In this design-based study, an eleven-week curricular module in recent American history was developed that departed from both the epistemology and ideology of traditional textbooks. The curriculum instantiated a constructivist epistemology by having students assess multiple historical narratives and sources of evidence. It instantiated a…

In this article, Eric Freedman examines the extent to which critical pedagogy can be considered a democratic form of education. Comparing Paulo Freire's notion of dialogue to Jurgen Habermas's "ideal speech situation," Freedman argues that such dialogue cannot realistically occur in educational situations where the teacher remains in an…