drawing on a geopolitics of knowledge framework, the review highlights the significance of local, social, political, and geographical contexts in shaping DEE practices. The paper argues that identifying cross-regional similarities is only a starting point; the core contribution lies in revealing how context-specific articulations of DEE expose distinct priorities, power dynamics, and pedagogical strategies, offering practical insights for locally grounded reform. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of these findings for future research on DEE and suggests directions for further study.