English - Critical pedagogy

Critical pedagogy is a teaching approach inspired by Marxist critical theory and other radical philosophies, which attempts to help students question and challenge posited "domination," and to undermine the beliefs and practices that are alleged to dominate. In other words, it is a theory and practice of helping students achieve "critical consciousness."

In practical terms, the goal of critical pedagogy is to challenge conservative, right-wing and traditionalist philosophies and politics.^[1] Critical pedagogy developed in the 1960s and '70s as a reaction amongst academics of an activist, radical left-wing inclination to the repeated failure of socialist governments around the world to deliver on their promises of economic equality.^[1] Critical pedagogic educator Ira Shor defines critical pedagogy as:

Habits of thought, reading, writing, and speaking which go beneath surface meaning, first impressions, dominant myths, official pronouncements, traditional cliches, received wisdom, and mere opinions, to understand the deep meaning, root causes, social context, ideology, and personal consequences of any action, event, object, process, organization, experience, text, subject matter, policy, mass media, or discourse. (Empowering Education, 129)

In this tradition the teacher works to lead students to question ideologies and practices considered oppressive (including those at school), and encourage "liberatory" collective and individual responses to the actual conditions of their own lives.

The student often begins as a member of the group or process he or she is critically studying (e.g., religion, national identity, cultural norms, or expected roles). After the student begins to view present society as deeply problematic, the next behavior encouraged is sharing this knowledge, paired with an attempt to change the perceived oppression of the society. A good picture of this development from social member to dissident to radical teacher/learner is offered in both Paulo Freire's book Pedagogy of the Oppressed, and bell hooks' book Teaching to Transgress. An earlier propenent of a more active classroom, where students direct the epistemological method as well as the actual object(s) of inquiry is the late Neil Postman. In his Teaching as a Subversive Activity, Postman suggests creating a class where students themselves are entirely in control of the syllabus, class activities, and grading.