Creating a Decolonised and Liberated Curriculum Self-Assessment Tool (DeLCSAT)

Credit: Sam Robinson for UCL

27 January 2025

By Gideon Sappor and Eirini Gkouskou

This blog is dedicated to Richard Harrison, who was co-chair of the IOE Department of Leadership and Learning’s decolonising and liberating the curriculum working group, until his untimely death in the spring of 2025.

In higher education, the call to decolonise and liberate the curriculum is not just a trend, it’s a transformative movement aimed at fostering equity, inclusion and critical engagement (Meda, 2020). This is borne out of the principles of fairness, equity and justice in relation to diversity that have long occupied a prominent position within social and political discourse in the UK and beyond, not least within higher education. This sustained engagement reflects an enduring societal aspiration to construct an equitable and inclusive order in which structural inequalities are dismantled and individual life chances are not predetermined by immutable characteristics such as race, socio‑economic background or place of birth (Sappor & Franks, 2025).

Central to this discourse is the recognition that historical and systemic patterns of exclusion have perpetuated disparities in access to the curriculum, patterns documented across ethnicity, class, disability and other characteristics, thereby necessitating deliberate institutional and policy interventions (Advance HE, 2024). A Fraserian lens foregrounds the interplay of redistribution, recognition and representation and the norm of participatory parity as analytic guides to reforming curriculum and assessment (Hölscher & Bozalek, 2020).

Consequently, debates surrounding diversity encompass deeper questions of distributive justice, institutional reform and the ethical imperative of ensuring that social arrangements do not reproduce entrenched hierarchies of privilege and disadvantage. These are questions that current regulatory instruments and sector scholarship urge universities to address through rigorous evaluation, inclusive pedagogy and accountable leadership (e.g. Office for Students, 2024).

This is also a priority for the IOE as outlined in the faculty’s Dean’s pledges on race equality, and our own Department of Learning and Leadership (DLL). Subsequently, a working group was formed to “review and provide a support framework to ensure the curricula of our programmes and courses reflect a diverse, inclusive, global outlook”.

The working group consisted of 11 colleagues from all parts of the department, including both professional and academic staff. As a first step, the group sought to create an audit document to support teaching teams in self-assessing the extent to which their provision is decolonised and liberated. The aim was not to create a set of ‘tick boxes’ or simply about compliance; it was about creating a practical tool that helps educators reflect on their practice and embed principles of decolonisation and liberation into teaching and learning.

Why this audit document matters

Decolonising the curriculum means challenging dominant narratives, amplifying marginalised voices and ensuring that learning environments are inclusive and representative. An audit document serves as a structured way to ask important questions:

• Whose knowledge is being prioritised?
• Are diverse perspectives integrated meaningfully?
• Do our teaching methods empower all learners?
• Do our approaches to assessment enable learners to both develop and demonstrate their depth of understanding?
• Do the curriculum and pedagogical approaches reflect the diversity of learners?

Our aim was to create a resource that helps colleagues to critically evaluate their modules and programmes, while offering guidance for meaningful change.

The journey: from vision to end product

We began by defining the purpose of the audit: to provide a reflective, supportive framework rather than a prescriptive checklist. Our related workshops focused on key principles of decolonisation – representation, accessibility and criticality – and how these could translate into practical prompts for educators. We consulted literature, and found the following particularly useful: the University of Michigan’s ‘Inclusive Teaching Strategies: Reflecting on Your Practice’; Spratt and Florian’s paper on Inclusive Pedagogy; and Decolonizing Educational Relationships: Practical Approaches for Higher and Teacher Education (Pirbhai-Illich, Martin and Pete, 2023). We also consulted student representatives for their views and input. This collaborative approach ensured the audit tool was grounded in theory but practical for everyday use.

Challenges and solutions

One challenge was avoiding a ‘tick-box’ approach. Decolonisation is not a one-off task; it’s an ongoing process. To address this, we designed the audit as a reflective guide, encouraging dialogue and continuous improvement rather than compliance.

Another challenge was language: how to make the document accessible without diluting its critical intent. We resolved this by using clear, inclusive language and providing examples to illustrate key concepts.

We piloted the draft self-assessment document via four modules in the department. This tested the tool and yielded some constructive feedback and practical suggestions that led to further refinement. The ‘finalised’ document is therefore a product of the working group’s output and the helpful comments from the pilot.

The outcome

The document is a living resource. It invites educators to think deeply about curriculum design, assessment and classroom dynamics. By working collaboratively, we’ve created a tool that supports meaningful change and aligns with UCL, the faculty’s and the department’s shared commitment to equity and justice in education.

Our next steps include piloting the tool across departments, gathering feedback and refining it further. Decolonising and liberating the curriculum is a collective journey, and this audit document is just one step forward. Together, we can create learning spaces that truly reflect and respect the diversity of knowledge and experience.

Contact Gideon.sappor@ucl.ac.uk for enquiries about the self-assessment tool.

Gratitude

We express deep appreciation to our Head of Department, the module leaders who piloted the self-assessment tool, and to the colleagues who volunteered to be part of the working group along with us: Tracey Allen, Beth Billington, Christine Callender, Alyson Colman, Sharon Etienne, Andy Hodgkinson, Andy Markwick, Mark Quinn, Guy Roberts-Holmes, d’Reen Struthers.