Reimagining scholarly evaluation
Ubuntu metrics as a decolonial lens for African academic excellence
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8244682 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Eutychus Ngotho Gichuru (0000-0002-5363-5443, Makerere University, corresponding author), Archangel Byaruhanga Rukooko (Makerere University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-19 |
| Publication date | 2026-03-19 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | African Identities (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1472-5843 • E-ISSN: 1472-5851 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/14725843.2026.2648035 |
| OpenAlex | W7139045241 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 39 |
The research study investigates how bibliometric evaluation systems fail to assess African scholarly productivity and introduces Ubuntu metrics as a decolonial solution for faculty promotion. The study uses African philosophy and decolonial theory as its conceptual framework to demonstrate that bibliometrics function as epistemological violence which purposely excludes African scholarship by favouring Global North citation networks and publication venues. The study develops Ubuntu metrics through decolonial scholarship and African philosophy and critical university studies which focus on the principle of communal relationality (‘umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu’). Ubuntu metrics assess academic excellence through community involvement and knowledge sharing and mentorship and development of African knowledge systems. The study combines these findings to support evaluation systems which use Ubuntu-based approaches to establish academic standards and assess both relational outcomes and epistemic justice. African scholars face disadvantages because of citation biases and language barriers and resource disparities while community-engaged scholarship and responsible metrics studies confirm the effectiveness of Ubuntu-based frameworks. The implementation process needs organizations to transform their operations through new promotion standards and faculty development programs and community relationship development, but they face difficulties from both internal opposition and external ranking systems.
Colonialism · Decoloniality · Excellence · Lens (geology · Postcolonialism (international relations · Through-the-lens metering · African cultural and philosophical studies · Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Agriculture · Service-Learning and Community Engagement
Southern Theory
A Geopolitics Of Academic Writing
The Metric Tide
Systematic inequality and hierarchy in faculty hiring networks
Do Pressures to Publish Increase Scientists' Bias? An Empirical Support from US States Data
African higher education
What do citation counts measure? A review of studies on citing behavior
The Oligopoly of Academic Publishers in the Digital Era
Bibliometrics
The African ethic of Ubuntu/Botho
The Politics of Recognition
The Invention of Africa
Epistemologies of the South
Faculty Service Loads and Gender
Publication Pressure and Scientific Misconduct in Medical Scientists
Decolonizing the university
Conceptual Analysis
Toward an African Moral Theory
A Relevant Education for African Development—Some Epistemological Considerations
University crisis and reform
Coloniality of Power and Eurocentrism in Latin America
Gendered Citation Patterns across Political Science and Social Science Methodology Fields
Community-Based Research Partnerships
The Academic Caste System
Is It Ethical to Study Africa? Preliminary Thoughts on Scholarship and Freedom
Global patterns in the publishing of academic knowledge
Academic Dependency and the Global Division of Labour in the Social Sciences
Blinded by Sight
Rankings and Reactivity
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |