Towards Decolonisation Within University Education: On the Innovative Application of Educational Technology

Abstract

In this chapter, Faiq Waghid argues in defence of a Rancièrian notion of democratic education, which he equates with a practice of decolonisation of education. The latter idea is innovative in itself considering that decolonising education is being considered tantamount to democratising education. The idea of democratic education he proposes is couched within a Rancièrian framework of pedagogical action whereby students in relation to teachers in university classrooms can articulate their intellectual equality. That is, they can come to speech by articulating their claims in inclusive pedagogical encounters. By drawing on examples in educational technology, Faiq Waghid shows how podcasts, clickers and social networking sites potentially enhance democratised pedagogical spaces through which teaching and learning can hopefully be decolonised. Although it seems Faiq Waghid is arguing for a position of changing the pedagogical institutional structures—a matter of making a case for decoloniality—his argument that equates what we would assert as decolonial pedagogical engagement accentuates the importance of addressing undemocratic concerns vis-à-vis the cultivation of an equal community of inquiry among teachers and students in a university setting.