Investigating the awareness of Decolonial perspectives among undergraduate Sport Science students in the Netherlands

Abstract: In the world of research, the decolonial perspective is not a field to study but a way of thinking and to exist in the world. This perspective sees the current form of "research" as something linked to European imperialism and colonialism in history that, until this day, still overshadows other ways of knowing and creating information (Liebel, 2017).In this qualitative research, we explored how aware of coloniality are international sports students in the Dutch context since Europe was the epicenter of colonialism. What do students know about colonialism and the decolonial perspective? Moreover, do these students consider it necessary to reflect their own knowledge through decolonial perspectives if they have a concept of it? This research aims to investigate the level of awareness among international undergraduate Sport studies science students regarding colonialism and its effects on their education. It further explores to what extent these students are being taught decolonial approaches and critical thinking skills to unbiasedly scrutinize the current world of academia. The research uses an exploratory research design employing a qualitative research method, in-depth semi-structured interviews to collect the data. Semi-structured interviews use a blend of closed and open-ended questions, leaving room for follow-up and how questions and through that can reveal unexpected insights and information throughout the interview (Adams, 2015). The collected data is analyzed by adapting the composite narratives approach by mapping similar information together from various interviews and creating two different story narratives using fictional characters (John and Nicol). The stories are then interpreted based on the theoretical framework of the research, which draws upon a critical perspective on the house of modernity, and epistemological violence. The results revealed that students lack the basic understanding and awareness of the concept of colonialism and its effects on their current education. The Sport studies Bachelors' level education program under investigation is not inclined to go outside the borders of the status quo and does not encourage their students to explore other ways of interpreting information such as the Decolonial perspective and others.