This book unites several intellectual movements into a combined approach to transform the way higher education is conceptualized and conducted across Africa. While higher education literature increasingly focuses on equity and inclusion, much of this work is limited to student engagement, faculty experience, and inclusion of historically excluded students into the current framework. Decolonial literature, on the other hand, tends to clarify how educational institutions colonize, and suggests ways in which some aspects (e.g. research) can be indigenized. Much of this work exists outside the geographic and cultural boundaries of Africa, however, often largely situated within western-based universities. Meanwhile, a third literature base exists in African-centric decoloniality, though this has less commonly been applied to higher education (and is more commonly applied to literature, languages, and research methods). As calls to decolonize increase across the African continent, what makes this book unique is the focus on applying African indigeneity to higher education decoloniality to move beyond inclusion into, and instead, argue for systemic transformation of the structures and the entire purpose and function of African higher education. Similarly, chapter authors and editors are practitioner-scholars, most of whom serve (or have served) in higher education administrative leadership roles, providing practical approaches to decoloniality specific to African institutions.
Additional uniqueness:
-Most authors are practitioner-scholars who currently hold administrative leadership roles across African universities
-The collection of authors represents six African countries, including Zambia, Uganda, South Africa, Namibia, Djibouti, Ghana, as well as a range of types of universities (including the foundations for a new African-centric university in Uganda).
-Expands notions of Black African Indigeneity, specifically as applied to local, regional, continental, and global lenses
-Includes qualitative studies, interviews, conceptual arguments, theory-based, and personal experiences.
