2. Critical Pedagogy
To introduce the concepts of power, privilege, and identity, this module draws on critical pedagogy as a theoretical foundation. Critical pedagogy is a theoretical paradigm in the field of educational research. It rejects the view of educational environments as neutral space for mere knowledge transmission. It posits everything as political by acknowledging different meaning and power being assigned to differences in that space that includes students, educators, curriculum, and teaching practice.
The quote below from Henry Giroux elaborates on the political nature of difference in critical pedagogy.
It is important that educators come to understand theoretically how difference is constructed through various representations and practices that name, legitimate, marginalize, and exclude the cultural capital and voices of various groups in American society; similarly, a pedagogy of difference needs to address the important question of how the representations and practices of difference are actively learned, internalized, challenged, or transformed. - Henry Giroux, 1989
Throughout this module, you will be introduced to this theoretical approach of critical pedagogy, as well as some of its key principles, themes, and ideas.