Anti-oppressive pedagogies in online learning: a critical review

ABSTRACT

Alongside the increasing popularity of distance education is a growing body of literature on anti-oppressive pedagogies (Breunig, 2009). Our critical review of literature explored and critiqued how educators enact anti-oppressive pedagogies in online classrooms. Our search and screen process yielded 2952 studies and a final set of 10 that met our inclusion and exclusion criteria. Four findings emerged from our critical analysis. Anti-oppressive online educators sought to legitimate students’ epistemologies, foster reflection and discussion, establish expectations of critical awareness, and democratize educator and student roles. We recommend educators and researchers consider how technologies work for and against anti-oppressive aims and ensure their anti-oppressive frameworks are clearly and purposefully connected to pedagogical decision-making. Considering scarce empirical literature on online educators’ enactments anti-oppressive pedagogies and general lack of support in institutions where educators develop their work, the studies in this review constitute an advancement in the field of distance education.

KEYWORDS:

• anti-oppressive pedagogies
• online learning
• diversity
• higher education

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Vonzell Agosto and Audrey Huber for their thoughtful comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript. We want to acknowledge the editorial team for their vision and the anonymous reviewers for their insightful remarks.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest is reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

María Migueliz Valcarlos

María Migueliz Valcarlos is a doctoral candidate in the Interdisciplinary Education program at the University of South Florida. Her research interests lie in the intersection of anti-oppressive approaches to curriculum and pedagogy with culture, language, and technology, particularly the ways they shape being and knowing in education.

Jennifer R. Wolgemuth

Jennifer R. Wolgemuth is an Associate Professor in Educational Measurement and Research at the University of South Florida. Drawing on critical, poststructural, and new materialist theories, her research pursues questions into the entangled personal, social, and political dynamics of social inquiry.

Samantha Haraf

Samantha Haraf is a doctoral candidate studying teacher education at the University of South Florida. Her research agenda revolves around equity and social justice issues in education, and teacher learning in relation to these issues. She also does work related to teacher leadership, student voice, and clinically based teacher education.

Nathan Fisk

Nathan Fisk is Assistant Professor of Cybersecurity Education, and the Community and Outreach Liaison for Cyber Florida, working on a broad array of topics at the intersection of critical theory, education, and cybersecurity.