Reframing intercultural education in edu-business: A decolonising approach

Lee, Judith L. (2025) Reframing intercultural education in edu-business: A decolonising approach. Ed.D thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

The ever-evolving global context has brought an increased focus on nonformal learning organisations such as edu-business which provides learning services as a ‘for-profit’ enterprise (Ball, 2012). However, edu-business is shaped by the neoliberal environment in which it is embedded. Its underlying economic drivers comprise the core challenges for learning developers in this sector. Moreover, there is a remarkable absence of research specific to edu-business which has raised questions on its capability in a globally diverse learning context. This study aimed to close that research gap slightly by concentrating on the specific learning area of intercultural education and the possibilities of a decolonising approach to curriculum and pedagogy. Specifically, the focus was on how knowledge is validated, how it is disseminated and by whom in edu-business. The overall study aim was not to provide a decolonising solution or set of guidelines for edu-business but to initiate a dialogue on decolonising intercultural education for edu-business. This study interrogated the pedagogical approaches to intercultural education for edu-businesses in Europe by exploring issues related to ‘quality of content’ (Krishna, 2009) for curriculum and pedagogy.

Using a qualitative research design, the data was collected from semi-structured interviews with learning developers in European-based edu-businesses. A framework analysis drew from concepts delineated by Shahjahan, Estera, Surla and Edwards’ (2022) decolonising curriculum and pedagogy (DCP) framework for higher education which provided a relevant comparison for exploring a decolonising approach to intercultural curriculum and pedagogy in edu-business. The research findings highlighted issues related to the contextual challenges, interrelated interpretations and the actualisation of decolonising pedagogy which have implications for how learning developers recognise conditions and relations of power in which intercultural learning is embedded. It requires their capacity to acknowledge their complicity, subjectivity and pedagogical agency in the propagation of dominant Eurocentric approaches which sanction power relations and have an impact on the quality of intercultural programmes in edu-business. The learning developers’ unique positionality has the potential to transform intercultural knowledge production into a more critically relevant and humancentric pedagogical practice as part of the greater decolonising project.

• Item Type: Thesis (Ed.D)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Subjects: L Education > L Education (General)
• Colleges/Schools: College of Social Sciences > School of Education
• Supervisor's Name: Slade, Professor Bonnie and Read, Professor Barbara
• Date of Award: 2025
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2025-84874
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 07 Feb 2025 12:30
• Last Modified: 07 Feb 2025 12:34
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.84874
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/84874