Critical Pedagogy Research Articles

Visual pedagogy and migration: Using Story Maps for teaching social phenomena

This article examines migration as a complex social phenomenon using innovative pedagogical tools such as Story Maps and virtual ethnography. the study focuses on how these tools enhance the learning process by integrating Paulo Freire’s critical pedagogy. Original empirical data was collected from student feedback and reflective exercises, demonstrating enhanced critical thinking and engagement. The study also highlights the challenges posed by technological access inequalities, emphasizing the need for equitable solutions.

CRITICAL PEDAGOGICS IN THE VIEW OF H.A.R TILAAR AND ITS RELEVANCE FOR NATIONAL EDUCATION

The research was conducted to find out how the critical pedagogic concept in the view of Prof. H.A.R. Tilaar and its relevance to national education. The purpose of conducting this research is because nowadays, on this day of a very fast globalization, besides its usefulness, it also causes several problems, including the loss of direction from national diversity and dehumanization. It is challenging to require a form of critical reflective attitude that is presented to the community. This effort can very effectively occur if there is a transformation in education. The change from traditional pedagogy to critical pedagogy is an alternative way of dealing with globalization. The methodology used is descriptive qualitative methodology which makes literature study and document collection the primary thing in data collection. The findings of this critical pedagogic research are in fact still very much needed and further encouraged in its concrete application to answer the challenges of globalization and to meet the golden Indonesia 2045.

Therapeutic-Use-of-Self as Relational Pedagogy in Occupational Therapy Education: A Qualitative Description Study.

Amid growing calls for relational teaching approaches in higher education to improve student learning outcomes and student and educator well-being, a need remains for effective relational pedagogies. Therapeutic-use-of-self (TUS) is an occupational therapy skill that centers the client-occupational therapist relationship, yet there is a dearth of research exploring its application as a pedagogy. This presents an opportunity for a widely used occupational therapy skill, TUS, to be adapted as a much-needed relational pedagogy. Objective. We explored the experience of TUS as a relational pedagogy in occupational therapy education from educator and student perspectives. Method. This qualitative description study borrowed from the evocative methodology of collaborative autoethnography. We, six researcher-participants, across two Canadian entry-to-practice occupational therapy programs, engaged in five discussions exploring the relationship between participant stories and contexts. Reflective memoing and reflexive thematic analysis were applied for analysis. Findings. Four themes were described: (a) education as transaction, (b) authenticity in learning, (c) experiencing TUS, and (d) relationship as resistance. Conclusion. With an emphasis on authenticity, empathy, power equity, and critical reflexivity, TUS challenges status quo approaches to education. Although neoliberalism challenges the feasibility of relational pedagogy in higher education, TUS holds promise as a relational and critical pedagogy.

““The last bastion of democracy”: teachers’ perceptions of the democratic potential of English curriculum”

Purpose Faced with increasing systemic constraints and pressures, secondary school English teachers often implement transactional approaches to pedagogy and curriculum aimed at improving student results on external exams, which are then used to rank schools. Despite the pressure to teach this way, teachers acknowledge the power of literature, literacy and language in the English curriculum as vehicles for educating students to be critical readers of texts for a democratic society. As such, the purpose of this paper is to share perspectives of secondary English teachers in relation to the democratic potential of their subject. Design/methodology/approach Using a qualitative case study method, this paper shares data from six Australian secondary school English teachers who work in culturally diverse schools. Teachers were interviewed about their perspectives regarding how the Australian English curriculum enabled and/or constrained the teaching of critical and creative thinking in support of a democratic society. Findings Using Marri’s model of multicultural democratic education, interview data were deductively analyzed to identify elements of the model, including critical pedagogies, disciplinary content and community building. Teachers were concerned that building critical literacy skills was minimized by the system and students’ personal dispositions. Originality/value The English teachers in this study held a strong belief that the subject of English could emancipate students, although they felt it might be “the last bastion” for a democratic education.

The Role of Critical Pedagogies in Early Childhood Education to Create Pathways into STEM for Racially Minoritized Communities

This longitudinal study examines the long-term impact of critical pedagogy on the academic and social development of students from a marginalized Mexican American borderland community, with a specific focus on their trajectories in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields. Drawing on in-depth interviews with three students who participated in a critical pedagogical approach during their formative elementary years, this case study explores how power, agency, and curiosity were cultivated in the classroom and how these elements influenced the students’ pursuit of higher education and careers in STEM ten years later. The findings reveal that an equitable distribution of power and the fostering of student agency through critical-based pedagogies empowered students to engage critically with their learning and to challenge systemic barriers. Furthermore, this study highlights the role of early curiosity in sustaining students’ interest in STEM, despite encountering obstacles in higher education environments dominated by market-driven influences. By situating this research within the broader context of critical pedagogy and its emphasis on social justice, the study underscores the transformative potential of education in shaping the futures of minoritized students in STEM disciplines.

PP183 Topic: AS16–Medical, Nursing and AHP Workforce & Education: Staff Education and Development/Equity, Diversity, Inclusion/Other: COLLABORATIVE REGIONAL PAEDIATRIC CRITICAL CARE EDUCATION FACILITATED BY YORKSHIRE AND HUMBER PAEDIATRIC CRITICAL CARE OPERATIONAL DELIVERY NETWORK (PCCODN)

PP183 Topic: AS16–Medical, Nursing and AHP Workforce & Education: Staff Education and Development/Equity, Diversity, Inclusion/Other: COLLABORATIVE REGIONAL PAEDIATRIC CRITICAL CARE EDUCATION FACILITATED BY YORKSHIRE AND HUMBER PAEDIATRIC CRITICAL CARE OPERATIONAL DELIVERY NETWORK (PCCODN)

Nurturing diversity in accounting through “Queering” accounting pedagogy

This article suggests new possibilities to nurture diversity, disrupt heteronormativity and create space for voices of LGBTIQA+ people in accounting. Whilst past research focuses on and challenges heteronormativity in the accounting workplace, we argue that accounting education plays a key role in shaping sexual norms in accounting. We begin by providing insights into how current accounting education largely neglects LGBTIQA+ perspectives, shaping a discourse around sexuality that reflects heteronormative accounting workplaces. We then build upon the theoretical backdrop of queer theory and critical pedagogy to develop LGBTIQA+ perspectives in accounting education. In doing so, we conceptually advance five lenses through which to design modes of education based on queer pedagogy. These lenses include question and deconstruction of normality, critical reflexivity, discomfort, imagination, and activism. Queering accounting pedagogy in this way can assist educators and students in addressing the concealment of LGBTIQA+ perspectives, thereby critically challenging the hidden curriculum of heteronormativity in accounting. The paper concludes by contending that queering accounting pedagogy can bring possibilities for broader classroom inquiry, democratic participation, social justice, meaningful dialogue, and mutually respectful educational practices in accounting.

Resisting ideological echo chambers: if we are all critical pedagogues, how will we know we are doing LD well?

At the launch of How to be a Learning Developer in higher education (Syska and Buckley, 2024), a common thread emerged during contributor presentations: the need to develop a shared critical approach to position ourselves effectively within higher education. This approach would identify and implement strategies to resist the challenges of neoliberalism, working towards social justice for our students, using critical pedagogy. These themes are relatively common in the LD literature, and the ALDinHE value of ‘embracing […] critical pedagogy’ accompanies the manifesto statement that ‘neutrality is not an option’ (ALDinHE, 2023). These terms carry political connotations and implications for LD practice. Together, these factors suggest a move to develop a ‘signature’ critical LD pedagogy, underpinned by an explicitly ideological vision. Under these circumstances, we risk constructing ‘a bounded, enclosed media space that has the potential to both magnify the messages delivered within it and insulate them from rebuttal’ (Jamieson and Capella, 2008, p.76) — in short, an echo chamber. This raises some important questions: Given the explicitly political nature of critical pedagogy, in recruitment of new LD colleagues, should we test for and limit entry to our critical pedagogy club to those with ‘acceptable’ political views? Critical pedagogy is skeptical of dominant narratives. How will we prevent critical pedagogy from becoming the dominant narrative in our community? What if we are wrong? Even if our diagnosis of the challenges we face is correct, how will we test our solutions in the absence of robust challenges from alternative perspectives?

‘The exciting AI adventure’: reflections on the ethical use of generative AI in academic writing

Generative AI is rapidly and radically changing reading and writing practices and compelling HEIs to adopt new strategies for promoting academic integrity and incorporating emergent literacy-enhancing technologies into curriculum delivery. In his presentation, Lee-Price critically reflected on two academic writing workshops intended to develop undergraduates’ understanding of academic integrity and demonstrate a constructive and critical use of AI in academic work. The workshops were designed with the aid of ChatGPT, with one of them incorporating a paraphrasing activity using QuillBot. Lee-Price explored how practitioners can work with AI in a way that embraces ALDinHE’s (2023) five values of Learning Development: in particular, supporting staff and students to ‘make sense of’ HE and foster ‘critical pedagogy’. In his analysis of the design and delivery of the workshops, Lee-Price adopted an academic literacies approach that encourages ‘alternative ways of meaning making in academia […] by considering the resources that (student) writers bring to the academy’ (Lillis and Scott, 2007, p.13). He also drew on the concept of ‘slow reading’, which resists an emphasis on efficiency and the associated view of reading as information extraction, promoting instead ‘an ethical relation of openness with the otherness, ambiguity and strangeness of the text, and how this openness to intensity and intimacy can be transformative’ (Walker, 2017, p.xx). Themes explored included co-creation, lived experience, and ethical responsibility. Lee-Price proposed that Learning Developers should proactively support their institutions in engaging innovatively with the practical, pedagogical, and ethical challenges (and opportunities!) arising from AI.

Bringing the community into the classroom: professional identity and practice of social workers who studied alongside at-risk adolescent girls

ABSTRACT This study explores the professional identity development of social workers who participated in an academic elective course alongside at-risk adolescent girls aged 16–18. The course, influenced by critical pedagogy, and community and feminist social work, emphasized three core principles: flattening power hierarchies, challenging socio-structural oppression, and mutual learning. In-depth interviews were conducted with course graduates, social workers with 1 to 4 years of experience. Phenomenological analysis uncovered that the course acted as a ‘transitional space’ between student and professional life. Three subthemes emerged: recognizing the vulnerability and strengths of adolescent girls, reflecting on personal life experiences, and learning about forming partnerships with clients. Forming partnerships with clients was enabled by three vehicles: daring to be equal, daring to be authentic, and learning from clients’ knowledge. This study highlights the creation of a ‘community of practice’ through innovative teaching methods and community involvement. It underscores the importance of hands-on experiences and engagement with real-life contexts to bridge the gap between theory and practice, enhancing understanding of concepts like partnership and nonhierarchical approaches in both community and general social work.

Critical Pedagogy Against the Neoliberal Agenda in Education: The Stance of Critical Educators

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Application of Paulo Freire’s Critical Pedagogy Principles to the Jewish–Arab Interface in Israel: Dialog, Awareness, and Identity

Paulo Freire’s critical pedagogy has been implemented in many, diverse fields; in this article, I will present the implementation of Freirean thought in a new field that has not been mentioned in the literature to date—the encounter between groups in conflict. I will do this through the educational encounter between Jews and Arabs in Israel. In this article I will argue that the principles of the Freirean approach, mainly the dialog proposed by Freire, are most suitable for running educational dialog between groups in conflict. The use of Freirean dialog principles in meetings between Arabs and Jews is preferable to dialogs based on psychological principles. Freirean dialog does not ignore reality; on the contrary, it originates in reality and combines it with theory. Thus, it allows the participants to reach an awareness of the conflict and their role in it, and enables them to reconstruct their identity and take action if they so desire in order to change reality.

How Economically-Marginalized Adolescents of Color Negotiate Critical Pedagogy in a Computing Classroom

Background & Context: With the growing movement to adopt critical framings of computing, scholars have worked to reframe computing education from the narrow development of programming skills to skills in identifying and resisting oppressive structures in computing. However, we have little guidance on how these framings may manifest in classroom practice. Objectives: To better understand the processes and practice of critical pedagogy in a computing classrooms, we taught a critically conscious computing elective within a summer academic program at a northwest United States university targeted at secondary students (ages 14-18) from low-income backgrounds and would be the first in their families to pursue a postsecondary education (i.e. first-generation). We investigated: (1) our participants’ initial perceptions of and attitudes toward the benefits and perils of computing, and (2) potential tensions that might emerge when secondary students negotiate the integration of critical pedagogy in a computing classroom. Methods: We qualitatively coded participant work from a critically conscious computing course within a summer academic program in the United States focused on students from low-income backgrounds or would be the first in their family to pursue a post-secondary education. Findings: Our participants’ initial attitudes towards technology were mostly positive, but exhibited an awareness of its negative impacts on their lives and society. Throughout the course, while participants demonstrated a rich social consciousness around technology, they faced challenges in addressing hegemonic values embedded in their programs, designs, and other classwork. Implications: Our findings revealed tensions between our participants’ computing attitudes, knowledge, self-efficacy, and social consciousness, suggesting pathways for scaffolding the critical examination of technology in secondary education. This study provides insights into the pedagogical content knowledge necessary for critical computing education.

Reclaiming Social Justice

Abstract: A central tenet of the social work profession is its commitment to social justice. This commitment is outlined by the major governing bodies across social work education and practice, intra- and internationally. However, clinical social work has historically been influenced by the evidence-based movement and broadly adopted medicalized models of practice by focusing on treatment model adherence and symptom reduction. Consequently, clinical practitioners have been criticized for not adequately addressing systemic oppression and social injustices affecting vulnerable and historically marginalized populations. The absence of a social justice orientation to clinical practice not only lacks alignment with social work's core values but, in the current socio-political environment, may further perpetuate oppression. Clinical supervision, a staple in developing professional skills for graduate students and novice clinicians, offers an ideal pedagogical space for developing the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral skills and competencies needed to engage in social justice-focused practice. The aim of this article is to offer a supervisory framework, the Critical Relational Model (CRM), grounded in a metatheory that integrates principles from critical theory, critical pedagogy, and anti-oppressive and decolonizing frameworks, applied through a relational lens. A second aim is to demonstrate how the CRM can be immediately applied to practice with novice clinicians, graduate students, and any other clinical practitioner wishing to enhance their effectiveness and participation in creating a more equitable and just society for all.

The Applicability of Critical Pedagogy in Adult English Language Teaching (ELT)

This paper explores the applicability of critical pedagogy in adult ELT, emphasizing its role in fostering social awareness and change. Critical pedagogy encourages learners to critically examine their social reality, engage in meaningful dialogues, and become active agents for social justice. However, incorporating this approach into adult ELT faces some challenges. This study addresses four major obstacles to critical pedagogy implementation. The four challenges are a) lack of teacher preparation, b) potential risk of misguiding learners, c) cultural barriers in certain countries and regions, and d) insufficient infrastructure for aligning materials and assessment with critical pedagogy. Despite these challenges, evidence from literature and existing successful case studies suggest that critical pedagogy can be integrated inro ELT with thoughtful adjustments. The current paper provides insights for adult English program leaders to overcome such challenges and implement critical pedagogy effectively, thus empowering learners to achieve both linguistic proficiency and social transformation.

Enhancing Trust and Embracing Vulnerability in the College Classroom: A Reflection on Ungrading and Co-Creation in Teaching and Learning

In this reflective essay, we explore how we and our students experienced trust and opened ourselves up to being vulnerable in two iterations of a course that was built on the pedagogies of ungrading and co-creation in teaching and learning (CCTL). As approaches that fall under the broader umbrella of critical pedagogy, ungrading usually involves an alternative to conventional alphanumeric grading systems, while co-creation in teaching and learning consists of a varied scale of student-and-instructor partnerships in the classroom. The course contexts explored here take ungrading to mean student self-assessment and self-assignment of grades, and our implementation of co-creation focused on significant elements of the course such as expectations, content, assignments, and assessments. We suggest that our combination of these pedagogies exposed the significance of vulnerability to nurturing trust in the college classroom. After an overview of the salient points in the literature on these pedagogies and a discussion of trust and vulnerability, we recollect our own experiences of them in a co-taught second-year honors course. Drawing from our reflections and those expressed in student writing, we observe that we brought a significant level of trust in each other and our students to the course. Further, we note that the processes of sharing authority embedded in both pedagogies significantly deepened that trust while also underscoring, in retrospect, the remarkable degree of vulnerability made accessible to students and instructors alike. Instructors who wish to implement these approaches should be keenly aware of the additional opportunities that trust and vulnerability, as made possible via these pedagogies, offer for building relationships in the classroom and working toward increased inclusivity and equity in the course community.

Critical thinking in preparation for student teachers’ professional practice: A case study of critical thinking conceptions in policy documents framing teaching placement at a Swedish university

This paper explores the conceptions of critical thinking in national and local policy documents for teaching placement, using the case of teacher education programs at a Swedish university. The concept under scrutiny is based on three contemporary theoretical models of critical thinking in education: critical thinking movement, critical pedagogy, and “criticality” movement. In Sweden, the teacher profession is framed with a broader socio-ethical scope than the focus on individual cognitive skills of the critical thinking movement. Critical reflection and self-reflection, two conceptions identified with the criticality ideal of education for critical being, prevail in the analyzed documents.

Teaching for Social Justice: How Educators Address Inequalities in STEM Education

Inequalities in STEM education remain a persistent issue, disproportionately affecting underrepresented groups, including women, minorities, and low-income students. This study aims to explore how educators address these inequalities through social justice frameworks in their teaching practices. Grounded in theories of culturally relevant pedagogy and critical pedagogy, the research investigates the role of teachers as key agents in promoting equity in STEM classrooms. A systematic literature review was conducted, drawing from case studies, academic articles, and policy reports, focusing on strategies that educators use to create more inclusive and supportive learning environments. The findings reveal that educators utilize a range of methods, such as differentiated instruction, inclusive curriculum design, and culturally responsive teaching, to address disparities in STEM education. However, significant challenges, including limited resources and inconsistent institutional support, hinder full implementation. This paper highlights the importance of teacher agency and the need for professional development programs that equip educators to better address social justice in STEM education. It contributes to existing literature by providing a comprehensive analysis of best practices while identifying gaps in research on long-term impacts and global applicability.

The Adverse Effect of Dehumanizing Practices on Student Engagement and Learning in English Language Teaching Classroom

Knowingly or unknowingly, forgetting our multilingual and multicultural scenario, teachers’ behaviors may create social inequalities and injustices in the classroom; in the name of the dominant language of the school and power relation. Our classroom context is multilingual, multicultural and bilingual where students come from different economic and linguistic background. To some extent, our school system, including textbooks, instruction, curriculum, teaching practices seem to have influenced by the dominant ‘English/Nepali only’ approach. Furthermore, some teachers may not motivate minority students looking their low economic status, uncombed hair, roughly managed shirt-paint, unpolished shoes and low proficiency in English language. In this context, this paper aims to analyze the difficulties and struggle of demotivated (due to teachers’ bias behaviors and friends’ insult upon their appearance and language) Nepali language speaking children’s experiences as they feel insulted in school environment. To fulfill this objective, I adopted narrative research design in line with the qualitative research method. Discussing on the basis of classroom observation and unstructured interviews with the student, this paper analyzes that how the learners are marginalized and forbidden equal access to participate in the mainstream of social and political life that enhances their better learning opportunity and participation in classroom and society to what Bourdieu’s word symbolic violence with some examples of how such social inequalities and injustices are seen in school’s teaching-learning practices. Specially, given the problematic nature of schooling for such learners in some of the schools in Nepal, this paper highlights the need for socially responsive school policies and critical pedagogy, aiming at challenging and changing certain practices having identified a problem; originally propounded by Paulo Freire, a Brazilian educator; understanding the difficulties of living in poverty, local context entertaining the linguistic and cultural diversity of students. This study contributes to all the educational stakeholders to update and change themselves as human- friendly behaviours with the learners that can maintain social equalities and justice.

Good critics, good criticism: rethinking critical pedagogy in a production economy

ABSTRACT As symbolic production has eclipsed critical consumption, teaching critical communication methods is marked by challenges and opportunities. In this essay, I describe the impact of a critical-pedagogical incongruity on our discipline’s ability to fulfill its vocational and civic potential. I trace the confluence of historical, institutional, and economic factors contributing to our discipline’s critical-pedagogical challenges. And I consider how critical communication instructors can reaffirm the centrality of criticism through a meliorative pedagogy that amplifies critical communication’s unique contributions to a comprehensive liberal arts education by teaching students how to unite critical methods, character, and lived experience.