Pathways for pragmatic decolonisation in research

Area of Science:

• Social Sciences
• African Studies
• Decolonial Studies

Background:

• Research on African peoples has been historically dominated by Western paradigms, marginalizing African knowledge systems.
• There's a growing need to decolonize research, but practical implementation remains under-explored.
• Decentralization offers a framework for redistributing power in knowledge production to African entities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose decentralization as a practical framework for decolonizing research in African contexts.
• To develop actionable strategies for redistributing epistemic power to African scholars, institutions, and communities.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual-empirical approach integrating personal research experiences in Cameroonian higher education.
• Review of scholarly decolonial efforts by African researchers.
• Reflexive narrative inquiry to analyze research decision-making and validation processes.

Main Results:

• Identified one foundational starting point and three pathways for decolonizing research: theoretical, methodological, and administrative.
• Theoretical pathways reclaim African epistemologies and disrupt Eurocentric dominance.
• Methodological pathways promote participatory, Afrocentric approaches; administrative pathways advocate for institutional reforms.

Conclusions:

• Reframing decolonization as decentralization provides an actionable model for transforming African knowledge production.
• The proposed framework bridges the theory-practice gap in decolonial discourse.
• Strategies aim to recenter African thought, amplify marginalized voices, and promote epistemic justice.