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International organizations (IOs), epistemic tools of influence, and the colonial geopolitics of knowledge production in higher education policy.

Authors :
Shahjahan, Riyad A.
Source :
Journal of Education Policy. Nov2016, Vol. 31 Issue 6, p694-710. 17p.
Publication Year :
2016

Abstract

While other scholars have analyzed the way that international organizations (IOs) in higher education policy may contribute to neocolonial domination, this paper illuminates not only on how IOs' epistemic activities promulgate one-size fit all solutions, but centers the colonial structures of knowledge/ power that inform the why (or logic) of these IOs' epistemic activities and their effects. A decolonial analysis of discursive artifacts and tools such as policy reports, performance indicators, and technical assistance, of the OECD and World Bank, suggests that standardized IO policy processes and practices reproduce global inequities. In collusion with other policy actors, these IOs constitute and perpetuate coloniality in global higher education, through enacting a god-eye point of view, colonial difference, and the geopolitics of knowledge. This article proposes a set of questions that may open the possibility of 'delinking' from modern/colonial world systems and pushes us to decolonize our imaginaries of the landscape of global HE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
02680939
Volume :
31
Issue :
6
Database :
Academic Search Index
Journal :
Journal of Education Policy
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
118045345
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1080/02680939.2016.1206623