Assessment of group tasks as a decolonial pedagogy in university classrooms

Abstract

The decolonisation of university classrooms has been of significant concern in recent times. Many decolonial strategies have been recommended in bodies of existing literature, still, none has considered the intricacies of collaborative group tasks as a strategy to decolonise classroom hegemony. This study examined the use of group tasks as a decolonial strategy, lensed through Transformative Paradigm and Participatory Action Research as a research design. This study adopted students' reflection to collect data from ten students randomly selected among the 266 students who were given individual and group tasks assessment, respectively. The collected data was analysed using Socio-thematic Analysis to interpret and make sense of the responses from the students. The study revealed that collaborative group task enhances students' conventional development and unity among the students towards productivity, in addition to increasing their conflict management skill. Further findings showed that students' laziness and time consumption were found to be the hindrance to the smooth actualisation of group work among students in the university classrooms. This study recommends that efforts be put in place to ensure that group tasks are monitored and that concerned authorities; lecturers and university academic planners must ensure that students are taught how to make effective use of their time.