Social Justice Teaching and Student Trauma: Toward a Trauma-Informed Critical Pedagogy

• In Event: Shedding a Light on Trauma and Well-Being for College Students

Abstract

Postsecondary educators have made progressive strides toward challenging social injustices through research, advocacy, and activism. Given the rise in racialized discourse and pervasive social inequities in the United States, the need for social justice education is becoming increasingly necessary. Educators across academic disciplines enact critical pedagogies to bridge social justice work to the classroom environment. Critical pedagogies have tremendous potential to foster a liberating classroom where students can begin to heal from oppressive social and educational structures. However, what is often overlooked are the unintended or damaging consequences of enacting a critical pedagogy. This paper unpacks the relevance of human trauma in tertiary education and challenges critical pedagogues to envision more trauma-informed critical pedagogies.

Author

• Joshua Mark Anzaldúa, University of Texas - San Antonio