Beyond Culturally Responsive Pedagogy: Decolonizing Teacher Education

Promoting Curriculum of Orgullo: Latinx’s Children’s Books and Testimonio

“…Such decolonizing theories and methodologies allow possibilities of teaching practices that provide students with opportunities to critically reflect on their realities, while simultaneously equipping them with the necessary intellectual tools to deconstruct and analyze them. What is highlighted here, as Martin et al (2017) pointed out, is the focus on the Other, which enables teachers to face their privilege and own biases, and reflect on how to address the systemic and structural inequalities to better serve students of color. Also, it includes the potential to (re)cover forgotten and voided experiences and knowledge that can lead to new ways of knowing and being in the world filled with hope and healing (Bone, 2008;Jolly, 2011).…”

“…She further argues that this situation permeates social institutions like schools that "serve primarily the interests of a dominant White, English speaking, and Christian population" (p. 7). The curriculum that is perversely enacted today, decontextualizes and dismisses the experiences, needs, and goals of diverse students that makeup a current classroom in the United States (Buttaro, 2010;Martin, Pirbhai-Illich, & Pete, 2017;Valenzuela, 2019). As other scholars have suggested before (Halagao, 2010;Martin et al, 2017;Sachs et.al., 2017), we advocate for a transformation in approaching, creating, and implementing curriculum within a decolonial framework.…”

“…The curriculum that is perversely enacted today, decontextualizes and dismisses the experiences, needs, and goals of diverse students that makeup a current classroom in the United States (Buttaro, 2010;Martin, Pirbhai-Illich, & Pete, 2017;Valenzuela, 2019). As other scholars have suggested before (Halagao, 2010;Martin et al, 2017;Sachs et.al., 2017), we advocate for a transformation in approaching, creating, and implementing curriculum within a decolonial framework. We call for the construction and employment of a curriculum that supports, shelters, fosters the experiences and enhances possibilities for students of color while simultaneously problematizes and questions the privileges and advantages of those in charge of educational spaces through decolonizing pedagogy.…”

“…The story presents the courage necessary to believe and value others' good character and help them while they are being persecuted. Discussing the intricacy of these topics in a way that challenges students' prejudices and misconceptions can be a difficult task, but it is essential within decolonizing pedagogies (Martin et al, 2017). As educators that identify deeply with these issues, we must embark in complicated conversation (Pinar, 2004) that avoid further victimization of these marginalized groups.…”

Introduction

“…Moreover, many of the chapters in this book can be read within the contexts of critical interculturality. Martin et al (2017) acknowledge that critical intercultural education and the work put down by the people involved in it -student teachers, teacher educators and administrators alike -require commitment on several levels, among other things "a commitment to discomfort, a commitment to questioning oneself and one's identity, a commitment to engagement with difficult truths and alternative histories, a commitment to developing ethical relations with the Other (…) [and] a commitment to critical and hyper self-reflexivity" (2017,(252)(253).…”