Imagining and Enacting Liberatory Pedagogical Praxis in a Politically Divisive Era

ABSTRACT

In this essay, the authors challenge the myth of political neutrality in teaching and emphasize the urgent need for teachers to imagine and enact liberatory pedagogical praxis that sensitively responds to the nation’s divisive political climate. They point to U.S. political shifts and changing federal policies in education as catalysts for the social and cultural exclusion of vulnerable children of color. They suggest how teacher educators and in-service teachers can use media sources that reveal how children experience and navigate increasingly xenophobic and polarizing political climates as critical texts. Critical pedagogy and civic education scholarship offer frames to further explain how such texts serve to enhance students’ learning, sense of belonging, and their ability to contribute to a democratic and just society. The authors conclude with strategies for supporting teachers’ development and advocacy.

Acknowledgments

This manuscript evolved from a keynote address that Camille M. Wilson delivered for TeachingWorks, based at the University of Michigan. We appreciate Dr. Simona Goldin of TeachingWorks and Dr. Christina DeNicolo of Wayne State for feedback during the manuscript’s early development.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. See 18 second mark of Wallace and LaMotte (2016b) video link.

2. See 3:16 minute mark of Wallace and LaMotte (2016b) video link.

3. See 4:14 minute mark Wallace and LaMotte (2016b) video link.

4. Quoted online version, first and fourth paragraphs respectively. President Trump declared the emergency to garner additional fiscal resources and political support to implement his Executive Order 13,767, issued January 25, 2017, which called for border wall construction.

5. These remarks are quoted from Dr. Gutiérrez’ keynote address. Please see references.

6. We recognize PreK-12 students – both those from marginalized and empowered groups – possess agency. Several profiles demonstrate they can summon courage, creativity, and learnedness to spur social action and educate too. We focus, however, on teachers’ and teacher educators’ liberatory pedagogical praxis because addressing youths’ power and praxis would require considering certain risks and labor issues outside of this essay’s scope.

7. Some social justice workers prefer the term accomplice to ally because the former connotes one acting to dismantle systems of oppression, whereas the latter can connote just (yet importantly) supporting marginalized peoples and liberatory causes. See Clemens (2017).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Camille M. Wilson

Camille M. Wilson, Ph.D. is a professor of Educational Foundations, Leadership, and Policy at the University of Michigan and founder of the Collaborative for Research on Equity, Activism, and Transformative Education (CREATE). She is an interdisciplinary scholar who explores school-family-community engagement, transformative leadership, and urban education reform from critical and culturally relevant perspectives. Dr. Wilson also actively collaborates with youth, family, and community activists in national and regional education improvement initiatives.

Margaret O. Hanna

Margaret O. Hanna is a doctoral candidate of Literacy, Language and Culture at the University of Michigan School of Education and former bilingual elementary school teacher. She is an instructor of elementary teacher education and a collaborator in school-university partnerships and urban community-focused literacy initiatives. Her area of inquiry is focused on family engagement through literacy programs in school and community-based settings. She believes that care and building community are tools for resisting systemic inequality.

Michelle Li

Michelle Li is a facilitator and continuous improvement coach at the Center for Leadership and Educational Equity in Providence, Rhode Island. Her work focuses on using improvement science methods in networked improvement communities to create equitable outcomes for students. Prior to that, she taught English at the secondary level in the Boston area. Michelle received her M.A. from the University of Michigan School of Education in April 2018.