Transformative and critical education praxis in a teacher education lecture room

Abstract

The author of this article argues for an empowerment and transformation agenda in teacher education to confront the realities present in South Africa. The article draws on a two-year participatory action research study in a School of Education at a South African university. Using the core principles of critical pedagogy, the student teachers, working with literary texts as catalysts, committed themselves to transformation towards justice, equality, democracy and freedom and to becoming agents of change in their classrooms. Findings from the study revealed, firstly, the importance of recognising and using student teachers’ cultural capital and the historical, social, economic and political contexts that shape their lives. Secondly, while supportive environments of trust are conducive to learning, elements of provocation and discomfort are integral to critical reflection and to the disruption of student teachers’ thinking. More importantly, student teachers need to learn how to disrupt oppressive practices, and how to confront prejudices of their own and of others. Finally, active engagement and dialogue are essential to facilitate student teachers’ empowerment and transformation and for them to recognise the significance of having a strong philosophical and ideological underpinning to their social relationships, professional practices and conceptions of knowledge.