Policy and Domination: Uses of Critical Theory in the Public Arena (original) (raw)

What Exactly Are We Doing Here? Reflections on the Role of Critical Educational Studies

Critical Questions in Education, 2020

In advancing the struggle for social justice in education, we often advance an anti-racist praxis in our classrooms. However, students, teachers, and others trying to make sense of our praxis—oftentimes well-intentioned in their queries—will ask “why are we always talking about race?” and “why do we only present one perspective and one position (a “liberal” one) in this class?” These questions are relevant and require us to clarify what exactly are we doing in critical educational studies? As a former K-12 teacher, an instructor of Urban Education, Multicultural Education, and as a critical educational researcher, I seek to ask—and answer—three questions pertinent to critical educational studies: (1) What does it mean to study Urban Education? (2) Why do we focus on race and racism in social justice work, and why not just focus on class? (3) Why do some people attempt to equate critical educational studies with left-wing propaganda? I begin by examining the difference between educat...

Where Critical Policy Meets the Politics of Education: An Introduction

Educational Policy, 2018

The study of educational politics and policy through a critical frame allows for a more nuanced, holistic understanding of the complexities associated with education policy, from creation through implementation to evaluation. The contributions to this special issue of Educational Policy illustrate the work of critical education policy scholars engaged in research focused at the federal, state, and local levels. In this introductory article, we introduce basic elements of critical policy analysis (CPA), including fundamental ontological and epistemological claims and their implications for investigating educational policy. From this foundation, we preview the articles included in this collection, highlighting their frameworks, methods, and focus.

Critical Theories, Radical Pedagogies, and Social Education

2010

[Winner of the 2011 “Critics Choice Award” from the American Educational Studies Association] "Critical Theories, Radical Pedagogies, and Social Education: New Perspectives for Social Studies Education begins with the assertion that there are emergent and provocative theories and practices that should be part of the discourse on social studies education in the 21st century. Anarchist, eco-activist, anti-capitalist, and other radical perspectives, such as disability studies and critical race theory, are explored as viable alternatives in responding to current neo-conservative and neo-liberal educational policies shaping social studies curriculum and teaching. Despite the interdisciplinary nature the field and a historical commitment to investigating fundamental social issues such as democracy, human rights, and social justice, social studies theory and practice tends to be steeped in a reproductive framework, celebrating and sustaining the status quo, encouraging passive acceptance of current social realities and historical constructions, rather than a critical examination of alternatives. These tendencies have been reinforced by education policies such as No Child Left Behind, which have narrowly defined ways of knowing as rooted in empirical science and apolitical forms of comprehension. This book comes at a pivotal moment for radical teaching and for critical pedagogy, bringing the radical debate occurring in social sciences and in activist circles—where global protests have demonstrated the success that radical actions can have in resisting rigid state hierarchies and oppressive regimes worldwide—to social studies education.

Critical Social Theory and Transformative Knowledge: The Functions of Criticism in Quality Education

Educational Researcher, 2004

Critical social theory is a multidisciplinary knowledge base with the implicit goal of advancing the emancipatory function of knowledge. It approaches this goal by promoting the role of criticism in the search for quality education. Through critical social theory in education, quality is proportional to the depth of analysis that students have at their disposal. As a critical form of classroom discourse, critical social theory cultivates students’ ability to critique institutional as well as conceptual dilemmas, particularly those that lead to domination or oppression. It also promotes a language of transcendence that complements a language of critique in order to forge alternative and less oppressive social arrangements. A critical social theory-based movement in education highlights the relationship between social systems and people, how they produce each other, and ultimately how critical social theory can contribute to the emancipation of both.

Critical Theory and Pedagogy Syllabus, Summer 2017

This independent study engages the field of critical pedagogy. It traces the genealogy to the various disciplines, schools of thought, and theoretical frameworks that inform and substantiate social and political thought-and specifically, critical pedagogical thought. Hence, the notion of praxis (the alliance between theory and practice) is at the heart of the conversation. With the desire to forthrightly grapple with difference and questions of racism, class struggle, gender and sexuality, etc., this course is committed to both social justice ideals within US schools, but also the transformative goals within society. It is interested in developing and sustaining a humanizing/liberatory education for both teacher and student.

Critical Policy Scholarship in Education: An Overview

Education Policy Analysis Archives , 2021

This paper presents an overview of critical policy scholarship (CPS) in education. Historically, policy research has been dominated by what is commonly referred to as the policy science tradition, which is positivist in its philosophical stance and instrumentalist in its purpose-it focuses on producing knowledge relevant for policy decisions. However, with the rise of interpretive social inquiry in the 1970s and against the backdrop of unique political developments in the 1980s, CPS emerged as an alternative policy research perspective. This review discusses the scope and foci of CPS in education under four themes: methodological assumptions, interdisciplinary roots, enduring analytical goals, and emerging empirical contexts. Implications of the prevalence of inequality, Big Data and digital panopticon for educational policymaking and policy research are also briefly discussed. The paper concludes that although its foci of analysis have shifted considerably in the last four decades, analytical interest and tools of CPS remain largely unchanged.