Educational Colonialism and the Importance of Indigenous Decolonization in Promoting a Growth Mindset

Abstract

Educational Colonialism in the Republic of the Marshall Islands is very real where Marshallese ways of knowing and being remain on the margins. Institutional racism and structural violence in the academy and most importantly within the Marshallese education system is mainly to blame. Indigenous Decolonization focusing on cultural continuity and language maintenance can be the solution for promoting a growth mindset by decolonizing the mind of the existing student populace. This paper argues in brief, the “importance of cultural maintenance and language maintenance by Marshallese and for Marshallese” via their own ways of doing things (e.g. JiTDam Kapeel) and how this is crucial and needs to be culturally prioritized for the overall well-being of Marshallese and the Marshall Islands in general.