Critical Education

de Saxe, J. G., & Trotter-Simons, B.-E. (2021). Intersectionality, decolonization, and educating for critical consciousness: Rethinking praxis and resistance in education. Journal of Thought, 55(1/2), 3–20. https://discovery.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=8cc85b22-e99b-3627-8399-8577fc5f383d

• Democracy and Education:

  • Democracy is an ongoing struggle for political voice and social action.

  • Public education plays a vital role in fostering critical consciousness and democratic participation.

  • However, current university structures prioritize self-meritocracy and fail to prepare students to challenge inequalities and oppressions.

• Critique of Hegemony and Whiteness:

  • Liberalism seeks to suppress critical thinking and maintain the status quo.

  • Neo-liberal co-opting of diversity politics leads to inadequate representation and unsafe environments for marginalized groups.

  • Universities perpetuate whiteness as the norm, reinforcing racial hierarchies.

• Intersectionality as a Theoretical Framework:

  • Intersectionality provides a platform to recognize and analyze social inequalities based on various identifiers such as race, gender, age, and citizenship.

  • It challenges hegemonic understandings and traditional educational practices.

• Intersectionality in Resistance and Resilience:

  • Intersectionality enables resistance against whiteness and colonial ideologies.

  • It fosters differential consciousness and relationality, promoting solidarity and coalition-building.

• Decolonization Efforts:

  • Decolonization requires relinquishing colonial power and privilege.

  • Resistance and resilience are essential components of decolonization efforts, particularly in indigenous struggles.

• Educating for Critical Consciousness:

  • Merging intersectionality with pedagogical practices promotes transformative action.

  • Learning spaces should resist dominant institutional boundaries and challenge common-sense understandings.

  • Embracing cognitive dissonance and critical interrogation fosters liberation and social change.

Mernick, A. (2021). Critical arts pedagogy: Nurturing critical consciousness and self-actualization through art education. Art Education, 74(5), 19–24. https://discovery.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=eb4e31a1-9079-3b3c-86ee-e07709a8ab90

• Role of Schools in Critical Consciousness:

  • Schools can either perpetuate the status quo or act as agents of liberation.

  • Freire advocated for teachers to help students develop critical consciousness by identifying and analyzing systems of inequity and oppression in society.

  • Art making plays a crucial role in developing critical awareness and transforming the world by encouraging active participation.

• Artistic Process for Critical Awareness:

  • Art making involves observing, reflecting, envisioning, judging, and revising artwork.

  • Art can be used to imagine alternative worlds and challenge systems of oppression.

• Scaffolding Critical Consciousness:

  • Anti-racist and anti-bias education is gaining popularity, emphasizing the importance of teaching diverse artists and curricula.

  • Educators aiming for social justice must transform classrooms into spaces where students recognize, process, and challenge systems of oppression.

  • Token activism units are replaced by a curriculum that scaffolds critical consciousness over time.

• Incorporating Equity and Justice in Art Education:

  • Artistic techniques, concepts, and essential questions related to equity, liberation, and justice are incorporated into each unit.

  • Final projects focus on identity, grounding positionality, and recognizing spaces of power, oppression, and privilege.

• Classroom Activities for Critical Awareness:

  • Identity mapping exercises on the first day help students recognize how social contexts shape identity.

  • Exploration of contemporary artists' work helps students investigate identity through art and uncover hidden messages.

  • Exhibitions of finished works facilitate conversations around students' art and encourage critical practice and reflection.

• Assessment and Feedback:

  • Impact is measured by assessing for a critical lens and seeking feedback from alumni.

  • Continual cycles of critical self-reflection and improvement are essential for achieving the pedagogical goal of critical praxis.

• Creating Safe Spaces for Dialogue:

  • Classrooms should be safe places for critical dialogue, where students can engage in difficult conversations and understand power dynamics.

  • Students self-actualize as critical citizens and freedom dream through their artwork, envisioning and creating the world they want to inhabit.

• Modeling Liberated Classrooms:

  • Classrooms should be modeled after the liberated world educators wish to inhabit, with every aspect of planning and practice focused on meeting that goal.

Lyle, E. (2023). Learning with/in schools. Of books, barns, and boardrooms: Exploring praxis through reflexive inquiry (pp. 21-42). Brill. OF BOOKS, BARNS, AND BOARDROOMS: EXPLORING PRAXIS THROUGH REFLEXIVE INQUIRY.

• Lyle's childhood lesson: Experts lack all answers.

• Teenage experiences: Shame over agricultural background, striving for academic success.

• Post-degree journey: Working on the land, reflective riding, recognizing value outside academia.

• Challenges in teachers college: Criticism, lack of support, struggles with administration.

• Practicum experience: Creating flexible assignments, negotiating individually with students.

• Impactful student cases: Success despite low expectations, struggles of a ballet dancer.

• Shift in perspective: Embracing new visions in education, pursuing a master's degree.

• Adult learner program: Learner-centered, generative, giving voice to silenced individuals.

• Program extension: Obtained through learner confidence and communication with management.

• Program outcomes: GED certificates, secondary credits, trades training, personal growth.

• Principles of adult learning: Autonomy, respect, relevance, readiness, internal motivation.

• Relevance-oriented learning: Practical applications, tangible benefits, real-life scenarios.

• Reflective inquiry: Providing new perspectives, holistic education, acknowledging complexity.

• Humanizing practices: Guided learning, respect, trust, choice, relationality, philosophical implications

Palmer, P. (2017). The heart of a teacher: Identity and integrity in teaching. http://www.CourageRenewal.org <https://www.CourageRenewal.org>. https://couragerenewal.org/library/the-heart-of-a-teacher/

• Great teachers are diverse: Varied teaching styles and approaches lead to successful learning experiences.

• Identity and integrity in teaching: Teaching from true self, with authenticity and honesty, fosters connectedness and community in the classroom.

• Teaching for identity and integrity: Embracing one's shadows, limits, wounds, and fears while discerning life-giving ways of relating to oneself and others.

• Reclaiming the heart of teaching: No techniques exist; insights and understanding are sought to liberate from conditions that lead to losing heart.

• Reconnecting with the inner teacher: Recognizing the inner core of our lives as the source of transformative teaching and learning.

• Technique vs. true teaching: Technique serves as a temporary measure until genuine teaching emerges from identity and integrity.

• Talking to ourselves: Solitude, reflection, journaling, and other practices help connect with the inner teacher and find authority within.

• Balance between subject and student lives: Recognizing the diversity of perspectives among teachers regarding the primacy of subject matter versus student well-being.

• Creating safe spaces for honesty: Encouraging open dialogue about struggles and joys in teaching to foster healing and growth.

• Supporting each other: Providing encouragement and solidarity among fellow teachers to transcend fears and navigate challenges together.

Lyle, E. (2023). Learning with/in organisations. Of books, barns, and boardrooms: Exploring praxis through reflexive inquiry (pp. 61-73). Brill. OF BOOKS, BARNS, AND BOARDROOMS: EXPLORING PRAXIS THROUGH REFLEXIVE INQUIRY.

• Workplace instruction: Lyle takes charge of program design and development, focusing on learner-centered, generative programs.

• Program structure: Employees self-select and govern the program, which is employer-funded but allows flexibility in attendance.

• Organizational impact: The program breaks down barriers between organizational levels, fostering peer learning and collaboration.

• Expansion to corporate: Lyle is tasked with developing the learning model for multiple business units, facing challenges due to the physical and organizational distance between corporate headquarters and business sites.

• Challenges in implementation: Despite success at the initial business unit, replicating the model across other units proves difficult due to a lack of organic growth and collaboration.

• Resignation and new role: Lyle resigns to pursue a PhD but later becomes the national manager of learning for a human resource firm.

• Struggles with alignment: Lyle faces challenges in aligning her educational philosophy with the profit-driven approach of the executive leadership.

• Misalignment in training: Despite initial agreements, management shifts towards a one-size-fits-all approach, compromising the quality and customization of learning solutions.

• Impact on outcomes: The focus on profit over meaningful education leads to the failure of the product and eventual closure of the business unit.

• Commitment to meaningful education: Lyle emphasizes the importance of respect, deep communication, and trust in creating learning spaces that humanize education and prioritize learner needs.