The Self and the Other: for a Post-colonial Pedagogy

Abstract

This contribution to post-colonial pedagogy aims at understanding the relevance that post-colonial pedagogy could acquire in formative research. By doing so, it would allow the emergence of a pedagogy featured by relations, dialogue, civility, and thus one that provides a targeted analysis of those educational choices that would guarantee the formation of the citizens of tomorrow
in a global context marked by globalization, international mobility, and climate change. The debate is consequently analysed according to to-date inquiries on post-colonial critique. The task is that of joining together the most relevant elements offered by such critique for what concerns educational issues: contradictions emerge, and also doubts and questions demanding for
an answer. From a general perspective, we will try to show that post-colonial critique represents a ground-breaking theoretical container through which it is possible to develop decentralized formative research. Such research will have a socio-constructivist character and will ultimately lead to post-colonial pedagogy. To support our thesis, we will give a definition of post-colonial
studies and we will show how they might influence pedagogy by drawing on the contradictions of pedagogical research in Black Africa.