63.058 - Reassessments of Power, Ideologies, and Praxis: Toward a More Critical Elementary Education

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

This session is comprised of scholars of teacher education, curriculum and instruction, and ethnic studies whose work examines how power, pedagogies, and social justice intersect to shape the educational experiences of children, those who are historically marginalized and those funneled into the “culture of power” (Delpit, 1988). We present critical qualitative research papers that:

1) conceptualize how elementary teachers utilize critical theory to develop students’ understanding of power; 2) examines how elementary school pre-service teachers effectively used social justice-designed curricula; 3) critiques the limits of arts and museum-based learning; and 4) explores ethnic studies and language development in elementary classrooms. Taken together we offer ways educators can utilize critical approaches toward elementary education that better supports marginalized students’ educational trajectories.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Critical Educators for Social Justice

Chair

• Farima Patricia Pour-Khorshid, University of San Francisco

Papers

• "The Hegemonster" and Questions of Power: Lessons From Teaching Critical Theory in Elementary Classrooms - Edward Ryan Curammeng, California State University - Dominguez Hills

• From Roots to Leaves: The Connection Between Teacher Ideology and Critical Curriculum - Bree Picower, Montclair State University

• Curating Colonialism: A Study of Practices in History Education for Young Children in California History Museums - Harper Keenan, Stanford University

• Making Critical Concepts Comprehensible: Strategies for Teaching Elementary Language Learners - Carolina Valdez, California State University - Fullerton

Discussant

• Carla Shalaby, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor