De/Humanization in Kindergarten: A Case Study of Classroom Environment in a Neoliberal Context

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 11:45 am - Gold 3
  In Roundtable Session: Communities of Practice to Center Justice-Centered Teaching and Learning

Abstract

In an effort to unforget and foreground the historical and social contexts of education, this case study explores the complex and contradictory work of constructing classroom environment amidst the neoliberal pressures that have shaped schooling for over four decades. Drawing from theory on humanization, the research investigates how one kindergarten teacher fostered classroom environment at the beginning of the year. Data collected over ten days through observations, interviews, and artifact analysis reveal that while the teacher hoped to create a space that affirmed the full humanity of children, neoliberal pressures often constrained her practice. The study offers practical examples of how neoliberalism threatens humanizing environments, and implications for why and how we might reimagine more liberatory futures for schooling.

Author

• Kaellen Williams, Michigan State University