Emancipatory Education
Creating a Culture of Critical Consciousness to Develop Intercultural Competence in Educators
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Tonya Huber, Lorena P. Cestou, Elizabeth R. Sanmiguel, Mayra L. Hernandez
While the challenges to be globally competent bombard the field of education, what meaningful conceptual frameworks exist for considering (and assessing) students as globally-minded citizens developing intercultural competence as educators? The conceptual framework for this presentation evolves from Roland G. Tharp’s (1994) levels of causation and Paulo Freire’s (1989) critical consciousness. Interpreted through funnels incorporating ethnogenetic levels of causation, border regions and the people who live there are interpreted through dramatically different lenses than less culturally aware and historically informed analyses have provided. Equally, consideration of educational policies and practices, historical and contemporary, related to diversity can be explored more completely and meaningfully through funnel analysis. Tharp’s levels of causation analysis is an indispensable concept in education because it teaches the culturally aware individual to analyze current events beyond the present timeline, to replace stereotyping and simplistic identifications with richer, more contextualized and often globally inclusive interpretations. Profiles of students, particularly student research fellows, engaged in critical reflection, initially on their experiences through the analytical process of “I Am From” (Pipher, 2006) and summatively through a critical analysis called clips and captions (Huber, 2002, 2011, 2017), provide curricular models and transformative strategies for creating a culture of critical consciousness in education.
Transformational School Leadership: Critical Approaches
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Dolapo Adeniji-Neill
There are issues that every school faces on a day-to-day basis, which could be handled by the school and school staff. Then there are critical Issues not all schools face but that affect students, faculty, administrators and staff deeply ( Proulx and Schulten 2018). Twenty-two percent of the children in the U.S. live at or below poverty level. Students living at or below poverty level tend to have the highest dropout rates. Studies show that students who do not get enough food or sleep are less likely to perform at their full academic potential. Schools know these truths first-hand, and despite efforts to provide students with basic essentials, teachers, administrators, and other policy makers know there is no equitable distribution of resources. Compounding these issues are poor environmental conditions of the schools in low-income neighborhoods, which often results in further undermining the potential of students in these districts. Our research emphasizes triumphs amid the aforementioned adversities. It features the stories of nine transformative leaders who created positive change in failing schools.
