Presented at AERA 2010 as the Social Justice Award Lecture, this article calls attention to the purposes of education in the 21st century and the need for a robust, social justice vision of education. Here, it is argued that education is about the cultivation of a flourishing life and not only the narrow preparation for employment. To realize…

Proposes an educational approach in which educators construct new roles as cultural awakeners and healers, enabling them to engage each learner in awakening individual cultural identity and cultural voice. To do this, educators must redefine culture, examine the link between culture and power, explore the dynamics of truth and power, and create…