Ivor Goodson and Scherto Gill analyse and discuss a series of trans-disciplinary case studies from diverse cultures and argue that narrative is not only a rich and profound way for humans to make sense of their lives, but also in itself a process of pedagogical encounter, learning and transformation. As pedagogic sites, life narratives allow the individual to critically examine their 'scripts' for learning which are encapsulated in their thought processes, discourses, beliefs and values. Goodson and Gill show how narratives can help educators and students shift from a disenfranchised tradition to one of empowerment. This unique book brings together case studies of life narratives as an approach to learning and meaning-making in different disciplines and cultural settings, including teacher education, adult learning, (auto)biographical writing, psychotherapy, intercultural learning and community development. Educators, researchers and practitioners from diverse disciplines will find the case studies collected in this book helpful in expanding their understanding of the potential of narrative as a phenomenon, as methodology, and as pedagogy.

Critical pedagogy has variously inspired, mobilized, troubled, and frustrated teachers, activists, and educational scholars for several decades now. Since its inception the field has been animated by internal antagonism and conflict, and this reality has simultaneously spread the influence of the field in and out of education and seriously challenged its status as an integral body of work. The various debates that have categorized critical pedagogy have also made it difficult for younger scholars to enter into the literature. This is the first book to survey critical pedagogy through first-hand accounts of its established and emerging leaders. While the book does indeed provide a historical exploration and documentation of the development of critical pedagogy as a contested and dynamic educational intervention—as well as analyses of that development and directions toward possible futures—it is also intended to provide an accessible and comprehensive entry point for a new generation of activists, organizers, scholars, and educators who place questions of pedagogy and social justice at the heart of their thinking and doing. “Martin Heidegger once said that Aristotle’s life could be summarized in one, short sentence ‘He was born, he thought, he died.’ Porfilio and Ford’s brilliantly curated compilation of autobiographical sketches of leaders in critical pedagogy resolutely rejects Heidegger’s reductive thesis, reminding us all that theory is grounded in the historical specificities and material contradictions of life. For those well acquainted with critical pedagogy, these theoretical memoirs grant us a unique and sometimes surprisingly intimate glimpse into the lives behind the words we know so well. But most importantly, the format of the book is an educational intervention into how critical pedagogy can be taught. While it is often the case that students find critical pedagogy dense, inaccessible, and seemingly detached from the everyday concerns of teache

Ivor Goodson and Scherto Gill analyse and discuss a series of trans-disciplinary case studies from diverse cultures and argue that narrative is not only a rich and profound way for humans to make sense of their lives, but also in itself a process of pedagogical encounter, learning and transformation. As pedagogic sites, life narratives allow the individual to critically examine their 'scripts' for learning which are encapsulated in their thought processes, discourses, beliefs and values. Goodson and Gill show how narratives can help educators and students shift from a disenfranchised tradition to one of empowerment. This unique book brings together case studies of life narratives as an approach to learning and meaning-making in different disciplines and cultural settings, including teacher education, adult learning, (auto)biographical writing, psychotherapy, intercultural learning and community development. Educators, researchers and practitioners from diverse disciplines will find the case studies collected in this book helpful in expanding their understanding of the potential of narrative as a phenomenon, as methodology, and as pedagogy.

Many American educators are all too familiar with disengaged students, disenfranchised teachers, sanitized and irrelevant curricula, inadequate support for the neediest schools and students, and the tyranny of standardizing testing. This text invites teachers and would-be teachers unhappy with such conditions to consider becoming critical educators - professionals dedicated to creating schools that genuinely provide equal opportunity for all children. Assuming little or no background in critical theory, chapters address several essential questions to help readers develop the understanding and resolve necessary to become change agents. Why do critical theorists say that education is always political? How do traditional and critical agendas for schools differ? Which agenda benefits whose children? What classroom and policy changes does critical practice require? What risks must change agents accept? Resources point readers toward opportunities to deepen their understanding beyond the limits of these pages.

This is the first English translation of the last book written by Paulo Freire. Pedagogy of Indignation delves ever deeper into the themes that concerned him throughout his life. The book begins with a series of three deeply moving reflective "pedagogical letters" to the reader about the role of education for one's development of self. He also speaks directly to the reader about the relationship to risk in one's life and he delves deeper than before into the daily life tensions between freedom and authority. Building on these interconnected themes, Freire sharpens our sense of the critical faculties of children and how a teacher may work with children to help them realize their potential intellectually and as human beings. Subsequent chapters explore these topics in relation to the wider social world: the social constitution of the self in the work of educators; critical citizenship; and the necessity of teaching "from a position" about the world that goes beyond literacy programs to include the legacy of colonialism in peoples' resistance movements today. The book's poignant interludes, written by Ana Maria Araujo Freire, reveal Paulo's thoughts about the content of this book as he was completing it during the last weeks and days of his life.

Addressing the current and growing interest in the personal, the self, and the autobiographical not only in the teaching of writing, but also across many disciplinary and subject fields, Relocating the Personal describes a rich array of practical approaches to teaching the personal in settings where it has been excluded. The author argues for the teaching of writing as a political project in schools and communities, and for a notion of the personal which is not simply equated with voice. The construct of narrative is preferred, because it allows teachers to examine all personal writing as a representation and not the same thing as the writer's life. Strategies are developed for examining how experience is portrayed and how it might be written differently, with material effects on both the personal text and the writer's person. The book incorporates the latest theories of critical and genre literacy as it develops four teaching cases in different education contexts (secondary, undergraduate, graduate, and adult/community).

This book furthers the discussion concerning critical pedagogy and its practical applications for urban contexts. It addresses two looming, yet under-explored questions that have emerged with the ascendancy of critical pedagogy in the educational discourse: (1) What does critical pedagogy look like in work with urban youth? and (2) How can a systematic investigation of critical work enacted in urban contexts simultaneously draw upon and push the core tenets of critical pedagogy? Addressing the tensions inherent in enacting critical pedagogy - between working to disrupt and to successfully navigate oppressive institutionalized structures, and between the practice of critical pedagogy and the current standards-driven climate - The Art of Critical Pedagogy seeks to generate authentic internal and external dialogues among educators in search of texts that offer guidance for teaching for a more socially just world.