Spaces of Higher Education: A Reflection on George Dei?s Article

Zhehui CeciliaXie

SecondYear

LiteratureandCritical TheorySpecialist;Contemporary AsianStudiesMajor;CreativeExpressionandSociety

Minor

IN HIS PAPER "DECOLONIZING THE UNIVERSITY CURRICULUM," Dei explicitly chooses the phrase "decolonize" (2016). The word "decolonize" draws attention to the fact that educational reforms are comparable to revolutions that liberate educational spaces from colonialism Dei argues that a covert and systemic colonial process is still at work in educational institutions He implies that the responsibility of the article's readers,publicintellectuals, and studentsshould be to campaign for changes to the school curriculum and theveiled "deep curriculum" (Dei 2016, p 35) A deep curriculum suggests that there is more to what meets the eye: the curriculum results from the interplay between culture, environment, political, economic, and social organizational elements of school (eg, the texts, teaching, and pedagogies).

Using first-year seminars as an example, a professor teaches first-year seminars in a small-group settingof around 25studentsper class. Although the professor also teaches other courses, students are given a relatively high amount of individual attention compared to other first-year foundational courses primarily taught in lecture halls, which is more often than not the case for most first-year students. Many first-year students feel unsupported and disconnected due to their high expectations (e.g., as compared to high school), large class sizes, and unfamiliar university-level material Thesituation isworsened by the Covid-19 pandemic and the sudden shift to remote learning. Despite the support infrastructures that began improving, many studentsare reluctant to go to office hoursor have difficulty finding the right resources for their problems.

The university cannot afford to have every student be in a small class and in close proximity to a professor in their first year. Although the situation improves as one enters higher years of study and becomes more specialized, the limited resources mean that some students are disadvantaged compared to others Even within the classroom of a first-year seminar course, different space dynamics can serve to ?other? students; for example, sitting in the front of a classroom isvery different from sittingin theback (e.g., proximity to the instructor affects hearing, sight, etc) Thesefactorsmight lead to thelevel of participation a student exhibits during class, which is directly or indirectly correlated with the quantifiable learning outcomes (e.g. having questions answered, sharing comments, or being graded on thelevel of participation).

Aside from students, instructors also face systematic and institutional restrictions. For example, as Dei argues, scholars who work on critical equity and race work are most subject to controversial student evaluations (2016), which might lead to the choice of less controversial material Following this thought, less controversial is often subject to the opinions and influence of the majority and the establishment ?Playing/teaching it safe? might, in the worst case, even lead to certain groups feeling underrepresented or unwelcomed when thevoices of the oppressed, marginalized, excluded, and(or) colonized people are already discounted (Dei 2016, p 51) Similarly, budget considerations can also lead to adverse outcomes. Dei suggests that when austerity measures restrict public funding, the academy may turn to private/corporate funding. However, all funding comes at a cost Decisions such as what and who to include may fall increasingly into the hands of the academy?s benefactors. From my personal experience, the curriculum of the course EAS103 has been influenced by fundings from other East Asian countries to change the overwhelmingly rich China-related content Indeed, this change reflects a more balanced and well-represented East Asia. However, scholars who engage in areas of study where minority groups are of interest can face the issueof not receivingsufficient support

As Dei argues, although courses make an effort to create atmospheres of equity and respect, the curriculum may still be built on, and thus influenced by, a history of othering minorities, women, and disadvantaged individuals Implicationsof social oppression and patriarchy are still a part of the existing system of knowledge which continues to be taught in education spaces. Dei argues that inclusion is not introducing marginalized groups to existing systems but making structural changes and creating new and better spaces (Dei 2016, p 36) He believes that ?decolonization? has been mainstreamed today, which makes it no longer simply decolonial but requiresaskingnew questions(Dei 2016, p. 27). The proposal of structural changes offers another perspective solution by urging educators and policymakers to ask one question, ?how [can] we hope to address an existing problem by simply adding to what already exists when what already exists is the source of the problem to begin with??

(Dei

2016,p 27)

One way of looking at societal operations divides into three levels of systems ? the macrosystem, the exosystem, and the microsystem (Kasser and Linn 2016, p. 123). In the case of education in Western society, an example of the macrosystem society can be capitalist ideologies; the exosystem can be a government?s spending decision (eg, austerity measures); and finally, an example of the microsystem can be the classroom. In today?s language system, education is often compared or related to competition (e.g., ?winning on thestarting line?) Theidea of education simply as ?the obtaining of knowledge? can be somewhat neutral Still, the implications change when the contexts are considered (e.g., projected into the model of different macrosystems) Education in a society with a capitalist macrosystem tends to foster competition For example, as Stucke observes, although competition is the ?backbone? of US economic policy and is thriving internationally, it may not always benefit society (2013). Perhaps competition is helpful to some extent, but when it comes to education, competition tends not to do justice to minorities and disadvantaged groups

Although one macrosystem and its relevant definition of successarenot necessarily better than others, the capitalist definition of success can be problematic in creating an inclusive education curriculum; Dei argues that critical inclusion also demands a redefining of success that moves away from the traditional ?atomistic? view (Dei 2016, p. 36): the atomistic definition emphasizes and rewards the best and the brightest, which in the western academy is also ?often the whitest ? By highlighting individual achievements, it is easy to overlook the process contributing to the outcome This could lead to a hyper-individualistic society that values and promotes individual accomplishments over collaboration, thus driving morecompetition

Dei argues that success is never an individualistic effort. It is alwaysa collective effort where the process and the people involved are a part of theoutcome For example, in theclassroom, the learning outcome depends on the entire group and a collaborative effort among peers. Seeing education as competition, one easily overlooks the factors contributing to individual success. Variegated and uneven learning characterizes the ?liberally informed? learning environment, which leads to outcomes such as atomistic and independent individuals, competition, stratification, power bargaining, prioritization of reason, and exclusion of the body (Dei 2016, p. 37). This type of environment easily risks ?othering? minoritiesand underprivileged individuals; it tends to separatepeopleinto winnersand losers. Though it is always more complicated than one mighty summary of observations, the western capitalistic exosystem isperhapsoneof thereasonsthat led to a celebration of individuals; in turn, the liberally informed school environment reinforces the capitalist system. On theother hand, an exampleof themacrosystem istheeducation system

As McLuhan would put it, the education system asamedium isthemessage(1969)

The system might seem neutral but, in reality, it hasbeen tuned tobenefit certain social classesover others, and social class is associated with socio-economic factors such as race, gender, income, and education Theeducation system often reinforces the present social system through inclusion and exclusion. The act of exclusion or segregation produces and reinforces the uneven distribution of resources. Although thepresent-day Western education system is no longer segregated by gender or race,thereisstill adividebetween the public and private schooling systems Even with North America?s public school system, the neighbourhood determines the public school a child can attend. De Certeau defines the neighborhood as the ?setting and staging of everyday life? (de Certeau 1998, p. 7), resulting from a combination of economic and sociocultural factors. Although there isn? t a system in Canada where grades are attributed according to postal codes, the ?postal code? can often indicate a school?s performance In Vancouver, for example, public schools in West-end neighborhoods tend to dobetter in rank than schoolsin East Vancouver In addition to lessening inequality, education often legitimizes and reinforces it (Storey 1999, p 47), with education historically relating to the justification of class distinction and generating patterns of cultural consumption framed as legitimate ways of life. What is obtained from learning is internalized and presented as natural cultural competence (Storey 1999, p. 47); socio-economic differences are ?transformed? into (framed as) academic differences. Theacademy has been and continues to be a site of uneven access and exclusion. In an increasingly neoliberal age, institutions such as higher education spaces risk beingfurther disconnected from thepublicand fuel the growth of inequality Economic and sociocultural factors continue to influence higher education spaces (eg, tuition fees continue to reject and excludeaccess) and perhapsthequestion toask is:what now?

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