Whiteness and Critical Pedagogy

Unknown and Unknowing Possibilities

“…It is here too that we see a link with one of the basic principles of transformative learning, that is, transformative education is teaching and learning which effects a change in perspective and frame reference (Mezirow 1996) and thereby places increasing emphasis on shifts taking place ontologically as well as epistemologically, so learners become actively engaged in new avenues for social justice (Garde-Hansen & Calvert, 2004). We are keenly aware that both critical pedagogy and theories of transformative learning are not unproblematic when linked to talk about decolonizationboth are movements constructed by white, not of color and non-Indigenous people, and represent discourses which at least historically, have tended to ignore white race and colonial power and privilege (Allen, 2004;Ladson-Billings, 1997;Leonardo, 2002). In this sense, theorising around anti-racist pedagogy and anti-colonial (Sefa Dei, 2006 approaches in education might seem to be more relevant given that both arise from the struggles of racial minorities against the forces of imperialism, colonialism and neo-colonialism (Rezai-Rushti, 1995, p. 6).…”

Staging the Performances of the Privileged Social Group (PSG): Expanding the Philosophical Foundation of Critical Pedagogy

“…The absence of this recognition within theoretical constructions about oppression/privilege and the role of critical pedagogy in addressing injustice is to run the risk of centring and/or recentring discourses about injustice on the narrow problem of privilege and, in so doing, potentially undermine scholastic and grass-roots efforts to orient the discourse on injustice not thinly on questions of privilege but rather on the thicker relationships between oppression and privilege. Although the PSG concept is a useful addition to the philosophical foundation of critical pedagogy, it should be used cautiously so as to not interfere but rather complement the project of relocating the epistemological and axiological concerns of marginalized peoples from the periphery of non-formal and formal critical curriculums to the centre (Scheurich & Young, 1997;Delgado Bernal, 1998;Allen, 2004).…”

“…As a politico-educational movement with a traditionally Marxist orientation, the philosophical foundation of critical pedagogy has and continues to be critiqued on the grounds that it is too thinly focused on processes related to 'class struggle'. The critiques against critical pedagogy, especially its theoretical underpinnings, are primarily motivated by the recognition that other factors such as racism, ageism, sexism, cultural imperialism, etc., also contribute to the operations of oppression, and through such recognitions work to keep the field framed by crosscutting radical discourses that promote a multi-sided, culturally plural representational and ideological base for critical pedagogy (Ellsworth, 1989;Ladson-Billings, 1995;Allen, 2002Allen, , 2004Leonardo, 2002;Rossatto et al, 2006). The ongoing project to keep the philosophical foundation of critical pedagogy relevant to contemporary struggles against oppression is, at least in part, an invitation to people concerned about injustice at all levels (local to global), all contexts (personal, community, work, etc.)…”

Reivindicando la Labor Intelectual y Transformativa del Profesorado en una Educación para la Justicia Social

“…Por otra parte, la Pedagogía Crítica favorece al reconocimiento (Benhabib, 2006;Fraser y Honneth, 2003;Honneth, 2007;Taylor, 2003) desde el momento en que, de manera solidaria, se posiciona del lado de las personas oprimidas, desposeídas, y persigue la superación de cualquier tipo de estructura que mantenga la subordinación de unas culturas a otras. Dentro de este enfoque, como crítica a la Pedagogía Crítica se ha manifestado la necesidad de reorientar los planteamientos que esta propugna, desarrollada mayoritariamente por hombres blancos y occidentales, en torno a la cuestión racial (Allen, 2001(Allen, , 2004, con vistas a equipararla con la cuestión de clase. De igual forma sería interesante hacer extensible la crítica a la cuestión de género, ya que la escasa difusión de obras de autoras críticas -como Paula Allman (1999Allman ( , 2001Allman ( , 2007)-contribuye a la divulgación de puntos de vista androcéntricos en las publicaciones más [re]conocidas.…”