Chapter 7: Decolonising Business Schools

Drawing on their experience leading a university-wide decolonisation project, the authors working at a UK Business School have developed Fig. 7.1: the Knowledge Generation Wheel for Decolonisation (the framework). The framework synthesises extensive literature on decolonising curricula and insights from their own practice within UK higher education. This chapter, presented in an accessible, discursive style, examines key opportunities and challenges in decolonising Business Schools.

The authors deliberately avoid theorising the current extent of decolonisation, focusing instead on its meaning and implications for business educators. The authors argue that achieving epistemic justice requires Business Schools to continuously re-evaluate their engagement with, creation of, dissemination of and legitimisation of knowledge, power and diverse ways of being. Crucially, decolonising the curriculum demands demonstrable decoloniality in action. They distinguish decolonisation from typical diversity initiatives, emphasising that decolonisation necessitates a profound reimagining of knowledge systems and power dynamics to address colonial legacies.