In this article, we address the limitations of sustainable development as an orienting educational horizon of hope and change, given that mainstream development presumes the possibility of perpetual growth and consumption on a finite planet. Facing these limitations requires us to consider the inherently violent and unsustainable nature of our…

As a communication educator, the author's goal is to help students examine and understand how communication addresses--or, in this case, fails to address--public problems such as gun violence. Communication concepts can provide insight about America's bewildering debates about gun violence, and in turn, these debates can help illustrate and refine…

Purpose: The study investigated the change of the position of the official social science basic documents, textbooks and teacher's opinion in relation to the general understanding of the market economy in the context of the modern Russian economic life. Design/methodology/approach: The article was prepared on the basis of the critical discourse…

Given the sociopolitical crisis and turmoil in the world today, there is a great need for philosophical and sociocultural critiques that are not only concerned with deconstructing the present and the past but also with offering forward-looking, radical solutions to the problems and challenges we face. Drastic times call for drastic measures,…

In 2021, our state, like others across the nation, passed legislation restricting the teaching of race and racism (i.e. divisive concepts). While we remained steadfastly committed to our approach for preparing urban teachers, we were concerned how the political context would impact our graduates' ability to enact culturally responsive and critical…

Research stresses a need for more contextually nuanced urban teacher preparation programs that explore racially oppressive structures in society. This article presents a case study of five aspiring teachers who participated as mentors in a 2-year program for ninth grade students at Riverview Academy, an urban school. This study uses the…

In this multiple case study, I asked ten practicing secondary educators in the Midwest to express the purposes and practices that drive their teaching regarding climate change education. The theoretical framework grounding this qualitative study is that of critical theory, in which one leverages critique to bring about social change. I analyzed…

This article explores how critical pedagogy unfolds in the everyday interactions between teachers and students. Specifically, Freirean constructs of critique and dialogue were explored in two key literacy events drawn from an ethnographically informed case study of one fourth-grade classroom. The events were first examined from an ethnographic…

At stake in contemporary US racial tensions is a struggle over the meaning of being "human." By drawing on black feminist theories of being human as verb, and minority discourse critiques of humanism, the paper links "racialization" to apparatuses of humanization that emerge in early modernity including slavery, colonization,…

The purpose of this article is to provide teachers and students useful methods for utilizing the power of comic books as literacy sponsors in ELA classrooms. Given the continued boom in the popularity of comics in popular culture, this provides a relevant way to introduce students to visual and critical analysis. Engaging in meaningful analysis of…

This article explores the role of emotion in teaching about social issues in higher education. We draw and expand upon Boler's notion of a "Pedagogy of Discomfort," Goodman's and Curry-Steven's concept of a "Pedagogy for the Privileged," and on Freire's idea of a "Pedagogy of Hope," in reflecting on our own…

This paper seeks to examine the influence of Fabian Socialist thinking as the primary force in the development of critical theory as applied to higher education in Britain. The paper covers the impact of scientific Fabian Socialism and the establishment of the London School of Economics and Political Science, the Frankfurt School and the rise of…

Critical education scholars contend that schools ought to play a role in the transformation of inequitable institutions and social arrangements. In part, this entails educating students in the academic disciplines, viewed as powerful lenses through which students might see the world in order to better understand why things are the way they are and…

This article discusses using students' analysis of media coverage of the March 2011 Japanese earthquake, tsunami and nuclear events to develop their knowledge and understanding of geological concepts and related socio-scientific issues. It draws on news reported at that time, identifies themes in those reports, and suggests how this event can be…

This paper describes a content-based English for academic purposes (EAP) course, "Language and Public Life", and its major assignment, a research essay that critiques media coverage of a current event or social issue. The pedagogical context in which this assignment is realised underpins the forms of critical inquiry expected. The selection of…