Decolonial by Design: An Expatriate’s Experience of Teaching Indigenous Emirati Students in the United Arab Emirates

This chapter explores notions of Indigeneity outside of a Global North context and its implications for practitioners committed to decolonial approaches to teaching and learning. The challenges and possibilities for decentering eurocentricity in teaching and learning within a context, such as the UAE, with a colonial past are examined. Taking an autoethnography approach, the author examines her role as an expatriate faculty member entrusted by the government to teach classes that are 100% Indigenous Emirati students and her approaches to decolonizing the teaching and learning processes within her classes. In examining Emirati populations within the UAE, the transnational nature of Indigeneity is considered.