Classrooms That Speak: Recognizing Decolonizing Practices

I have recently been working with principals and vice-principals on ways they can support staff in decolonizing their teaching practices. One of the most common questions that comes up is: How do I know if a teacher is actually decolonizing their practice? What should I be looking for?

This is such an important question, and there are ways to recognize when educators are genuinely engaging in the work of decolonizing their practice.

One of the first things you can notice is the classroom environment itself, especially the walls. Some teachers fill their classrooms with visuals and materials they personally love, while others keep their spaces more minimal. What I pay attention to when I walk into a classroom is whether there are multiple ways of understanding and representing concepts being shared with students.

For example, if there is a Gregorian calendar on the wall, is it also accompanied by a lunar calendar or a seasonal round calendar? Are students being shown that there is more than one way to understand time, place, knowledge, and the world around them? When educators intentionally provide multiple perspectives and ways of knowing within their classroom spaces, this can be an indicator that they are beginning to take up decolonizing practices.

Another way to recognize this work is by looking through the classroom library and the texts being used for reading and learning. Are multiple cultures, voices, and perspectives represented in the authors, stories, and topics being shared with students?

When educators intentionally include books and resources from diverse communities and worldviews, it moves learning beyond a single dominant narrative. It shows students that knowledge is not held by only one group of people, but that there are many ways of understanding the world, and each perspective has something valuable to teach us.

You can also learn a great deal by looking at the lesson plans and curriculum being used in the classroom. What you will be looking for is what is being taught and whose perspectives are being centred within the learning?

When reviewing lessons, look to see whether multiple ways of knowing and understanding are being included. For example, if students are learning about a topic through a Western scientific lens in one lesson, are they also being invited to explore how other cultures and knowledge systems understand the same topic?

Decolonizing practice is not about replacing one worldview with another; it is about creating space for multiple perspectives to exist alongside one another. When educators intentionally weave diverse knowledge systems into their teaching, students begin to understand that learning can happen in many different ways.

Another way to recognize decolonizing practices is through the artwork displayed in classrooms and hallways. Student work can tell us a great deal about how learning is being approached in a classroom.

If every art piece looks exactly the same, with identical colours, shapes, and outcomes, it may suggest that students are being guided toward one “right” way of creating. However, when students are given voice and choice within their work, you begin to see individuality, creativity, and diverse ways of understanding emerge.

For example, if students are creating birds, each bird may look different in its species, colours, materials, or design. These differences show that students are being encouraged to express their own ideas, identities, and interpretations of the project. Decolonizing practice creates space for students to bring themselves into their learning, rather than simply reproducing a single model or expected outcome.

When we begin to look closely at classrooms through a decolonizing lens, we start to notice that this work is not found in one single lesson or activity. It can be seen in the environment, the books on the shelves, the perspectives shared within lessons, the artwork on the walls, and in the ways students are encouraged to bring their own voices, identities, and understandings into their learning. Decolonizing practice is not about perfection or checking off a box; it is about educators intentionally creating spaces where multiple worldviews, knowledge systems, and ways of being are valued and honoured. Over time, these intentional shifts help move classrooms away from a single dominant narrative and toward learning spaces where all students can see themselves, their communities, and their ways of knowing reflected and respected.