Despite the passage of time and the supposed end of formal colonial empires, the structures and ideologies of colonialism persist in today’s education systems. These systems, many of which were originally designed by or modeled on colonial administrations, continue to shape how young people understand history, culture, identity, and power.

The persistence of colonial narratives in modern education is not an accident. These narratives serve to uphold existing hierarchies, valorize colonial powers, and obscure the violent realities of imperial conquest. From textbooks to classroom discussions, the framing of world history often continues to reflect the perspectives of the colonizer rather than the colonized. Here are ten such narratives still embedded in classrooms around the world.

1. The “Civilizing Mission” Myth

One of the most enduring colonial myths is the idea that European empires brought civilization to the so-called uncivilized world. This framing is still present in textbooks and lectures that emphasize infrastructure, education, and legal systems introduced by colonizers while glossing over the brutality, displacement, and cultural erasure that accompanied them.

In countries like India, Kenya, and the Philippines, colonial contributions such as railroads and administrative systems are often highlighted as proof of progress. Rarely do these lessons explore how these developments were designed to exploit local resources and populations for imperial benefit. The cost of this “civilization” is often ignored.

2. Erasure of Indigenous Resistance

Indigenous resistance to colonial rule is frequently minimized or entirely omitted from educational narratives. When mentioned, it is often portrayed as disorganized or futile, failing to acknowledge the strategic and sustained efforts of communities fighting for their land and autonomy.

Figures like Tecumseh, Yaa Asantewaa, and the Mau Mau fighters are either footnotes or excluded altogether. The message is clear: resistance is irrelevant in the face of empire. This erasure diminishes the agency of colonized peoples and misrepresents history as a one-sided conquest.

3. Eurocentric Historical Timelines

Modern curricula often center Europe as the starting point of history. Students typically begin with ancient Greece and Rome, proceed through the European Middle Ages, and arrive at the “discovery” of the New World. Civilizations in Africa, Asia, and the Americas are treated as secondary or only introduced when they intersect with European expansion.

This timeline marginalizes the long and rich histories of other regions. It teaches students to view Europe as the default and everyone else as peripheral. The result is a skewed understanding of global development and historical interconnectedness.

4. Glorification of Colonial Figures

Many educational institutions still celebrate colonial administrators, explorers, and military leaders. Statues, school names, and curriculum materials often depict these individuals as heroes or pioneers, despite their involvement in oppression and exploitation.

For example, figures like Cecil Rhodes or Christopher Columbus are often remembered for their contributions to empire building, while the violence and devastation they caused are downplayed or ignored. This glorification sustains a sanitized version of colonial history.

5. Marginalization of Non-European Contributions

Textbooks frequently emphasize European achievements in science, philosophy, and technology while overlooking the contributions of non-European civilizations. Students learn about Newton and Darwin, but rarely about Ibn Sina, Aryabhata, or the scholars of Timbuktu.

This selective narrative perpetuates the myth of Western superiority. It also robs students of a fuller understanding of global knowledge production and the shared intellectual heritage of humanity.

6. Simplification of Slavery and Its Legacies

Slavery is often taught as a discrete historical event that ended with abolition, rather than a system with deep roots and long-lasting consequences. In many curricula, the focus is on dates and laws, not on the lived experiences of enslaved people or the systemic racism that followed emancipation.

This simplification obscures the legacy of slavery in modern institutions and social structures. It prevents students from connecting past atrocities to ongoing struggles for racial justice and equality.

7. Portrayal of Colonized Peoples as Passive

In many textbooks, colonized peoples appear only as background characters in the story of European expansion. They are described as conquered, subdued, or assimilated—rarely as agents of their own history.

This narrative diminishes the diverse ways in which people resisted, adapted, and preserved their cultures under colonial rule. It frames colonization as something that happened to people, rather than something they actively navigated and responded to.

8. Neglect of Colonial Atrocities

From massacres to forced labor, the violent foundations of colonial rule are often omitted from classroom materials. When mentioned, these events are framed as exceptions rather than systemic features of empire.

The Belgian atrocities in the Congo, British famines in India, and French torture in Algeria are rarely given the depth of coverage they warrant. This neglect fosters historical amnesia and hinders any meaningful reckoning with the past.

Education has always been a battleground for narratives, power, and identity. As long as colonial frameworks dominate the way history and culture are taught, we cannot claim to have moved beyond the legacy of empire. Dismantling these narratives is not about erasing history—it is about telling it truthfully.

A decolonized education is one that embraces multiple perspectives, values local knowledge, and equips students to question dominant ideologies. Until then, the classroom remains a quiet extension of the empire it claims to have outgrown.