This article critically examines the revised history curriculum in francophone Belgium, developed under the Pact for Teaching Excellence, which seeks to modernize education and reduce inequalities. Positioned within broader conversations on the decolonization of education, and more specifically within debates of the modernity/coloniality group, the article explores how Eurocentric epistemologies continue to shape curricular content and structure despite efforts to foster greater inclusivity. Through analysis of the official curriculum and five interviews with actors involved in the reform process, the study investigates how themes such as colonization, racism, and multiculturalism are incorporated, framed, or marginalized. While the curriculum introduces more explicit references to colonial history and cultural diversity, these shifts often remain surface-level, constrained by linear conceptions of time, national narratives, and Western epistemological dominance. Interviewees highlight tensions between ambitious objectives and implementation realities, shaped by structural constraints, political compromises, and technocratic logics. The article draws on the concept of monocultures to show how seemingly progressive reforms can reproduce exclusionary logics. It concludes that meaningful transformation requires more than adding diverse content; it demands rethinking how knowledge is defined, whose perspectives are centred, and how historical narratives can foster epistemic justice rather than reproduce inherited hierarchies.
Dupont et al. (Thu,) studied this question.