Decolonizing Educational Research: From Ownership to Answerability

by Leigh Patel

Decolonizing Educational Research examines the ways through which coloniality manifests in contexts of knowledge and meaning making, specifically within educational research and formal schooling. Purposefully situated beyond popular deconstructionist theory and anthropocentric perspectives, the book investigates the longstanding traditions of oppression, racism, and white supremacy that are systemically reseated and reinforced by learning and social interaction. Through these meaningful explorations into the unfixed and often interrupted narratives of culture, history, place, and identity, a bold, timely, and hopeful vision emerges to conceive of how research in secondary and higher education institutions might break free of colonial genealogies and their widespread complicities.

Genres: Education, Nonfiction, School, Academic, Indigenous, Social Justice, Grad School

122 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 11, 2015

About the author

Also known as Lisa Patel.

Reviews

[Moira Ozias · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. Shifted my entire way of understanding and approaching my work as a teacher and scholar. I’ve given away so many copies of this book I can’t count and have read it cover to cover at least twice. I appreciate the depth and clarity with which Patel writes about how settler colonialism shapes education....and ways of fugitively resisting in research and practice. This is a small book with big ideas.

[Saili Kulkarni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Patel’s work is brilliant as always, it helped me to heavily rethink my qualitative methods for my own work and the work I support (e.g. grad students)

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly compelling and full of great references to follow up on. Recommend to anyone in ed. research.

[Lorry-ann Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book that offers a timely reconsideration of current practices and futurities in educational research.