3. INTRODUCTION:
Critical pedagogy is an approach that attempts to help
student’s questions and challenge the existing beliefs and
practices. It helps them achieve critical consciousness. It takes
the issue of power as its central concern in the context of
teaching and learning .It focuses on how and in whose
interests knowledge is produced and ‘passed on’ and views
the ideal aim of education as emancipator y. Critical pedagogy
has its roots in the critical theory of Frankfurt school, which
influenced the Brazilian educator Paulo foe ire, the most
renowned critical educator. His famous work ‘pedagogy of the
oppressed’ inspired many educational thinkers. Critical
pedagogy provides an opportunity to reflect critically on
issues in terms of their political, social, economic and moral
aspects. It entails acceptance of multiple views on social
issues and a commitment to democratic ways of interaction. A
critical frame work helps children to see social issues from
different perspectives and understand how such issues are
connected to their lives. It facilities collective decision making
through open discussion and by encouraging and recognizing
multiple views. The basic notion of critical pedagogy is that
there is an unequal social stratification in our society with
regard to caste, class, race and gender. The theories of
Marcuse and frère held that the inequalities existing in a
society were possible to be overcome. It would be so when
4. oppressed became aware of the hegemony which held
them captive. They were slaves to a belief system which was
an integral part of the dominant culture. Ones the oppressed
become aware of their situation they can critique it to
determine what is wrong and what should be and then make
decisions and take actions toward the perceived needed
change.
5. Content
Critical pedagogy has its roots in the critical theory of the
Frankfurt school, which influenced the Brazilian educated
Paulo freire, the most renowned critical educator. His famous
work “pedagogy of the oppressed” inspired many
educational thinkers like Douglas kellner, Henry Levin, John
good lad and Ira Shor. “Radical teacher” is a magazine
dedicated to critical pedagogy and issues of interest to critical
educators. “Rouge forum” is an online organization led by
people concerned with critical pedagogy. The term Frankfort
school refers to the neo Marxian social theory characteristic of
the institute for social research founded on February 3th,
1923 at the university of Frankfort. Critical theory is a term
which came to be used to describe the dialectical social
criticism of the Frankfort school. An important tenet of the
theory is that the ideology critique and resists oppressive
regimes of power. This idea is central to Frère’s notion of
“Conscentisation that is the coming to critical consciousness.
The effort of the Frankfort school to humanizing the pedagogy
challenged inequality and oppression in the educational ideas
which later came to be known as critical pedagogy. Hence
Paulo Frere stands out as the central figure amongst critical
educators.
6. Ira shor defines critical pedagogy as “habits of
thought, reading, writing and speaking which go beneath the
surface meaning, first impressions, dominant myths, official
pronouncements, traditional cliché’s, received wisdom and
mere opinions to understand the deep meaning, root causes,
social context, ideology and personal consequences of any
action, event, object, process, organization, experience, text,
subject matter, policy, mass media or discourse”. According to
shor “when pedagogy and curricular policy reflect egalitarian
goals, they do what education can do”. She identifies the
following principle goals of critical pedagogy.
Oppose socialization with de socialization.
Choose critical consciousness over commercial
consciousness.
Transformation of society over reproduction of in
equality.
Challenge student withdrawal through participatory
courses.
Promote democracy by practicing it and by studying
authoritarianism.
Illuminate the myths supporting the elite hierarchy of
society.
7. The social constructivist perspective, the present
curriculum focuses on the setting up of a community
of scientific enquiry. This shared environment of
knowledge construction will certainly acknowledge
the basic concept of critical pedagogy. If the
students are confronted with a critical approach to
teaching they are most likely to participate in the
learning process with a critical perspective of their
own. If students are able to connect what they are
face in the world outside, they will be gradually
develop the power of challenge social dominations
in the society. Another way to promoted critical
pedagogy in the classroom is issue based approach
which sets a classroom that promotes open dialog,
on which the students rely their options about social
issues because in critical pedagogy the subjects for
educational programs flow from learning own life
situations. The problem that lie at the heart of their
concern. Critical pedagogy provides an opportunity
to reflect critically on issues in terms of their
political, social, economic and moral aspect. It
entails acceptance of multiple views on social issues
and a commitment to see social issues from
different perspectives and understand house such
issues are connected to their lives.
8. CONCLUSION
Critical pedagogy is a tool that focuses on the development of critical
consciousness which enables learners to recognize connections
between their individual problems and experiences and the social
contexts in which they are embed. That is why critical educators
focused their attention on teaching and learning. Practices that
designed to raise learners ‘critical consciousness’ regarding oppressive
social conditions. Critical pedagogy considers how education can
provide individuals with tools to better themselves and strengthen
democracy to create a more egalitarian society and the possibilities
for social change through schools. The post modernism has posed a
challenge to freemen critical pedagogy. For post modernists reality or
meaning cannot have definite a fixed truth. Whereas reality or
meaning comes as an interpretation or a contingent, known as
destruction. So there cannot be one truth or one correct narrative or
one accurate form of knowledge or way of knowing. The basic notion
of critical pedagogy is an unequal social stratification in our society
with regard to caste , class ,race and gender. With regard to English
language education, critical pedagogy has made its strong pervasive
influence from the very beginning in India came under the British
colonial rule in the 18th
century. Critical pedagogy is of central
importance in creating better and more fully realized individuals as
well as good society. Critical philosophies of education becomes a key
to social critique of the existing models of pedagogy and also present
alternative progressive models relevant to our contemporary
situation.
