Critical Pedagogy in Online Environments as Thirdspace: A Narrative Analysis of Voices of Candidates in Educational Preparatory Programs

Abstract

Faculty members in teacher and administrator preparation programs have unprecedented opportunities to incorporate advanced technologies, including the expansion of online classes and the use of online discussion forums. Within online environments, the concepts of critical pedagogy are more connected to the landscape of digital information, providing opportunities to focus on local regimes of truth with individuals constructing new knowledge forms. Utilizing qualitative narrative analysis to examine the voices of five preservice teachers, five candidates in a beginning principal preparation program, and five doctoral educational administration candidates, this paper translates the sociological construct of Thirdspace (Soja 1996) as applied to critical pedagogy in online environments. Within Thirdspace, preservice teachers and educational leaders transform their thinking about issues that affect their lives as well as their school communities through ongoing discourse and exploration related to their own cultural backgrounds in order to promote social justice in a culturally pluralistic society.