Critical Pedagogy in Textbook Development: A Comparative Study of the Previous and the New Iranian High School English Language Textbooks

Abstract

Following the approval and implementation of a significant higher-level educational document known as the fundamental transformation of education, an undeniable reform took place in the field of the English language teaching program in general and English textbook development in particular, in the Iranian formal education system. Regarding the English textbooks, as probably the most important component in any ELT program, especially in societies in which English is taught and learned as a foreign language, a notable transformation in topic and content selection has occurred alongside a reform in its approach and structure. Conceiving the importance of this reform, which has been mostly neglected in the available research on the topic, this paper aimed at comparing descriptively and analytically the type of topic and content which has been integrated in the previous and new high school English textbooks. Findings revealed that through applying critical pedagogy in the development of the new textbooks, a pivotal transition from the mainstream ELT to critical ELT has been manifested. In a more precise word, achieving the joint goal of fostering social development and language skill development on the part of learners, the awareness-raising and controversial topics and content have substituted for neutral and sanitized topics and content.