Knowing Better

Critical consciousness is highly valued as a point ofdeparture in educational efforts to effect social justice. Yeteducational literature reveals a growing concern that criticalpedagogy often fails to meet its objectives of socialtransformation towards greater justice and equality. In particular,the resistance of white teachers and students to forms of criticalpedagogy is found to be problematic. This study employs a discourseanalytic approach to explore the development of criticalconsciousness of white teachers who self-identify as criticallyconscious. This genealogical work suggests that contemporarydiscourses of critical consciousness and education reform in Canadare/produce colonial discourses and power relations between thedominant and normative white Anglo center, and marginalized racialand cultural Others.

Klappentext
Critical consciousness is highly valued as a point of departure in educational efforts to effect social justice. Yet educational literature reveals a growing concern that critical pedagogy often fails to meet its objectives of social transformation towards greater justice and equality. In particular, the resistance of white teachers and students to forms of critical pedagogy is found to be problematic. This study employs a discourse analytic approach to explore the development of critical consciousness of white teachers who self-identify as critically conscious. This genealogical work suggests that contemporary discourses of critical consciousness and education reform in Canada re/produce colonial discourses and power relations between the dominant and normative white Anglo center, and marginalized racial and cultural Others.