Feminist Pedagogy

Abstract

Although many, if not most, academics and others in the public arena today assume the need for a feminist pedagogy aimed at enhancing the educational experience of women and girls globally, this has not always been the case. A growing awareness of the need for feminist pedagogy was created by the pioneering research and pedagogy of committed feminist scholars (Hall & Sandler 1982; Sandler & Hall 1986; Harding 1987, 1992; Weiler 1988; Geismar & Nicoleau 1993; Rosser 1993, 1995; Maher & Tetreault 1994).Feminist pedagogybegins with the premise that gender and the social inequality it represents in the wider society are often reproduced in the classroom. Existing curricula and classroom practices contain sexist biases and patriarchal assumptions as reflected in the fact that the contributions of women are often absent from textbooks; girls and women are portrayed in stereotypic ways in much of the literature of all disciplines; girls and women are often directed to certain fields of study and are directed away from others; and teaching practices typically favor the learning styles of boys and men. Teachers informed by principles of feminist pedagogy seek to express feminist values and goals in the classroom and to challenge traditional androcentric knowledge (Geismar & Nicoleau 1993). Those adopting a feminist pedagogy ultimately seek to advance the status and education of women and girls by providing them with educational experiences that encourage consciousness‐raising, empowerment, and voice through active and innovative educational strategies (Naples & Bojar 2002). While there is no single definition of feminist pedagogy, basic principles include: (1) the centrality of gender as an analytical tool; (2) multiculturalism and inclusion of all students; (3) collaborative knowledge construction; (4) collaborative teaching; (5) encouraging voice through linking personal experience with learning; and (6) democratization of the teacher's authority and power.Feminist multicultural pedagogyis sometimes used to emphasize an awareness of the ways in which differences of race/ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, age, geopolitical location, and religious diversity can potentially translate into oppressive classroom interactions that reproduce dominant hierarchies, or alternatively, can contribute to enriching cultural interactions (Weir 1991; Brady 1993).