UGC NET Critical pedagogy

Critical Pedagogy
Need of Critical Pedagogy
Implication for Teacher Education

1. UGC NET Paper: II nd Point 7: PEDAGOGY Topic: Critical Pedagogy Dr. Pooja Walia Assistant Professor Department of Education Mizoram University

2. Outlines of the Presentation Meaning of Critical Pedagogy Need of Critical Pedagogy Implications of Critical Pedagogy in Teacher Education

3. Critical Pedagogy Propounder : Brazilian Philosopher and Educator Paulo Freire Paulo Freire w rote a book “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” in 1968. It is a transformation based approach to education. It relates the school context to the social context in which it is embedded.

4. Critical Pedagogy It insists that issues of social justice and democracy are not distinct from acts of teaching and learning. The goal of critical pedagogy is emancipation from oppression through an awakening of the critical consciousness, based on the Portuguese term conscientização . When achieved, critical consciousness encourages individuals to effect change in their world through social critique and political action in order to self-actualize. It subsequently spread internationally, developing a particularly strong base in the United States, where proponents sought to develop means of using teaching to combat racism, sexism, and oppression. As it grew, it incorporated elements from fields like the Human rights movement, Civil rights movement, Disability rights movement, Indigenous rights movement, postmodern theory, feminist theory, postcolonial theory, and queer theory.

5. Origin of Critical Pedagogy It has origin in critical theory. Critical theory is concerned with the idea of a just society in which people have political, economic, and cultural control of their lives. Thinkers of critical theory believe that these goals are satisfied only through emancipating oppressed people which empowers them and enables them to transform their life conditions. It is actually the starting point for critical pedagogy. The major concern of critical pedagogy is with criticizing the schooling in capitalist societies.

6. Definition of Critical Pedagogy Critical Pedagogy challenges any form of domination, oppression and subordination with the goal of emancipating oppressed or marginalized people. As Gor (2005) puts it, the major goals of Critical Pedagogy are awareness raising and rejection of violation and discrimination against people.

7. Need of Critical Pedagogy In traditional classroom Knowledge is too packaged, complete and objective and easily transferable into passive students and depicts the world as static and unchangeable. In traditional model, students believe that power, authority and activity are held by the teacher and students are viewed as objects rather than human. So in Joldersma’s (1999) term, this model is dehumanizing because it creates oppressive passivity in students. In this system of education they are not asked to relate the knowledge (which is provided by the teacher only )to the current problems and injustices in society with the aim of improving the society.

8. Need of Critical Pedagogy Freire (1970) refers metaphorically to the traditional view of education as banking model of education because it is like depositing of money in a bank. This model mirrors the structure of an oppressive society in which the oppressed and the oppressors are divided. It advocates fixation of reality. So traditional view of education is a vehicle for continuing the political oppression and working against liberation or emancipation ( Joldersma , 1999).

9. Views on Need of Critical Pedagogy Elias (1976) confirms that in problem posing model students are closely equal to their teachers regarding the problem under analysis and the developing knowledge. They exercise freedom and together with the teacher control the educational process. The teacher uncovers reality and creates knowledge of the world. Students in this view develop power to critically reflect on the way they exist in the world and they "come to see the world not as a static reality, but as reality in process, in transformation" (Freire, 1970, p. 71). The aim of education, according to Ares (2006), is not learning but learning that comes from critical examination of the social order which leads to action in service of social justice as the result of school learning.

10. Need of Critical Pedagogy Education should go beyond transfer of knowledge and training the future labour force; to help developing critical consciousness, which leads to transformation of the individual, learning environment and society at large. There is a need to humanising the system of education to stop creating oppressive passivity in students. There is a need to bridge the gap between teacher and students role in the classroom. There is a need to shift from banking model to Humanistic model. There is a need for emancipatory education/ problem posing education.

11. Implications for Teacher Education Prospective teachers, all educators for that matter, need to begin to develop the political and ideological clarity that will guide them in denouncing discriminatory school and social conditions and practices. Prospective t eachers should be prepared in teacher education institution for addressing the sociocultural issues of opressed society. They should have the exposure to learn the cross cultural aspects of the society. Inculcate the skill of providing the opportunity to students to reflect critically and act on the position within society. Inculcate the skill of providing the opportunity to students to develop critical consciousness among them necessary actions must be taken to build a more just and equitable society. Approach of Teaching: Problem Posing Education Opportunity for questioning the problematic issues

12. Criticism Critical pedagogy is criticised for a focus on macro level system, for not having a model for classroom implementation and for being abstract.

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