Critical Inquiry Research Articles

Deconstructing the critical in critical pedagogies: learner and teacher perspectives

ABSTRACT In this introduction to the special issue, we operationalize critical inquiry and its role in language education implemented through critical pedagogies. We then overview contributions and the diverse ways in which they advance discussions of critical inquiry.

From Echo Chambers to Critical Dialogue: A Comparative Case Study of Social Media-Based Pedagogy For Addressing Scientific Misinformation

In an era defined by rapid digital information dissemination, higher education faces the challenge of equipping students to navigate landscapes rife with scientific misinformation. This study addresses that challenge by evaluating a novel pedagogical intervention designed to move beyond traditional information-deficit teaching models. It presents a comparative quasi-experimental case study conducted with 84 undergraduate students in Azerbaijan, examining two distinct social media-based approaches to combating misinformation. The primary aim was to compare a control condition, in which students received curated fact-based content, with an experimental condition, in which students engaged in structured critical dialogue and collaborative media creation grounded in Critical Media Literacy (CML). Pre- and post-intervention assessments were conducted using a custom Misinformation Identification Test (MIT) and the Critical Thinking Disposition Scale (CTDS). The results reveal that while both student groups began at an equivalent baseline, the experimental group demonstrated a significantly greater improvement in accurately identifying scientific misinformation (p < .001) and showed a marked increase in critical thinking dispositions, whereas the control group’s gains were negligible. These findings suggest that pedagogical strategies emphasizing critical dialogue, peer-to-peer debate, and co-creation of content are substantially more effective than passive information delivery for fostering students’ resilience to misinformation. The study provides an empirically validated model for educators seeking to transform social media platforms from potential echo chambers into forums of robust critical inquiry.

Ideology and Identity in Teaching about Russia in the United States: 1945-1950

In 1945, predominantly white and male academics at elite postsecondary institutions, bolstered by nineteenth century industrialist wealth and connected to government and military elites, shaped and influenced the teaching of Russian in the United States in ways that remain traceable in the field today.Through critical inquiry the study finds that the field’s progenitors reacted to war and McCarthyism in ways that were color-blind, politically-averse, and self-preservational, exposing the roots of white supremacy and Russocentrism in Russian language textbooks. Critical race theory helpfully frames matters of anti-discrimination law and interest convergence regarding de jure and de facto forms of educational exclusion. The study locates and illuminates significant developments in Russian language instruction during and after the war. It also assesses and presents ideologies about teaching and learning Russian that were expressed contemporaneously by practitioners.

Contribution of modern industrial revolutions to securing socio-economic systems during the war against Ukraine

The modern industrial revolutions have significantly influenced social and political landscapes, prompting critical inquiries into the security and integrity of socio-economic systems, particularly in the context of military confrontation. This paper investigates the role of disruptive technologies associated with Industries 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0 in safeguarding socio-economic systems amid the ongoing russian war against Ukraine. The paper highlights how modern technologies have bolstered system resilience and adaptability by examining progress in green energy, transport transition, and the development of digital infrastructure and services before the war. Green energy and transport technologies have been instrumental in decentralization, energy networking, compensating for energy losses, and mitigating disruptions caused by the war. The proliferation of electric vehicles and the expansion of charging infrastructure have significantly reduced the potential impact of aggression, facilitating evacuations and supporting essential services during fuel shortages. Digital technologies have played a crucial role in ensuring continued access to education, employment, and communication, thereby strengthening societal resilience and reinforcing human capital, a key factor in socio-economic system security. This marks a shift from a technocratic to a system-synergistic, human-centered security model, where human capital becomes a core determinant of resilience, and technologies evolve from mere tools into integral elements of a sustainable socio-economic structure. Nevertheless, challenges related to technological dependencies, such as supply chain vulnerabilities and cyber threats, require further investigation in future research. AcknowledgmentsThe paper is prepared within the scientific research projects “Digital Transformations to Ensure Civil Protection and post-war Economic Recovery in the Face of Environmental and Social Challenges” (No. 0124U000549) and “Fundamental Grounds for Ukraine’s transition to a digital economy based on the implementation of Industries 3.0; 4.0; 5.0” (No. 0124U000576).

Teaching local difficult history through primary sources

Teaching about local, difficult pasts can center students, their communities, and civic action. However, doing so poses personal and professional challenges. Drawing from Critical Historical Inquiry and Activity Theory, this study explored how six experienced secondary social studies teachers reasoned about selecting primary sources to teach the history of policing and activism in Detroit. As teachers developed their text-sets, they navigated a variety of tensions related to their instructional goals, beliefs, and knowledge of students’ identities and communities. We focus on two common areas of tension: how to teach the racialized history of Detroit policing while positioning students as sense-makers and while attending to students’ affective well-being. Findings highlight the complex, situated nature of pedagogical reasoning and the promises and challenges of a critical historical inquiry approach to local, difficult history. Findings also underscore the value of teachers’ multidimensional expertise in designing difficult history curricula.

The Role of Dialect in Shaping Palestinian National Identity

This study examines the important role of the Palestinian Arabic dialect in the development and maintenance of Palestinian national identity. The research, situated within a qualitative, interpretive framework, analyzes linguistic characteristics, cultural expressions, and media products to comprehend how dialect serves as a symbol of resistance, unity, and historical continuity. The study illustrates, through thematic and contextual investigations of literary texts, musical lyrics, oral traditions, and cinematic works, that the Palestinian dialect functions as both a medium of communication and a carrier for collective memory, as well as a mechanism for cultural and political assertion. The results indicate that dialect contributes to the formation of identity across various geographic and geopolitical settings, particularly within displaced and diasporic people. The study examines critical research inquiries on the uniqueness of Palestinian Arabic, its significance in cultural production, and its impact on intergenerational identity transmission. Limitations due to the current war in Gaza and related displacement have impacted primary data collection, particularly the ability to conduct interviews. The research finishes by highlighting the dialect's significant value in preserving Palestinian identity and offers recommendations for future studies that combine ethnographic approaches and comparative analysis.

Decolonizing Artificial Intelligence: Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Epistemic Pluralism, and the Ethics of Technology

This paper explores the epistemological critique and reimaginings of artificial intelligence (AI) offered by Indigenous scholars, technologists, and artists. Challenging the dominant logics of data extraction, computational efficiency, and universalist rationality. Indigenous epistemologies foreground relationality, land-based intelligence, and spiritual responsibility as foundations for ethical technological practice. Drawing on publicly available documents, digital platforms, and urban academic discourses, particularly from the vantage point of a non-Indigenous researcher based in Delhi, this study examines how Indigenous AI critiques circulate across transnational and urban contexts, and the tensions they provoke when translated into mainstream AI ethics. Methodologically, the paper employs critical discourse analysis and reflexive inquiry, informed by decolonial theory and Indigenous data governance principles. Rather than advocating for mere inclusion, it argues for epistemic pluralism and solidarity, urging a reorientation of AI from extractive to relational ontologies. The study contributes to the broader project of decolonizing technology by highlighting the responsibilities of non-Indigenous scholars in supporting epistemologies that challenge and reframe what AI can and should be.

From Keywords to Use: The New European Bauhaus, Language, and Ethics in Architecture

This paper examines the keywords espoused by the New European Bauhaus (NEB) to investigate the relation architectural practice entertains with language and politics. The article explores an ethical orientation that adopts Giorgio Agamben’s notion of use to advance a critical inquiry into the application of keywords in the NEB such as together, sustainable, and beautiful, and thus into the very possibility of a correct spatial form for the social policies of the European Green Deal. Agamben’s notion of use brings to the fore the fact that both language and the common (il comune) are inappropriable. It also implies an ethical orientation, departing from this very limit, for the practice of architecture through the use of language.

ChatGPT and Digital Transformation: A Narrative Review of Its Role in Health, Education, and the Economy

ChatGPT, a prominent large language model developed by OpenAI, has rapidly become embedded in digital infrastructures across various sectors. This narrative review examines its evolving role and societal implications in three key domains: healthcare, education, and the economy. Drawing on recent literature and examples, the review explores ChatGPT’s applications, limitations, and ethical challenges in each context. In healthcare, the model is used to support patient communication and mental health services, while raising concerns about misinformation and privacy. In education, it offers new forms of personalized learning and feedback, but also complicates assessment and equity. In the economy, ChatGPT augments business operations and knowledge work, yet introduces risks related to job displacement, data governance, and automation bias. The review synthesizes these developments to highlight how ChatGPT is driving digital transformation while generating new demands for oversight, regulation, and critical inquiry. It concludes by outlining priorities for future research and policy, emphasizing the need for interdisciplinary collaboration, transparency, and inclusive access as generative AI continues to evolve.

Penerapan Film Pendek Edukasi dalam Meningkatkan EMC2 (Empathy, Compassion, Mindfulness, and Critical Inquiry) di SDN 105327

This study aims to examine the effectiveness of using educational short films in enhancing EMC² competencies (Empathy, Compassion, Mindfulness, and Critical Inquiry) among fifth-grade students at SDN 105327 Pedamean. The research employed a Classroom Action Research (CAR) approach carried out in three cycles, each consisting of planning, action, observation, and reflection stages. Data collection instruments included observation sheets, interview guidelines, and student reflection sheets. The results indicated a gradual improvement in EMC² competencies across the cycles. In the first cycle, students showed basic emotional responses but struggled to express meaningful reflections. The second cycle demonstrated increased empathy and compassion through group discussions and roleplay, while the third cycle showed significant growth in mindfulness and critical inquiry through mini debates and reflective journaling. Despite some challenges, such as varied individual responses and verbal participation barriers, educational short films proved effective in fostering students' social-emotional skills. This study recommends integrating short films as a creative and contextual strategy for character education in elementary schools.

Critical historical inquiry: A meta-ethnography of researcher frameworks, 2000–2022

ABSTRACT This article seeks to describe a critical historical inquiry (CHI) based on a systematic review of articles reporting on empirical field studies published between 2000 and 2022. During that period, CHI emerged as an increasingly popular framework for empirical classroom research in North America, particularly the United States. To be included in this review, articles had to: describe pedagogy in a secondary history class as “critical,” report on classroom instruction and/or student learning or student voice vis-à-vis that pedagogy, and focus primarily on history rather than civics instruction. We used a grounded, meta-ethnographic approach to analyze the collection of 40 journal articles. That analysis yielded a set of descriptive categories and further identified meaningful differences within those categories. Overall, we found that CHI seeks to encourage students to develop a critical historical consciousness in which present conditions of inequality are explained through histories that counter the master narrative. CHI researchers justified curricular concerns in explicitly political terms and, in the aggregate, presented a clear theory of history. These authors identified student alienation from school and from civic engagement as a major problem faced by teachers of marginalized students. They argued that CHI approaches affectively engage students in historical study that informs civic dispositions.

Teachers Navigating Faith and Inquiry Across Three School Types in Indonesia

This study examines how teachers in three types of Indonesian lower secondary schools—a general lower secondary (SMP), a madrasah (MTs), and a traditional pesantren—navigate the tension between cultivating religious faith and fostering critical inquiry. Qualitatively designed, the study employed purposive sampling to select teachers, principals, and vice principals from three school types under a single educational foundation. Data were gathered through focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews, and analyzed thematically to explore how Islamic education is understood and practiced. The findings of this study indicate that Islamic education in Indonesia’s lower secondary schools—across SMP, MTs, and pesantren—is a dynamic and context-sensitive practice shaped by institutional ethos, teacher interpretations, and local socio-cultural realities. The tension between faith and inquiry, a central theme in Islamic educational theory, is not experienced as a binary but negotiated along a continuum. Teachers support questioning to varying degrees, with SMP allowing guided inquiry, MTs placing faith-based boundaries, and pesantren emphasizing critical thinking within Islamic sciences. Integration of religious and secular knowledge also ranges from ethical linkages to philosophical unification, depending on institutional vision and pedagogical approach. Despite challenges, all three school types show selective adaptation to technological, curricular, and societal changes—preserving Islamic values while engaging with contemporary demands. This confirms that Islamic education in Indonesia is an evolving project—shaped by the people, context, and purposes it serves.

Exploring New Literacies: The Role of Weblogs in Developing Interpretive Skills in Literary Studies

This study examines the role of weblogs in developing interpretive skills in literary studies among advanced-level students at Immaculate Heart Girls’ School in Uganda. Using a Design-Based Research approach, the study examined how weblogs foster critical thinking, collaborative writing, and analytical discussions. Using surveys, literary essays, and weblog content analysis, findings revealed that weblogs enhanced students' ability to interpret complex literary texts through interactive discussions and reflective writing. Students demonstrated improved textual comprehension, deeper engagement, and greater confidence in expressing their literary interpretations. The study highlights weblogs as powerful tools for creating learner-centred environments that encourage active participation and critical inquiry. Since this approach has the potential to transform traditional literary instruction into a dynamic, collaborative, and technology-enhanced learning experience, this study recommends the integration of weblog-based learning into literature curricula, supported by continuous teacher training and strengthened digital infrastructure. However, barriers such as unequal access to digital devices, unreliable internet connectivity, and varying levels of digital literacy among students must also be addressed for successful implementation

The collapse of silicon valley bank: a critical analysis of regulatory shortcomings and risk management under Basel III

Abstract Silicon Valley Bank's (SVB) collapse exposes fundamental problems in risk management, regulatory control, and governance models even after Basel III and Interest Rate Risk in the Banking Book (IRRBB) standards. The main reasons for SVB’s failure were too much exposure to long-term fixed-income securities, inefficient liquidity management, and high concentration of deposits. Consequently, the extended absence of a Chief Risk Officer (CRO) led to governance problems. Additionally, SVB was subject to interest rate fluctuations and liquidity shocks due to regulatory exemptions granted under the 2019 Basel III tailoring. This study provides a critical inquiry into the nexus of SVB’s risk management failures, regulatory loopholes, and changing financial stability risks similar to that of Lehman Brothers (2008), Washington Mutual (2008), and Credit Suisse (2023) in the banking sector. The key finding is that social media-driven bank runs have become a well-known phenomenon, contributing to large-scale withdrawals at breakneck speeds. However, this is a departure from the traditional liquidity risk framework. This highlights the need for tighter securities implies of Basel III and more prescriptive governance mechanisms with reactions to the evolving financial risks associated with the digital era. To avoid collapses similar to the one that occurred and thus ensure that banking becomes less complex while at the same time maintaining financial stability, risk assessment models must be strengthened, stress testing carried out robustly, and supervisory measures implemented proactively.

Discomforting the Binary: Genealogical and Somaesthetic Critiques of Sex Designation

Abstract This paper draws on Michel Foucault’s genealogy and Richard Shusterman’s somaesthetics to analyze and resist the resurgence of legally enforced sexual binarism in the U.S., U.K., and New Zealand. These laws reflect biopolitical mechanisms that normalize and exclude intersex, trans, and non-binary individuals. Framing “sex” as a regulatory fiction, the paper integrates Foucault’s critique of biopower with Shusterman’s pragmatic focus on embodied experience. I propose a somaesthetics of discomfort—a practice that views bodily misfitting not as pathology but as a prompt for critical inquiry. Through recent biological inquiry and memoir, the paper offers a pragmatist intervention that resists essentialism and affirms somatic experience as a site of knowledge and transformative resistance.

The Editorial Note

It is with distinct scholarly satisfaction that we present Volume XIII, No. 1 (June 2025) of The Lumbini Journal of Business and Economics (LJBE) a ‘Double-blind peer-reviewed’ academic journal committed to advancing knowledge in business, economics, and interdisciplinary research relevant to contemporary socio-economic discourse. LJBE has continually served as a vital academic platform for researchers, practitioners, and policy thinkers by publishing empirically grounded and theoretically robust studies that address critical issues in national and global contexts. In alignment with our mission, this volume brings together a collection of high-quality research articles that reflect methodological rigor, conceptual clarity, and scholarly relevance. On behalf of the editorial board, I extend my sincere appreciation to Mr. Surendra Shrestha, Chairman of the Campus Management Committee, for his consistent encouragement and institutional support. I am equally grateful to Prof. Dr. Tara Prasad Upadhyaya, Campus Chief, whose academic stewardship and strategic guidance have been invaluable to the continued growth of this journal.We deeply acknowledge the contributions of our valued authors; whose intellectual efforts and research excellence are the foundation of this publication. Their willingness to engage in scholarly dialogue and respond constructively to reviews has enhanced the overall quality of this issue. My heartfelt thanks go to our dedicated reviewers, whose insightful, anonymous evaluations uphold the integrity of our double-blind review process and ensure the academic merit of each publication. The editorial team also deserves commendation for their meticulous work in managing submissions, coordinating reviews, and ensuring editorial precision. We remain steadfast in our commitment to academic excellence and invite continued contributions that advance critical inquiry and informed dialogue in business and economics.

“Every war is a war of words and images”: an interview about Gaza with W.J.T. Mitchell

Abstract W.J.T. Mitchell is Gaylord Donnelley Distinguished Service Professor of English and Art History at the University of Chicago and editor of the journal Critical Inquiry. He is an iconology and cultural studies expert, and his works include Iconology: Image, Text, Ideology (1986), Cloning Terror (2011) and the collection of influent essays What Do Pictures Want? (2005), awarded the 2006 James Russell Lowell Prize from the Modern Language Association. He has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. This conversation with W.J.T. Mitchell focuses on the image media representation of the ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza to develop an approach to the visual particularities of this event. This interview aims to gain insight from cultural and visual studies about how conflict is represented and perceived in society, the media or contemporary culture. In light of his previous works Cloning Terror and “Eyeless in Gaza,” we explore and contrast the role and typology of the actual spreading of war images and how these can affect and even turn our perception of the events.

Drama as Dialogue: Reflective Practitioner Insights on Teaching English-Language Plays in Saudi Higher Education

This paper explores the pedagogical possibilities and challenges of teaching English-language drama in Saudi Arabian universities, where English functions as the medium of instruction in literature courses but is not students’ first language. While drama is often included in English literature curricula, it receives limited attention as a distinct mode of literary engagement with unique educational affordances. Drawing on theoretical perspectives from literature education and language pedagogy, as well as reflective practitioner insights drawn from the author’s classroom experience teaching plays such as Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and Shaw’s Pygmalion, Arms and the Man, and Major Barbara, this paper argues that drama offers valuable opportunities for oracy development, interpretive reading, and dialogic learning—especially in multilingual contexts. The discussion highlights how the performative and collaborative nature of drama can support deeper student engagement with character, voice, and theme. At the same time, it considers the linguistic, cultural, and institutional constraints that shape drama instruction in Saudi higher education, including the sociolinguistic environment, assessment practices, and classroom norms. By reflecting on drama as both text and practice, the paper invites a reimagining of how literature is taught in English-medium classrooms, proposing drama as a dynamic space for critical inquiry, linguistic expression, and cultural dialogue. The Saudi context provides a lens through which broader questions about literary pedagogy, language policy, and multilingual education in the university setting can be reconsidered.

Tales of a fourth-grade nothingburger: a critical inquiry into deficit-framed research.

Deaf education research has long been preoccupied with the literacy levels of deaf students, particularly related to the idea that the average deaf high schooler graduates reading on the fourth-grade level. This statistic has been a rationale for countless interventions aimed at improving a so-called performance gap between deaf and hearing students. However, this statistic has also caused harm to deaf individuals, as research continues to frame the reading achievement of this population as a deficit in need of remediation. In this article, we performed a qualitative analysis of 14 articles published in the Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education that used research on the fourth-grade reading level statistics as a basis for their work to understand the theoretical frameworks, results, implications for practice, and overall article approach of these works. We found that the majority of these works tended to use a negative, deficit framework for understanding deaf students' reading and made recommendations that maintain a hearing status quo. We close by arguing for research that adopts more revolutionary and evolutionary frameworks that challenge the status quo and support researchers in understanding deaf students' reading development separate from how it compares to hearing students.

Expanding worldviews on psychometric analysis of measurement tools in health professions education and research.

Worldviews influence research-from design to interpretation and reporting. Historically, psychometrics has been predominantly situated within a positivist paradigm, while social research has often aligned with interpretivist or critical paradigms. However, emerging perspectives in the philosophy-of-science are challenging this rigid alignment, inviting a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between worldviews and methodologies in the health professions. This article explores bothhistorical and emerging worldviews related to psychometrics-asking readers to reconsider assumptions and preconceived ideas about which worldview applies to this field of research. Furthermore, this article challenges the psychometrics community to consider how the field can occupy seemingly competing worldviews and approaches, including those that have historically been more commonly associated with qualitative research-such as critical theory (under the broader umbrella of critical inquiry) and reflexivity. Using illustrative case examples applicable to the anatomical sciences and health professions, we discuss the evolution of perspectives on psychometrics and its relationship to worldviews through the lenses ofclassical test theory and item response theory to the contemporary paradigm of "critical psychometrics".