Critical Pedagogy in Urban U.S. History Classrooms: From Theory to Practice

• In Event: 16.061 - Roundtable Session 4
  In Roundtable Session: 16.061-20 - Multiple Spaces of Activism for Educators and Their Students

Abstract

Much has been written about the theory of critical pedagogy, but little on the specific practices that might achieve its goal of raising students’ critical consciousness. Based on an ethnographic study in two 11th grade, urban U.S. History classrooms with critical teachers, this paper presents various critical pedagogy approaches that could be used in history classes. Both teachers raised students’ critical consciousness through dialogue, teaching oppression but pairing it with examples of resistance, and encouraging students to take action against contemporary injustices. However, the divergence of the strategies each teacher used to accomplish these three aims is helpful in conveying the multifaceted nature of critical pedagogy and highlighting the importance of context in applying the theory to practice.

Author

• Hillary Parkhouse, Virginia Commonwealth University