Decolonising Edtech

Decolonising educational technology (Edtech) requires a fundamental re-examination of the knowledge systems, pedagogical approaches, and power structures that shape digital learning tools. This concept builds on broader decolonial movements, from the calls to recentre Indigenous knowledge systems in Canada to the ‘Rhodes Must Fall’ protests in South Africa and the ‘Why is My Curriculum White?’ campaigns in the United Kingdom. It acknowledges that colonial legacies persist in modern education and technology, reinforcing global inequalities and epistemological hierarchies.

We offer talks, webinars, presentations, and workshop series in partnerships with organisations around the world to speak about and engage the audience in reflective design exercises around decolonising EdTech. We tailor our offerings in breadth, depth and length according to the audience. Our workshops design reflective pathways for organisations to rethink their strategic plans and internal policies from a decolonial perspective. We have led the EdTech hub team through a year-long process of revising their strategic plans, hiring processes and research publishing and partnerships criteria from a decolonial perspective. Workshops were hands-on, reflective and collaborative, encouraging change from within. 

Alongside this, we have launched a series of author writing and publishing workshops to mobilise education researchers in sub-Saharan Africa to write and publish about decolonising EdTech. View the concept and recordings here:  Writing Workshops for Emerging African Researchers in EdTech. 

A sample of our work includes:  

• * A workshop for education social entrepreneurs on tackling coloniality and socially just and inclusive designs in collaboration with the Bertha Institute 
• • A conference talk on socially just EdTech designs for refugees as part of the Open Education conference 

In collaboration with UNESCO and the Journal for Education Sciences, we launched a special issue on Decolonising Educational Technology, inviting contributions from all over the world and especially from the Global South on the topic. 

Our Programmes

We work across diverse educational landscapes to develop evidence-based solutions. Explore our initiatives on Decolonising Edtech :

• HP Cambridge Partnership for Education EdTech Fellowship

Global Public Goods

Our research contributes to publicly available evidence and policy recommendations through an open-access approach.

Resources

• Explore our Evidence Library for in-depth insights, reports, and working papers.
• Writing Workshops for Emerging African Researchers in EdTech 
• Decolonising Educational Technology