Educational approaches to teach students to address colonialism in global health: a scoping review

Abstract

IntroductionThe enduring legacy of colonisation on global health education, research and practice is receiving increased attention and has led to calls for the ‘decolonisation of global health’. There is little evidence on effective educational approaches to teach students to critically examine and dismantle structures that perpetuate colonial legacies and neocolonialist control that influence in global health.MethodsWe conducted a scoping review of the published literature to provide a synthesis of guidelines for, and evaluations of educational approaches focused on anticolonial education in global health. We searched five databases using terms generated to capture three concepts, ‘global health’, ‘education’ and ‘colonialism’. Pairs of study team members conducted each step of the review, following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyse guidelines; any conflicts were resolved by a third reviewer.ResultsThis search retrieved 1153 unique references; 28 articles were included in the final analysis. The articles centred North American students; their training, their evaluations of educational experiences, their individual awareness and their experiential learning. Few references discussed pedagogical approaches or education theory in guidelines and descriptions of educational approaches. There was limited emphasis on alternative ways of knowing, prioritisation of partners’ experiences, and affecting systemic change.ConclusionExplicit incorporation of anticolonial curricula in global health education, informed by antioppressive pedagogy and meaningful collaboration with Indigenous and low-income and middle-income country partners, is needed in both classroom and global health learning experiences.

Integrating multi-national teams: over a decade of lessons learned in Chiapas with Partners in Health-Mexico

“…The tactical design principles described here can serve others hoping to launch similar programs. A lot of attention has been paid to the potential unintended consequences of work in global health ( 44 ). There still remain, however, many threats to human health globally that are the result of actions by actors who have all the intention to gain profit regardless of the effects on people or planet.…”

Decolonising global health research: Shifting power for transformative change

“…Academic programmes in global health continue to be characterised by what has been called a “white saviour complex” or a depoliticized, patronizing and charity-based approach shaped, in part, by a wider aid industry [ 44 , 45 ]. Global health curricula remain largely disconnected from the many realities and locales of the GS, both in geography and lived experience.…”

“…Global health curricula remain largely disconnected from the many realities and locales of the GS, both in geography and lived experience. Dominant Eurocentric epistemologies, which are embraced and propagated by powerful global health institutions, are usually given primacy in research training, even as heterodox methodologies that interrogate power and inequality are marginalized [ 45 , 46 ].…”

Identifying core global mental health professional competencies: A multi-sectoral perspective

“…Decolonisation may be especially important for students from medical backgrounds, since it has been recognised that how mental health and mental ill health are taught within curricula has been heavily shaped by Eurocentric paradigms (Bracken et al, 2021 ). Cultural humility, structural competency and self-awareness are arguably vital in this process (Ng et al, 2016 ; Lewis et al, 2018 ; see Perkins et al, 2023 , for a scoping review).…”