Maynooth University
Social Justice in Student Teachers’ Lesson Plans
The recent inclusion of Social Justice Education (SJE) as a core component of Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes in Ireland is a welcome development, recognizing its importance for teachers. However, this also highlights the lack of research in the Irish context on teachers’ understanding of SJE. SJE in schools in Ireland often remains defined by what Andreotti (2006) calls “”soft”” rather than critical approaches (Andreotti, 2006).
These “”soft”” approaches emphasize charity and empathy, often reinforcing traditional power dynamics and relying on the perceived “”generosity”” of those in more privileged positions to “”help”” marginalized communities (Bracken and Bryan, 2011), rather than critically engaging with structural and systemic causes of inequalities and oppression (Young, 1990).
While we observe a growing awareness of more critical approaches among student teachers, many still have an understanding of SJE prevalent in their own secondary school experiences. This paper will present our analysis of student teachers’ self-reflections on past lesson plans through an assignment. The assignment asked students to reflect on the importance of having a SJ orientation in post-primary education and critically review and revise their past lessons informed by various SJ frameworks and approaches.
Our research aims to explore how student teachers conceive of SJE and how exposure to critical frameworks influenced their understanding of the curriculum. We will also assess whether they remain attached to traditional pedagogical practices or begin to recognize opportunities to critique and expand both the curriculum and their pedagogical practices.
References:
Andreotti, V (2006) ‘Soft versus critical global citizenship education’, Policy and Practice; A Development Education Review, 3, pp. 40-51
Bracken, M and Bryan, A (2011) Learning to Read the World? Teaching and Learning about Global Citizenship and International Development in Post-Primary Schools, Dublin: Irish Aid/Identikit.
Young, I M (1990) Justice and the Politics of Difference, Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press.