Despite the increase in decolonising Western universities, pedagogies and curriculum initiatives, the voices of participants from the Global South are still at the periphery, searching for a space to get involved in such efforts. Decolonial theory and literature have widely acknowledged the need to include perspectives of marginalised groups from the Global South in projects of decolonisation (Hickling-Hudson, Mathews & Woods, 2003; Mignolo, 2009; Santos, 2014; Smith, 1999; Spivak, 1994). However, there are limited examples of such practices. This paper aims to tackle epistemic injustice in the decolonising efforts by highlighting the voices from the Global South. 

In this paper, we deconstruct an Erasmus Mundus programme, International Masters in Adult Education for Social Change (IMAESC), taught in four European countries over the course of two years. The programme first began in 2016 and has enrolled more than 100 students, most of whom are from the Global South. We examine IMAESC as a decolonial project through the hegemonic and subaltern lenses and analyse the curriculum, pedagogical approaches, and experiences of the participants of this programme. We do so not only through our own experiences as adult learners, researchers and practitioners but also through the inclusion of perspectives of our peers from the Global South. 

This article further includes the testimonies of our educators in Global North institutions who have designed and implemented this international programme with a decolonising approach. In this paper, we explore to what extent this critical adult education programme successfully provided an experience of decolonised higher education and the challenges faced by the participants and the educators involved. 

The paper builds on empirical research that included semi-structured interviews with nineteen participants from seventeen countries in Global South. The study explored their experiences at a Russel Group university in the United Kingdom. The interviews further investigated the interaction of higher education curriculum and pedagogies with the prior experiences and expectations of these students from the Global South. The paper acknowledges and involves the experiences of all three authors as adult learners, practitioners and researchers. The data was analysed through thematic analysis, and three broad themes are covered in this paper: self-reported critical awareness, opportunities created, and barriers remaining. In particular, we want to highlight challenges such as Eurocentrism in curriculum and pedagogical approaches.

The paper argues that decolonising efforts of universities should be rooted in the reflection and experiences of those directly affected by them. In order to achieve a holistic decolonial praxis, higher education courses in Global North institutions need to hear, acknowledge, appreciate, and include the voices of their participants.

de Sousa Santos, B. (2014). Epistemologies of the South: Justice against epistemicide. Routledge. Hickling-Hudson, A., Matthews, J., & Woods, A. (2004). Disrupting preconceptions: Postcolonialism and education. Flaxton, QLD: Post Pressed. Mignolo, W. D. (2009). Epistemic disobedience, independent thought and decolonial freedom. Theory, culture & society, 26(7-8), 159-181. Smith, L. T. (1999). Decolonizing methodologies: Research and indigenous peoples. Bloomsbury Publishing. Spivak, G. (1994). Can the subaltern speak? In P. Williams, & L. Chrisman (Eds.), Colonial discourse and post-colonial theory: A reader (pp. 66–111). Columbia University Press.