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Start Over Author "Portelli, John P." Topic democracy
5 results on '"Portelli, John P."'

1. Inclusive Education: Beyond Popular Discourses

Author

Portelli, John P. and Koneeny, Patricia

Abstract

The popular discourse of democratic education is home to numerous myths surrounding our conceptions of what inclusion means in today's schools. Certain beliefs like the idea that offering equal opportunities for participation to all students regardless of individual need, which conflates equality and equity, or that democracy in classrooms involves nothing more than limitless inclusion are upheld as go-to solutions for the inevitable dilemmas for educators committed to inclusion. This paper argues that philosophical clarification of the concept of inclusion is urgently required by teachers, policy makers, and theorists of education committed to both democracy in education and democratic education. Our most urgent concern is related to the inherent attitude toward deficit implied by different understandings of inclusion. This is not necessarily due to the unclarities and ambiguities associated with the concept itself, but rather reflect the calculated and anticipatory way educators tend to approach classroom practice. We argue that with careful philosophical clarification, along with an entirely new stance on the part of teachers regarding their pedagogical practice and a reconceptualized notion of student 'needs,' the concept of inclusion can continue to remain not only useful but essential to creating a robust democratic community in the classroom.

Published
2018

2. Social Justice: The Missing Link in School Administrators' Perspectives on Teacher Induction

Author

Pinto, Laura Elizabeth, Portelli, John P., Rottmann, Cindy, Pashby, Karen, Barrett, Sarah Elizabeth, and Mujuwamariya, Donatille

Abstract

Critical scholars view schooling as one piece of a larger struggle for democracy and social justice. We investigated 41 school administrators' perceptions about the role and importance of equity, diversity and social justice in new teacher induction in the province of Ontario. Interviews reveal that principals were interested in shaping teacher induction programming in their schools and school districts, but that they regularly prioritized technical issues like classroom management and pedagogy over systemic issues like equity and social justice. When asked directly about equity, principals spoke about learning styles, special needs and differentiated instruction, but they regularly ignored new teachers' abilities to counter systemic oppression--racism, sexism, and classism. Our findings suggest that without an explicit focus on equity and social justice in provincial policy documents, teacher induction programming runs the risk of reproducing a transmission model of new teacher education. (Contains 1 figure and 2 footnotes.)

Published
2012

3. Student Engagement in Urban Schools: Beyond Neoliberal Discourses. Issues in the Research, Theory, Policy, and Practice of Urban Education

Author

McMahon, Brenda J., Portelli, John P., McMahon, Brenda J., and Portelli, John P.

Abstract

The focus of this book extends the discourse on student engagement beyond prescriptive definitions and includes substantive ethical and political issues relating to this concept. As such, this collection includes voices of educational theorists, practitioners, and students. It provides a counter discourse to the current dialogue on student engagement in educational theory and practice which equate it primarily with behavioral and attitudinal characteristics including student compliance and qualities of teaching or teachers. In this collection, engagement is not viewed simply as a matter of techniques, strategies or behaviours. Rather, the understandings of student engagement presented, while distinct from each other, are imbued with a common vision of education for democratic transformation or reconstruction as operational for and in democratic communities. Contributors to this volume examine issues of the purpose of student engagement, and the question of the criteria, standards, and norms which are used to determine the quality and degree of engagement, and ultimately whether or not all forms of student engagement are equally worthwhile. This collection is intended for use in teacher and administrator preparation programs as well as school and district professional development initiatives. Contents of this book include: (1) The Challenges of Neoliberalism in Education: Implications for Student Engagement (Brenda J. McMahon and John P. Portelli); (2) From Student Voice to Democratic Community: New Beginnings Radical Continuities (Michael Fielding); (3) Education in and for Democracy: Conceptions of Schooling and Student Voice (Brenda J. McMahon); (4) Insiders versus Outsiders: Examining Variability in Student Voice Initiatives and Their Consequences for School Change (Dana Mitra and Ben Kirshner); (5) When Students "Speak Back": Student Engagement Towards a Socially Just Society (John Smyth); (6) Aspiration and Education: Toward New Terms of Engagement for Marginalized Students (Sam Sellar and Trevor Gale); (7) Transformative Student Engagement--An Empowering Pedagogy: An Australian Experience in the Classroom (David Zyngier); (8) Thinking the Unthinkable: Teachers Who Engage Students in Poverty: "In this class you can imagine..." (Geoff Munns); (9) Reconsidering the Rhetoric of Engagement: I and Thou in the Classroom (Deborah L. Seltzer-Kelly); and (10) Teaching Controversial Issues: An Educational Imperative (Amanda Cooper and John P. Portelli).

Published
2012

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