Postcolonial perspective in the history of education: research problems and trends in an international context

Abstract

In my study I examine how the mostly English post-colonial theory, strongly related to ISCHE and the international History of Enducation Society UK, becomes a more and more determinant approach within the research field of the history of education from the 1980s. In order to do so, first I define post-colonialism, briefly mentioning the debate surrounding post-colonial theory, as well as the relevant interpretative frame which goes beyond the "third world". In the second part of the paper I survey the more determinative works in the field and the related conferences, also mentioning the most recent research results. The appearance of researches with a post-colonial perspective in the history of education became prominent in the last two decades. Apart from clarifying the terminology (for example culture and ethnicity) these studies move away from the simplifying primitive/modern dichotomy, reinterpret spatial and temporal dimensions and in relation to the creation of cultures and identities write of processes which integrate active agents which are multidirectional and affect each other mutually. In Hungary the postcolonial studies that open Pandora"s Box have not yet gained ground in history of education, even though their role in the international history-writing of education is unquestionable.