Decolonising the Curriculum: A Step towards Closing the Attainment Gap?

You are invited to the webinar, ‘Decolonising the Curriculum: A Step towards Closing the Attainment Gap?’, which will take place on MS Teams on Wednesday, 2nd December 2020 from 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM. To register please visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/decolonising-the-curriculum-a-step-towards-closing-the-attainment-gap-tickets-129342540019

‘Decolonising the curriculum’, closing the ‘attainment gap’, prioritising ‘BAME students’, etc. are some of the buzz-phrases that we have all heard recently. Whilst these phrases have long existed, they have been brought into focus with the recent Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests. At the University of Lincoln’s student-led BLM protest, students decried the challenges evident in a non-decolonised curriculum and its impact on widening the attainment gap. The concerns students expressed are valid. For instance, the University’s Equality Attainment Project revealed that some schools had a wide attainment gap between BAME and white students, with a differential of 49.1%. Whilst the University’s School of Law has performed better, its Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Team has prioritised closing the attainment gap.

To prioritise BAME students’ attainment, the questions remain: How do we give these buzz-phrases meaning in practice? How do we facilitate a cohesive understanding with the aim and success of improving BAME students’ experiences and achievements?

Acknowledging that the first step towards change is awareness, Lincoln Law School, with support from the College Research, Professional Practice and Scholarly Activity Fund and the LSS EDI Committee, have organised the webinar, ‘Decolonising the Curriculum: A Step towards Closing the Attainment Gap?’ Speakers will address specific topics that together comprise the theory and practice of decolonising the curriculum for helping the Law School plan and attain this important objective in research, teaching and learning.

Programme of Speakers:

Dr Matthew Windsor, School of Law, University of Reading.

– What Decolonising the Curriculum Means.

Professor Selwyn Cudjoe, Professor of Africana Studies, Wellesley College, USA.

– Why We Need to Decolonise the Curriculum

Dr Foluke I. Adebisi, Senior Lecturer, School of Law, University of Bristol

– A Practical Guide to Decolonising the Curriculum

Dr Ngozi Okoye, Senior Lecturer, School of Law, University of Lincoln.

– Improving BAME Students’ Experience at the Law School.

Dr Xiaotong Zhu, Research Fellow, Lincoln Higher Education Research Institute (LHERI).

– Closing the Attainment Gap at the University of Lincoln.

Professor Robbie Shilliam, Professor of International Relations, Department of Political Science, John Hopkins University, USA.

-The Impact of a Decolonised Curriculum on BAME Students’ Learning Experience

Moderators: Dr Nkechikwu Valerie Azinge and Dr Chloë Gilgan.

To register please visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/decolonising-the-curriculum-a-step-towards-closing-the-attainment-gap-tickets-129342540019