On the Theory and Practice of Critical Pedagogy in the Global Era:

SAWADA Minoru

doi:10.11151/eds.98.29

<p>The purpose of this paper is to give a clear answer to the question of what sort of effect the restructuring of school knowledge and competency in the 21st century can have on socially subordinate groups, by referring to the fruits of what is called critical pedagogy in the US, and to examine some insights about primary and secondary education curricula and instruction there. Our discussion is as follows. First, we take a look at the four ideal types of the theories of curriculum development—(1) traditional or discipline-centered education, (2) child-centered education, (3) education adaptive to socioeconomic change, (4) education for social justice—which can be seen in the history of curriculum theories, and also at some important agendas in critical educational studies in the US in order to reflect on our theoretical background. The main researchers we consult there are M. Apple and H. Giroux, but we focus more on Apple and his change of theoretical standpoint concerning progressive education. We then examine a certain polemic within the field of critical education, introduce a set of concepts on social justice conceived by N. Fraser—that is, the politics of recognition, and the politics of redistribution—and also reinterpret these on the basis of the theory of cultural capital by P. Bourdieu, so as to apply them to our thoughts on educational practices and to discuss the possibilities of curricula and instruction which can be responsive to the globalized late-modern rearrangement of knowledge and competency in advanced countries as well as contribute to the prevention of the extended reproduction of social inequality through education. In addition, we propose some positive perspectives of what might be called critical citizenship education, which is beyond the education for social adjustment or status attainment in late-modern society. Finally, we examine a couple of practical case studies of critical pedagogy which are egalitarian and valid in the late-modern era of the reformation of knowledge and competency. The case studies concern La Escuela Fratney in Milwaukee and a middle school in Chicago. These are a part of the good examples of the late-modern type of critical pedagogy in that the politics of recognition, the politics of redistribution, and the education for active, participatory, and democratic citizenship are all being realized: Minority students’ self-esteem is positively supported in many ways, they are motivated to learn more in the progressive education focusing on students’ independent, collaborative and generic skills. These students are also given many opportunities to think about and participate in real political movements for social justice.</p>

On the Theory and Practice of Critical Pedagogy in the Global Era:

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