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Learning is a multifaceted process involving acquiring knowledge, skills, abilities, and dispositions. The execution of a curriculum, as it pertains to how students engage with and master subject matter, has progressed beyond the standards-based accountability reforms of the 1980s. It now encompasses more than achieving behavioral change as a singular outcome in learning experiences. The traditional Skinnerian learning objectives have given way to the contemporary lens of critical pedagogy, emphasizing the learner's perspective, including critical race theory, feminism, and trauma-informed pedagogy. Regrettably, many accrediting bodies rely on standardized criteria as learning outcomes without considering the context or culture. In this paper, we argue that for learning to be transformative, we need to embrace integrated curricular models, which are essential and complex dimensions for learning across the lifespan. Because learning is situated, contextually grounded, and culturally relevant, our approach must transcend any single subdiscipline of kinesiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractPope Francis’ 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’ criticized human facilitation of the climate catastrophe and urged for a justice-centered approach to global warming issues. Since then, many Jesuit educational institutions have committed to sustainability in their operations, campus culture, and classroom curricula towards environmental justice. I argue that any justice-oriented climate education is improved when rooted in Black ecofeminist pedagogy that facilitates a deep engagement with the histories and potentialities of our environmental world. This article takes my course Race, Gender, and Environmental Justice as a case study that illuminates the contributions of Black ecofeminist pedagogy in interrogations of epistemological authority, developments of structural analytical frameworks, and embodied engagements with the lived world. I contend that it challenges Western Christian epistemological, methodological, and political norms and propels Jesuit environmental education toward a more critical posture of racial and gender justice. This article considers the many substantive contributions of Black ecofeminist pedagogy to environmental thinking and teaching, and how Jesuit institutions, with histories steeped in racial oppression, gender inequality, and sexual marginalization, have a distinct opportunity to engage with Black ecofeminism to move beyond perfunctory strategies of sustainability, and instead engage the deeply intersectional work of recognition, repair, and environmental justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Being a part of the CSWE’s Minority Fellowship Program was a space to ground my scholarly work as a Pinay (Filipina) scholar warrior and guardian of kapu aloha (sacred love in Hawaiian)/mahalaya/wayawaya ken ayat (love and freedom in Tagalog and Ilocano). In this article, I share my stance of serving the people and community through the use of Critical Indigenous Pedagogy of Place (CIPP), its process of refining the values of love and freedom, and how it is a source of healing and transformation through coalition building and solidarity work. Utilizing a critical autoethnography approach, I provide insights of my work, roles, and responsibilities. I end with implications to social work education and interdisciplinary work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractAbuse and oppression in medical education persists. Particularly when transitioning to practice, students and residents face dissonance between what they perceive as the ideals of patient care and reality. They witness, and eventually take part in, joking about fellow students and patients, discriminating against minorities, and imposing unbearable workload to subordinates, to mention some practices that have been normalized as the reality of medical training, beyond any possibility of change. We suggest that Critical Pedagogy, an educational movement rooted in Brazil that aims to empower learners and educators as full citizens, can help medical education reinstitute hope for a more humanistic culture by testing new realistic transformative actions, i.e., untested feasibilities, to promote change. We use vignettes based on real situations of oppression to present three concepts of Critical Pedagogy contextualized to medical education: (a) critical consciousness as praxis; (b) pedagogy with learners; and (c) education as a democratic relationship between individuals. The vignettes explore how each one of these concepts can support educators and learners to break chains of injustice and oppression. Perceiving disagreements as opportunities for change, legitimizing the perspectives and values of all engaged in analyzing reality, is needed to nurture critical consciousness. Critical Pedagogy understands education as a partnership of trust between learners and educators and seeks a pedagogy that is built with learners, not on them. Finally, we present suggestions for individual- and systems-level actions that can translate these principles of Critical Pedagogy into a praxis of untested feasibilities for medical education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how a spiritual pedagogy in religious education (RE) can contribute to children’s spiritual development to a larger extent than it currently does in the UK and in Norway. Contemporary RE focuses largely on knowledge transmission, but it could be reimagined to empower students to transform their lives by nurturing their spirituality. The paper starts by defining spirituality as a relational experience involving one’s connection with oneself, others, the natural world, and potentially the transcendent. This definition serves as a conceptual framing for the rest of the discussion, clarifying how spirituality is understood and how RE can nurture it. The paper then discusses Biesta’s pedagogical concept of subjectification, which opens up a space in RE to focus more on experiential and relational dimensions and individual empowerment. Empirically, I discuss the opportunities provided by Norwegian and British RE curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract“Applications” of knowledge symbolically and structurally “codify” thinking, often displacing the human who is relegated to passive, routine reproduction of operations and left with no space or time to understand or question the relations underlying the processes. This is both mirrored and augmented by the schematic narrowing of computational, calculative reason and nebulous or hidden code that is often read-only if human-readable at all. According to French philosopher Bernard Stiegler, this has toxic effects on learning, systemically and progressively embedding failures to think, hindering the potential for the collective and individual human adoption and adaptation of the knowledge of life. This article presents a process-based model to care for this problem through Stieglerian critical pedagogy, phenomenography, and process philosophy. The model evolved out of a course with the aim to achieve collective cultural literacy in that which “goes without saying” in the increasingly ubiquitous digital design of everyday life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractDrawing on data from six cohorts of student leaders who participated in political and civic leadership dialogues from fall 2017–fall 2020 (n = 53), this paper examines the pedagogical practices of facilitating political intergroup dialogue. Themes encompass considerations of setting the stage and facilitation strategies. Within these components, we consider recruitment, purpose and communicated intent, time, relationships, building and practicing skills, and preparation or co-teaching. Through an analysis of the shifts and changes made to facilitation over the four years of the program, our aim is to provide a set of best practices for practitioners and pedagogs looking to engage college students in dialogue across differences in this politically tense moment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Health equity curricula emphasizing critical pedagogy and centering perspectives of those with marginalized identities, both in curriculum design and execution, have yet to be described in interdisciplinary graduate medical education settings. Aim: The application of public health critical race praxis (PHCRP) in the redesign and evaluation of a social medicine immersion month (SMIM) curriculum. Setting: A mandatory, 4-week course within the Residency Program for Social Medicine in the Bronx, NY. Participants: First-year residents in internal medicine, family medicine, pediatrics, and clinical psychology fellows between 2019 and 2020. Program Description: Residents and faculty underrepresented in medicine employed PHCRP to ground SMIM in critical pedagogy and structural competency with the goals of increasing critical consciousness, sensitizing trainees to structural barriers faced by patients, and promoting meaningful engagement in advocacy. Program Evaluation: SMIM was evaluated pre- and post-curriculum using a validated critical consciousness and intersectionality survey, with additional questions to assess competency and behaviors. Participants also provided course feedback. Participants demonstrated significant increases across all domains of the measure (Racism + 1.62 (p <.01), Classism + 1.62 (p <.05), Heterosexism + 1.06 (p <.05)). Participant feedback was positive. Discussion: PHCRP is a valuable model for designing health equity curriculum. SMIM provides insights for incorporating this framework into GME curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research article, the authors examine the intersections of culturally sustaining pedagogy and critical family engagement to explore the possibilities for equitable family-school partnerships in urban schools. Based on the common values of trusting and caring relationships and power disruption within those fields, as well as data from a multi-year qualitative study of teachers and their relationships with students' families, the authors introduce the framework of teacher-family solidarity. The framework challenges traditional conceptions of parent-teacher relationships, and the supporting narratives of teachers and parent/caregivers illustrate that teacher-family solidarity should become an indispensable part of culturally sustaining pedagogy and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the role of Hip-Hop teaching artists in a school change initiative. A school-university-community partnership in a Canadian city, the project sought to develop a school-wide focus on the "urban arts" for student learning and wellbeing. The experiences of nine teaching artists over four years, examined through the lens of Critical Hip-Hop Pedagogy, offer insight into the roles of Hip-Hop based teaching artists in a nontraditional, arts-based, school change initiative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shortcomings of the current English secondary school history curriculum have been widely discussed since its inception in 2013. Less widely explored, however, are the narratives underpinning a key classroom resource: textbooks. In this paper, I review nine history textbooks currently in use in schools across the country, drawing on post-colonial theories in order to assess the extent to which the narratives of these textbooks are fundamentally rooted in Eurocentric discourses of superiority. Findings demonstrate that textbooks across the sample draw on outdated tropes when discussing Others in a global and historical context, ultimately reifying notions of 'Oriental' barbarism, despotism, and religious fanaticism, 'African' servility and submissiveness, and 'native' savagery and backwardness, whilst also emphasising ideas around European civility and advanced development. Accordingly, with few exceptions, the 'master narratives' of these textbooks wholly conform to the model I identify for Eurocentric worldviews, being (i) totalistic; (ii) oppositional; and (iii) teleological. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family therapists must have an appreciation for the complexity of the human experience. From a social justice lens, this requires therapists to work to not only eliminate human suffering, but to promote equity, inclusion, wellness. Within this manuscript using a Liberation Psychology framework we describe the development of a Research Methods course in a Master's Level Marriage and Family therapy program as an example of integrating social justice pedagogy intentionally across core curriculum. The intentional development of this course is connected to the aim of gradual and sustained exposure to diversity issues and content across the entire curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses findings from an ongoing qualitative studies about the incorporation of popular culture in university-based professional education. The focus is on how popular culture can become a curricular resource to support learning about theory or concepts and contentious or sensitive issues, at a time when neoliberal trends of consumerist ideology and technical vocationalism influence professional education and universities generally. Students who enter programmes expecting an emphasis on work-related information risk missing content and experiences designed to foster their development as well-informed, curious, and ethical professionals. Three tensions that emerged in the analysis are highlighted: un/applied, in/attentive, and a/critical. After grounding the study theoretically and reviewing literature on university-based professional education and public pedagogy, those tensions are outlined using segments of data to suggest the potential and limitations of a pedagogical approach that can make education both critical and enjoyable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How can we teach critical hope, amidst contemporary challenges that seem intractable, within neoliberal educational institutions that work to foreclose transformative pedagogies and through academic critique that can result in cynicism and disillusionment among students? Here, I draw on the writings of Paolo Freire, J.K. Gibson-Graham and Sarah Amsler, as well as long-term research at the University of Sussex in the UK, to propose a critical-creative pedagogy that enables students to better understand global challenges and to imagine alternative responses to them. Consisting of whole-person learning, the use of arts and design methods and praxis, this pedagogy aims to nurture students' critical hope. In this article I sketch an outline of its elements, advance philosophical arguments for their importance and share brief examples from my own teaching in International Development to show how it can be enacted in classrooms. Critical-creative pedagogy necessitates generative theorising that allows pedagogies of possibilities to emerge and grow, critical engagement with the neoliberal education system to find spaces for action, and a radical understanding of pedagogical creativity. It results in practices of pedagogical prefiguration that enable students, and educators, to collectively imagine heterodox responses to contemporary social, economic and ecological challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critical thinking is embedded in national university graduate outcomes and included in international bodies' statements on higher education. At the same time, there are tensions surrounding critical thinking in higher education, such as its commodification, Eurocentrism, and relationship to rapidly digitalising cultures. Drawing from the philosopher Bernard Stiegler's writings on human originary technicity, this paper argues that critical thinking takes different forms according to technical and cultural milieus. For Stiegler, human originary technicity makes prosthesis the human condition: we are biological and technical, both organic and inorganic matter. Reasoning, reflection, and evaluation are relative to the technologies of memory that form everyday and intellectual culture. Stiegler's analysis articulates how digitalisation threatens and protects reasoning and reflection, enabling the demonstration of how critical thinking takes specific forms in digitalised societies. The paper proposes prosthetic critical thinking as a practice that can embrace differing understandings of critical thinking, namely as skills and dispositions associated with reasoning and as the practice of critical pedagogy. The resulting understanding of critical thinking shows it to be a plural, inclusive, and contingent practice relevant to higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What does it mean, then, when we adopt and advocate a standpoint that is not tied to a single locus or body of experience, that in fact attempts to expand possibility rather than narrow it, that simultaneously values context while recognizing disconnection from it? What are the implications for thinking, teaching and doing, when the standpoint urges us to look outward and inward at the same time, demanding that we be rooted in the local even as we trace its threads to and from the global? In this essay, I respond to the provocation offered by Girginova et al. as they argue for a global standpoint in media and communication research, asking for a nuanced approach to positionality that allows for openness in both research and teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This response essay discusses the need to study global communication (GC) from different standpoints, the pitfalls therein, and strategies to overcome them. It starts with two reflections: from China, and on the uneven landscape of GC research and pedagogy around the world, where obstacles and opportunities co-exist. This is followed by a critique on comparative analysis that can be used productively, or it can lead to atheoretical comparativism that reproduces problems of the status quo. Two examples are given to showcase how critical GC pedagogies of power and counter-power can be carried out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Education for Life / Yaşadıkça Eğitim Dergisi is the property of Istanbul Kultur Universitesi and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this study, it was aimed to examine and evaluate the Social Studies Curriculum, which was announced by the Board of Education in 2018 and since then has been implemented. The curriculum was examined according to the critical citizenship approach, which is one of the citizenship approaches, taking into account the grade levels. This study was carried out using a case study design which is appropriate to a qualitative research methodology. Document analysis was used in accordance with the research design and objectives. According to some important findings obtained in the study, it has been observed that the program emphasizes the sense of identity as much as possible while neglecting content aimed at allowing individuals to freely express themselves. The program is shaped around a centralized identity understanding focused on culture, state, and society. The skills of active participation are addressed only in the context of maintaining the existing order and solidarity. The importance of democratic social movements and organized struggle, how they are or can be utilized, the inequalities that exist or may exist in society, and how these issues can be resolved; as well as concrete examples and practice-based information on how the dominant discourse is or can be effective in any area of political or social life, are not included. In general, it has been revealed that social studies education in Turkey, which aims to cultivate effective and responsible citizens, is not approached from a critical citizenship perspective and its content does not align with this approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers a semester-long approach to using generative AI in the public-speaking course. Using critical communication pedagogy, the authors provide practices to navigate the turbulence that has followed the emergence of publicly available generative AI tools. These tools have received negative attention because of their potential to facilitate academic dishonesty and undermine the learning process. Despite this concern, we've chosen to embrace these tools and the transformative power they have for public-speaking curricula. Course: Public Speaking. Objectives: Create an environment of co-learning with students; formulate expectations for student use of AI; develop a reflective process for students to critically evaluate AI material; and design assignments to encourage critical thinking skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community-based research (CBR) as a form of community-engaged learning (CEL) offers students valuable sociological practice and learning experiences. Although CEL strategies are well documented for enhancing students' sociological imagination, gaps persist in the literature regarding the impact on community partners. This article addresses the challenges and opportunities inherent in CEL, emphasizing the need for a balanced approach that enhances student learning while maintaining meaningful community partnerships. Through a case study of an undergraduate CBR class, this article highlights the instructor's role in building authentic community-academic relationships, providing a blueprint for designing high-impact pedagogical practices with real-world applications. Employing qualitative interviews focused on students' and community partners' experiences, the study probes power dynamics, potential inequalities, and time-intensive aspects. It introduces an instructor-anchored partnership model incorporating team-based learning, addressing these complexities and presenting a framework for effective community-based learning in sociological education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maximalist forms of media participation bring about innovative ways to empower people who experience homelessness while also holding the potential to challenge common stereotypes and media narratives related to homelessness. This paper is part of a broader research focused on developing media participation opportunities for unhoused populations. Its objective is to examine and discuss the compatibility of critical theories with media participation, drawing on the example of a participatory newspaper project conducted with unhoused people. The discussion is illustrated by several ethical issues that emerged from the process of co-creation. It concludes that critical theories provide a solid foundation for maximalist forms of media participation with unhoused people. However, it is crucial to acknowledge the potential risks associated with such participation endeavors. Therefore, it is recommended that the principles and practices of critical pedagogy be integrated into these projects. Furthermore, individuals involved in these efforts should be encouraged to draw on professional journalists' ethical codes and values. Failure to do so may increase the risk of harm to the vulnerable population and undermines the potential for individual empowerment, ultimately hindering community empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Modern Research in English Language Studies is the property of Imam Khomeini International University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Current educational reforms in Africa aim to cultivate problem-solving and critical-thinking skills among early childhood learners through a democratic educational approach. Ghana's newly adopted standards-based curriculum prioritizes the constructivist theory of learning which, among other aims, seeks the development of children's critical thinking skills and their ability to critique existing knowledge. Critical pedagogy proves to be an educational approach capable of empowering students in this regard. Hence, this study investigated teachers' and pupils' perspectives on the role of critical pedagogy in achieving these educational aims. Employing an exploratory case study design, 12 teachers and 20 pupils in four public elementary schools in Sunyani-West Municipal were involved in this inquiry. The study revealed that teachers hardly embraced critical pedagogy. They viewed this educational approach as a threat to their authority and a potential instigator of disobedience among pupils. Conversely, pupils perceived themselves as lacking the right to critique societal norms due to established traditions. Moreover, the political culture of Ghana was cited as one of the major reasons teachers frown upon critical pedagogy in early childhood development. Based on these insights, recommendations for policy and practice have been offered for consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this quantitative study was to identify the relationship between the political ideology of social work students and their experience in social work classrooms. BSW and MSW students (n = 507) representing 30 accredited social work programs across the United States responded to a survey. Primary independent variables included respondents' political philosophy, political party, and 2020 presidential vote. The survey contained Likert scale items assessing classroom experiences related to politics, which were combined into a composite score for each respondent to create the dependent variable, classroom experience ($\alpha $ α � = 0.854). ANOVA was used to test the relationship between each of the three major independent variables and classroom experience, finding that students identifying as conservative (F(3, 98.5) = 34.9, p <.001), Republican (F(3,108) = 30.7, p <.001), and 2020 Trump voters (F(3,76.9) = 20.4, p <.001) were more likely to report negative experiences related to politics in the classroom. Hierarchical linear regression was used to identify predictive variables on classroom experience, revealing that the strongest predictor of negative experiences in the classroom was a student's self-perception of their political ideology being incompatible with social work. Social work educators should consider cultivating classroom cultures founded on social work values and governed by principles of critical pedagogy to engage students with diverse political perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:Purpose:Method:Findings:Discussion:Conclusion:Despite its ubiquity in education discourses, social justice is a highly contested concept that can be framed in different ways [Dowling, F., H. Fitzgerald, and A. Flintoff. 2012. Equity and Difference in Physical Education, Youth Sport and Health: A Narrative Approach. Routledge]. The ‘social’ element of social justice is always framed by broader cultural and socio-political contexts. Therefore teaching for social justice cannot be conceptualised as a single pedagogy that can be enacted without regard for the learning content and the learning context.The rationale for this research is to bridge the gap between advocacy for pedagogies for social justice and practices done in the name. The specific aim of this paper was to explore how specialist primary school physical education teachers in Spain enact democratic practices that promote social justice by engaging students in decision making in ways that ensure their voices are heard and considered.The research was informed by Critical Incident Technique (CIT) methodology. Data were generated through six classroom observations and stimulated recall interviews with three Spanish primary PE teachers. Data analysis was informed by Paulo Freire’s [1970. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Seabury Press] democratic pedagogy and associated concepts of dialogue, problem posing and critical consciousness.The findings demonstrate how the teachers’ PE teachers’ practices have strong roots in democratic principles that are consistent with the scholarship of Freire. The two themes; (1) ‘Student-led dialogical encounters’ and (2) ‘Pedagogy of questioning and exploration’ provide insight into how the Spanish primary school PE specialists in this study teach for and about social justice in contextually relevant ways.These findings remind us that PE provides a fertile educational context for implementing democratic pedagogies due to its interactive activity-based context and curricular focus on holistic development. The findings provide insight into both how democratic pedagogies in PE are possible even with very young students.We argue that democratic pedagogies are essential to social justice outcomes in school PE. They can enhance student participation, foster relationships, and empower individuals to become active agents of change. Democratic pedagogies in primary schools provide a sound foundation for scaffolding a critical consciousness in secondary school PE contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents and analyses a teaching project focused on the acquisition of ethical competences to deal with moral dilemmas in the field of Social Work. The project used two pedagogical methods: Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and Theatre of the Oppressed (TO). The main objective was to raise students’ awareness of the importance of applied ethics in social work and to help them develop reflective and critical skills to solve ethical dilemmas. Through PBL, students were able to practice emotional skills by simulating ethical dilemmas in a familiar environment such as the classroom. The use of OT, on the other hand, allowed them to recreate professional situations, fostering creativity in a collaborative and participatory way by acting out scenes and swapping roles. The results of the study reflect a positive perception on the part of the students toward these methodologies, indicating that they have internalized the ethical lessons learned during the teaching process and that they have acquired critical skills to solve professional dilemmas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief account of my journey to implement applied theater in an elective social work education course in New York City, encouraging creativity, risk-taking, and methods for challenging oppression. The experience described supported my process of becoming a creative educator and my pedagogy for teaching critical-radical social work. Critical social work incorporates dialogue and self-reflection to excavate the roots of dehumanization. Radical social work uproots dehumanizing (internal and external) ideologies and practices of dominance (e.g. racism, transphobia, colonialism, white supremacy). Theatre in social work education (TIS WE) an active experiential learning process sets the stage for bringing critical-radical social work education to life by incorporating aesthetic distance, liminal space, intersectionality and embodied practice, scaffolding, and radical imagination. These components develop awareness of micro to macro processes and consequences; and demand holistic problem solving of bio-psycho-social-cultural conundrums, epitomizing critical-radical social work pedagogy. After earning my PhD and becoming a professor, I felt competent as a scholar-activist. However, I developed my identity, designed my practice, and honed my skills as a creative educator while simultaneously playing the roles of student in the Master of Arts in Applied Theatre (MAAT) program and social work educator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research was to explore the use of critical and transformative pedagogies in developing an online course to promote critical reflection, awareness, and action in fashion consumption. The study employed a design-based research (DBR) approach, which included two development cycles. The first cycle involved gathering feedback from potential participants (n = 112) on the initial course plan, while the second cycle focused on obtaining feedback from key respondents (n = 6). Based on the literature review and survey responses, the final course structure included six main classes: Fashion and Natures, Environmental sustainability, Fashion and People, Social sustainability, Sustainable Fashion Industry and Sustainable fashion choices. Each class included video content and illustrations, critical thinking and self-reflection, homework assignments and action, and meta-level reflection. The video content provided detailed information on each topic. Homework assignments were designed to encourage participants to take responsibility and collaborate, while questions related to class topic promoted self-reflection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Critical thinking is key for responsible occupational therapy practice. However, the degree to which educators understand critical thinking and the conceptualizations of such concept in teaching remains unclear. Aim: This study aimed to describe occupational therapy educators' perceptions and experiences of teaching critical thinking. Material and Methods: Social constructivism underpins the study. Eight participants were included in three online synchronous focus groups. One participant was interviewed in person due to time constraints. Data were analysed using content analysis. Results: This study reveals a considerable diversity of perceptions and experiences of ambiguity regarding educators' perceptions of what they know about and how to teach critical thinking. Most educators interpret critical thinking in ways that differs from their colleagues. Furthermore, educators encounter divergent expectations pertaining to their role as educators and the readiness of their students. Conclusions: This study reveal a paradox within the occupational therapy profession, where critical thinking is highly valued yet educators experience ambiguity, differing expectations of their role, time constraints, and lack of formal education to support students' development of critical thinking. Significance: This study provides the foundation for further inquiry into the invisible effects and benefits of different understandings of critical thinking on occupational therapy practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the Harvard Art Museums' ReFrame Initiative and the publication of the "Harvard & the Legacy of Slavery" report, the author reevaluates the display and discussion of images of enslaved people in ancient Greek art in the museum gallery. Ancient Greece relied heavily on the labor and crafts produced by enslaved people, and while enslaved people are common subjects of ancient art, a critical analysis of their representations and interpretations is not standard in art historical or museum discourse. This paper proposes a reading of these images that prioritizes the voice of the enslaved person and proposes strategies to foster dialogue about this topic in the art museum. In particular, the author recommends avoiding euphemisms in nomenclature and in annotated "chat" labels and invites alternative readings of images that take the embodied experiences of enslaved people in the ancient world into consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To meet the demands of the twenty-first century, teachers of citizenship and social studies are tasked with educating students about histories that are not visible in traditional, linear, universal capital-H "History" – the history found in the educational curriculum, textbooks, media culture and, often, museums. These narratives normally center the adult, white, western, European, Christian, heterosexual, able-bodied, and upper-class male. This case study discusses the development and implementation of an action-research project aiming to counter such hegemonic narratives by engaging teachers-in-training and their classroom students within a local museum setting. Forty-nine students in a professional teacher-training program in Malaga, Spain engaged in explorations of socially relevant themes linked with key artifacts in a local museum. They then worked with 50 elementary-level students to explore and develop dramatic presentations to highlight alternative, "other" narratives absent in the interpretation of the local museum. This article describes the pedagogical approach, termed "Didactics of Otherness in the local museum," including its theoretical groundings and working principles for employing the practice. To the authors argue for strengthening interconnections between formal education and non-formal education, and demonstrate their necessary fusion for critical, creative, empathetic, and committed citizenship education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article critically examines the prevalent belief within music education that "music is for all," highlighting the incongruence between educators' intentions and students' lived experiences. Drawing on personal positionality and scholarly orientation, the author explores how music teachers may unintentionally disaffirm students' musicianship through language and practices. Through the lens of intent versus impact, this article encourages music educators to reflect on their beliefs and practices and emphasizes the importance of creating inclusive, student-centered environments that honor diverse musical identities. This article includes recommendations for aligning beliefs with practices to promote equity and affirm the musical potential of all students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Small-scale farmers often suffer from poverty due to their dependence on unjust practices in global supply chains. On-farm training could help them address this, but it often lacks scalability and reach. Technology-enhanced learning (TEL) can tackle this issue but risks creating secondary injustices, such as epistemic injustice, by neglecting marginalized users’ unique needs, knowledge, and local context. This case study analyzes the process of co-designing a digital peer training model for marginalized users, in this case, cacao farmers in Nicaragua. The authors draw on comprehensive data from participatory action research, as well as facilitator conversations, surveys, informal discussions, and field observations. Based on the findings, the authors suggest a framework to mitigate the risks of introducing secondary injustices in TEL design through a critical digital pedagogy (CDP) lens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of a larger critical discourse study, I share how engaging with critical texts and discussion was personally and professionally meaningful for participants, despite perceived limitations. To understand how critical pedagogy overlaps and conflicts with contexts of teaching in public schools, I facilitated discussion with teachers in response to Paulo Freire's text, Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Subsequently, I critically analysed teachers' discourse in study groups, interviews and reflective writing to uncover how ideology functions to support or refute the possibility of critical pedagogy in teachers' contexts. Implications of the study inform the intersections of critical pedagogy, teacher professional development and Whiteness Studies. While this research validates existing knowledge about professional development design and delivery, it challenges an assertion within professional development studies about the role of teachers as experts. I assert that when it comes to equity-based professional development programmes, groups of predominantly White teachers benefit from an informed facilitator and or colleagues and texts from various ideological stances. I recommend schools of education and professional development organisations doing critical work with teachers consider how teachers' unexamined beliefs impede the realisation of critical pedagogy, and how these beliefs can be challenged in a professional space framed by institutional norms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This paper proposes a discussion on the relationship between critical information literacy, information mediation, and critical pedagogy regarding the social role of the librarian in the face of the unreliability of information on the network, facilitated by the, albeit uneven, use of social networks and instant messaging applications. Method: It presents a qualitative approach; the study was conducted through a literature review in the Base de Dados em Ciência da Informação (BRAPCI). Results: It presents discussions, reflections, and theoretical approaches regarding critical information literacy and information mediation, drawing inferences from the studies of Paulo Freire’s critical pedagogy along with the complex thinking of Edgar Morin. Conclusion: Interference emerges as a common point of action, highlighting the non-neutrality of information. It is hoped that this analysis can provide support to information professionals, especially librarians, for a reflective practice regarding the power structures that underpin the production and dissemination of information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this chapter, we provide a snapshot of critical theories with salience for adult education to illuminate their enduring efficacy within the discipline, including critical feminism, queer theory, and race‐based critical theories. Critical theories seek to make individual change while dismantling the structures that suppress freedom and democracy, like discrimination, devaluation, and marginalization, and can be a catalyst for making substantial contributions to transforming society. Considering this, we believe structural changes should also reshape how critical theories are discussed, expanding the canon to include Black intellectualism. We conclude by providing evidence‐based tools for the adult educator's toolbox to transgress the politicized, raced, gendered, and othered environments in which adult educators work and adult learners learn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines how the practice of fieldwork can enable researchers to attend to the educational environment of the school in a world-oriented way, rather than take an explanatory or demystifying approach that spirals away from what happens in the world. Finding new ways and new vocabularies to approach educational realities gains a special urgency in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a country whose social fabric is often analysed in terms of a lack: the Congolese state is considered weak or fragile and its education sector is seen as being in a deep learning crisis. Recent studies have successfully used fieldwork methods to explain the remarkable persistence of the DRC's public education sector by ethnographically accounting for the ways it is governed on a political or bureaucratic level. We propose that fieldwork, understood as a world-oriented research practice, which instils in researchers a curiosity for the world, can also enable researchers to attend to those classroom gestures that safeguard the existence and persistence of Congolese schools on a pedagogical level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this Voices: Reflective Accounts of Education essay, Esther O. Ohito considers with Sherry L. Deckman how silence and silencing are experienced corporeally in socioculturally situated spaces, foregrounding their affective contours and material effects in their exploration of emotionally charged dialogues about race and racism in educational settings. Building their narrative around a Black male teacher candidate's experience in a social justice–oriented teacher preparation program, they reflect on the presence and effects of silence and silencing in that intimate white space. The essay concludes with implications for critical pedagogy relevant to the potentially transformative force of transgressive race talk that counteracts silence and silencing in white spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this Voices: Reflective Accounts of Education essay, Gloria Ladson-Billings, Django Paris, H. Samy Alim, and Na'ilah Suad Nasir speak to the past, present, and future of culturally sustaining pedagogies. This dialogue marks the tenth anniversary of the Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies Symposium, published in the Harvard Educational Review in 2014, where the authors illustrated how culturally relevant, sustaining, and revitalizing pedagogies are part of a long tradition seeking to center culture and justice in teaching and learning. This conversation also builds on dialogues initiated by HER in 2017 on cross-pollinating culturally sustaining pedagogy with disability studies. In this current dialogue, which has been edited for publication, the authors reflect on key developments in the field over the past ten years and engage with culturally sustaining pedagogy in light of ongoing global movements and issues of the current moment. They offer directions forward for research and practice, including rethinking culture and theorizing alongside communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UK's Quality Assurance Association for Higher Education (QAA) recommend that all undergraduate courses at UK universities include in their curricula elements of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion; Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Education; and Education for Sustainable Development. This paper examines the detail of the QAA's recommendations and finds that they are significantly influenced by critical pedagogy. While the potential benefits of the QAA's recommendations are readily apparent, the paper identifies a number of potential risks, including opportunity costs for students, dumbing down and political bias. Alongside this theoretical analysis, this paper presents a case study which examines in detail the course materials of a cross‐curricular module piloted at King's College London called the 'King's First Year: Gateway to King's' which covered essentially the same themes. It appears that many of the risks identified with the QAA's approach would have been realised had this module been introduced as a compulsory module for all undergraduates at King's College London as was originally planned. As student take‐up was low, it was abandoned after the pilot, and so ultimately the risks were not realised. When introducing significant curriculum changes such as those proposed by the QAA, it is important to be certain that the benefits outweigh the risks. For this reason, a case study of an unsuccessful educational intervention is valuable and may correct for the possibility of publication bias in the literature if institutions choose not to publicise their less successful projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While media literacy has grown to encompass many topics to provide learners with the skills required to be active citizens and savvy media consumers, there is no clear conceptual framework to define 'impact.' This review of literature aims to understand how recent U.S.-based media literacy scholarship defines impact. We analyzed 300 articles published from 2010 to 2020 on the impact of media literacy initiatives in the U.S. We propose the 6 E's as a framework that captures six categories that media literacy researchers use to describe the impact of media literacy interventions: Evaluation Outcomes, Enquiry, Expression, Experiential Learning, Engaged Citizenship, and Equity. We argue for a need to center equity and community-level outcomes in definitions of media literacy impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to contribute to a critical approach to analysing the new curricula and to outline student-centric approaches through an examination of legislation on educational policy applied by the Greek government in the last five years. After twenty years from the last curricula (2003), the new curricula were published in a period when the government was introducing new legislation and promoting assessment in education. The curricula for primary education, according to the authors, focus on a student-centric approach but this is not confirmed in the content and objectives, as the analysis of the curricula in this article shows. The critical analysis in this article is conducted from the perspective of critical pedagogy and contributes to the highlights on the control mechanism and the neoconservative politics on education as a control mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case study explores the application of the Whose W.O.R.D.D. Counts? tool to promote Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) within the Global Mental Health (GMH) MSc Programme in the School of Health and Wellbeing (SHW) at the University of Glasgow. It underscores the importance of diversifying curricula to challenge systemic biases, promote inclusivity, and address pervasive attainment gaps in higher education linked to gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Developed by the Open University, the tool guided a comprehensive review of the GMH online learning materials under the following topic headings: writing with the audience in mind, opportunity for exchange of experience, representation through different lenses, drawing on different student experiences, and diversity as the subject matter (W.O.R.D.D.). The review identified good practices and areas needing improvement, leading to significant content expansions and new reflective tasks. Larger developments fell into three broader themes: diversifying case studies from low-, middle-, and high-income countries; increasing discussion of gender and sexuality; and framing Western culture. Despite the time and energy-intensive process of reviewing 60 weeks' worth of content, the effort has beneficially impacted teaching practices and received positive student feedback. The findings, disseminated through various academic platforms, have inspired the teaching team to initiate the process of decolonising the curriculum. Decolonisation goes beyond EDI by critically examining and uprooting colonial systems, practices, and power structures, rather than merely integrating non-White perspectives or making space for marginalised groups within existing frameworks. The study advocates for continuous improvement and active student involvement to foster a genuinely inclusive educational environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Messy, real-world problems that haven't yet been framed into a single, neat narrative contain a richness that makes them a powerful tool in legal education. This paper explores the practices of three law teachers who use ill-structured problems to help law students develop the capacity for problem setting, enabling them to structure and restructure problems from different doctrinal, conceptual and theoretical perspectives. In each course, the confrontation of legal rules or reasoning with the concrete realities of a specific situation serves as a catalyst for insight, teaching students the value of seeing and staying with complexity to gain deep understanding and potentially generate new ideas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current longitudinal qualitative research explored the development of pre-service English teachers’ perspectives on critical literacy and critical pedagogy throughout the Critical Reading and Writing course. The data were collected through a text selection questionnaire, pre-course and post-course critical consciousness questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews. At the beginning, a text selection questionnaire was administered to identify social issues relevant to the target teacher candidates’ lives. Based on the results obtained from the text selection questionnaire, the texts which are about women, virtual education, censorship and future anxiety were chosen to be used in the course. The critical consciousness questionnaires assessed shifts in understanding and attitudes toward critical literacy and pedagogy over the course and semi-structured interviews provided in-depth insights into the pre-service English teachers’ perspectives and experiences. The data were analyzed using content analysis to interpret the qualitative findings. The findings indicate a notable change in the students’ perspectives toward integrating social issues into English teaching. They developed more positive attitudes toward a more critical language education approach including social issues and empowering learners to be the agents of change. The participants also demonstrated improved understanding of critical pedagogy, and recognition of the transformative role of English teachers. According to the results, it is likely that these pre-service teachers will be able to integrate critical literacy activities and social awareness into their future teaching practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the role of discursive practices and epistemological obstacles in shaping educational knowledge and power dynamics within schools. Drawing on critical pedagogy and the works of McLaren, Foucault, Gramsci, and Bachelard, it examines how schools act as sites where hegemonic Discourses are either reproduced or resisted. Discourses, understood as integrated social practices encompassing language, actions, beliefs, and values, deeply influence how students form their social representations of the world. The article highlights the need for educators to challenge traditional curricular theories that prioritize technical knowledge, often presented as neutral, while masking underlying power relations. Through the analysis of Bachelard's epistemological obstacles, such as simplification, generalization, and depersonalization, the article discusses how these barriers impede students' ability to critically engage with complex social phenomena. Multiperspectivity is proposed as a key educational approach to foster critical thinking and empower students to challenge social injustices. The discussion calls for systemic educational reforms, emphasizing the importance of teacher training that encourages the identification and questioning of dominant ideologies. By adopting a critical, social justice-oriented pedagogy, educators can help students not only understand but also transform their social realities, promoting an equitable and democratic educational environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, young people engaged in political discourse and civic action online. U.S.-based social movements centered on equity issues, such as Black Lives Matter, Dreamers, and March for Our Lives, engaged young people in shaping and publicizing the goals of these movements through digital platforms. Increasingly in communities at the margins, young Americans need digital and media literacy skills to supplement contentious education restrictions within the United States, as with many state bills curtailing the teaching of LGBTQIA+ histories and critical race theory. With these considerations in mind, our team conducted a national study of impactful media literacy in the United States. The study included an extensive literature review, interviews with key stakeholders, and a national survey of educators within the United States. Aimed at understanding the practices in formal and informal learning spaces, the research process inspired the creation of a field guide focused on offering resources for equity-focused media literacy practices that can support educators where professional structures could not, a core finding from our study on impactful media literacy. This paper shares the process for creating the Field Guide for Equitable Media Literacy Practices, developed and published as a form of public-facing scholarship to encourage all media literacy practitioners to undergo a transformative learning process. The field guide offers a series of approaches to equitable media literacy practices centered on equity and inclusion. While the research is U.S.-based, we believe the practices suggested within the field guide apply globally, especially as we see an increase in youth movements that impact beyond geographic and cultural boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the integration of 21st-century pedagogical competencies and Critical Pedagogy in English language teacher training through the INSPIRE (INnovative Strategies in Pedagogy for Inclusive Reflective English-teaching) Program at a Spanish university. Targeting undergraduate students in Primary Education to become English teachers, INSPIRE merged in-depth English language knowledge with innovative teaching methodologies. The program highlighted adaptability, technological literacy, and intercultural sensitivity in English teaching, aligning with 21st-century requirements in education. Embracing Paulo Freire's Critical Pedagogy principles, the INSPIRE Program promoted an emancipatory and participatory teaching approach. Implementation phases include initial observation, gradual teaching involvement, and specific project development. INSPIRE's transformative impact is assessed through enhanced linguistic and pedagogical competencies, critical consciousness, and cultural empathy. The paper concludes by emphasizing the significance of innovative, reflective educational approaches in teacher training, preparing future educators as change agents in a diverse, global educational environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]