Calling for (r)Evolution: the rise of the educational phoenix of audacious hope

Abstract

ABSTRACT Existing educational and social inequalities within colonised nations have been amplified by multitudinous health, racial, climate, and social crises. It is a time to act collectively and boldly pivot towards equitable, socially-just futures. This perspective article contextualises schools within a social eco-system contending with the convergence of childhood adversity, pandemics, increasing climate, human-rights, political, and economic crisis around the globe. Profound uncertainty has shaken the expectations and systems that have been relied-on by those communities which they privilege. We call for educators to apply a transformative praxis with critical and cultural pedagogy to disrupt the educational status-quo that privileges Western-colonial epistemologies – knowledge and ways of knowing; the ‘whitewashing’ of schools and curriculums. Leveraging comprehensively applied trauma-informed principles within a social justice agenda is presented as a way of positioning schools to be way-finders and change-makers as they partner with communities. The time is now to (re)construct a fully rights-based school (r)evolution. Humility and courage will be required to lean into the hard questions and challenges; to revolutionise and humanise education. This paper presents schools as potential truth-hearing and historical truth-telling agents of urgent social change building communities of healing and audacious hope, led by communities.