Decolonising the curriculum through multicultural education as an effort to develop critical awareness among the younger generation

Abstract

This study aims to critically analyse curriculum decolonisation through multicultural education as a strategy for developing critical awareness among the younger generation amid the continued dominance of hegemonic perspectives in educational knowledge, narratives, and practices. This study employs a literature review approach through a critical analysis of academic literature, previous research findings, and theoretical perspectives on curriculum decolonisation, multicultural education, and critical awareness. The data were analysed through critical interpretative analysis to identify forms of epistemological dominance within the curriculum and opportunities for transformation through a multicultural perspective. The findings indicate that curriculum decolonisation is highly relevant to developing critical awareness among the younger generation, with its success largely determined by the ability of education to shift the paradigm from the reproduction of knowledge towards the production of knowledge. Curriculum decolonisation does not mean being anti-Western knowledge; rather, it entails building a fair, dialogical, pluralistic, and critical knowledge ecosystem. This study emphasises the need for curriculum reconstruction that is more inclusive, dialogical, contextual, and reflective, accompanied by strengthening teachers’ capacity as agents of epistemological and pedagogical transformation. The originality of this study lies in the integration of curriculum decolonisation, multicultural education, and the development of critical awareness among the younger generation within a single analytical framework that not only questions what is taught, but also examines who holds the power to determine knowledge and whose perspectives are legitimised.