Critical Literacies & the Decolonial Turn

Both as an instrument and beneficiary of colonialism as part of the British empire, as well as a victim of colonisation, Scotland represents the tenuous negotiations of identity with history, politics and power. While moves have been made in education to regain a Scottish identity through the implementation of Scots language and Scottish literature in the English curriculum, questions about criticality and (de)colonisation still remain relatively unheard (Priestly & Hume, 2010; Priestley, 2018). This has implications for how policy can be interpreted and implemented. Through a critical analysis, I explore how Scottish educational policy on English language and literacy constructs criticality and notions of (de)colonialism, if at all, and measure the emergent themes against critical approaches to teaching and learning as well as decolonisation. I then consider the role of critical literacies as a means for transformative social-semiotic action and interaction in the decolonisation of English language and literacy education.