Measuring what matters: Evaluating the impact of curriculum decolonisation initiatives in UK business schools

Curriculum decolonisation has become a prominent feature of equity agendas in UK higher education, yet there remains limited empirical and theoretical work on how such initiatives are evaluated, particularly within business schools. This paper presents one of the first multi‐institutional empirical studies examining how UK business schools assess the effectiveness and impact of curriculum decolonisation initiatives and explores the disjuncture between implementation and meaningful evaluation. Drawing on a mixed‐method study comprising an exploratory sector‐wide survey followed by in‐depth interviews with 20 senior leaders responsible for equality, diversity and inclusion, the study finds high levels of activity yet weak and fragmented evaluative infrastructures. While decolonisation is widely framed by leaders as an epistemic, cultural and relational project, evaluation practices rely heavily on proxy indicators such as student engagement and awarding gap data. We argue that this reliance reflects not simply pragmatic constraints, but deeper organisational and political logics shaped by performative accountability regimes. Using a theoretical framework informed by performativity theory and institutional theory, the paper demonstrates how evaluation is not a neutral or technical stage that follows equity work, but a constitutive practice that shapes what counts as impact, what forms of change are rendered visible and what remains marginalised. By foregrounding evaluation as a site of power, contestation and meaning‐making, the paper extends existing critiques of audit culture and contributes to debates on curriculum change, leadership and educational equity. We propose the need for more reflexive, theory‐informed and context‐sensitive approaches to evidencing transformation, capable of recognising organisational, cultural and practice‐based forms of change alongside conventional metrics. Although empirically focused on business schools, the findings speak to broader challenges of evidencing equity‐oriented curriculum change across educational sectors.