Reimagining Education in Cairo International Schools: How Can Critical Professional Development Cultivate Teacher Critical Consciousness?

• In Event: Considering International Teachers' Perspectives

Abstract

The persistence of neocolonialism in international schools in Cairo, represented mainly in the dominance of western knowledges, raises questions about the role of middle-class Egyptian teachers in perpetuating or challenging these dynamics. Those systems have a significant impact on students’ sense of identity. As beneficiaries from the system, middle-class Egyptian teachers often find themselves torn between challenging and keeping the status quo. This paper examines the potential role of critical professional development in cultivating middle-class Egyptian teacher critical consciousness and supporting them to challenge neocolonialism in schools. Informed by postcolonial theory, educational neocolonialism, and decolonizing pedagogies, I propose a framework that I argue will support teachers to challenge the system by transforming their beliefs towards their social and linguistic identities.

Author

• Alia Shalaby, Pennsylvania State University