Social Justice Pedagogy Across the Curriculum: The Practice of Freedom

344 Pages·2010·1.76 MB·English

by  Thandeka K. Chapman

Social Justice Pedagogy Across
the Curriculum
What knowledge and tools do pre- and in-service educators need to teach for and
about social justice across the curriculum in K-12 classrooms?
This compelling text synthesizes in one volume historical foundations, philosophic/
theoretical conceptualizations, and applications of social justice education in public
school classrooms.
• Part I details the history of the multicultural movement and the instantiation
of public schooling as a social justice project.
(cid:129) Part II connects theoretical frameworks to social justice curricula. Parts I and
II are general to all K-12 classrooms.
(cid:129) Part III provides powerful specific subject-area examples of good practice,
including English as a Second Language and Special/Exceptional Education.
Social Justice Pedagogy Across the Curriculum includes highlighted Points of
Inquiry and Points of Praxis sections offering recommendations to teachers and
researchers and activities, resources, and suggested readings. These features invite
teachers at all stages of their careers to reflect on the role of social justice in
education, particularly as it relates to their particular classrooms, schools, and
communities.
Relevant for any course that addresses history, theory, or practice of multicul-
tural/social justice education and teaching diverse groups of students, this text is
ideal for classes that are not subject-level specific and serve a host of students from
various backgrounds.
Thandeka K. Chapmanis Associate Professor of Urban Education in the
Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin,
Milwaukee.
Nikola Hobbelis Associate Professor of English Education, Humboldt State
University.
Language, Culture, and Teaching
Sonia Nieto, Series Editor
Chapman & Hobbel (Eds.)
Social Justice Pedagogy Across the Curriculum: The Practice of Freedom
Andrews
Re-framing Literacy: Teaching and Learning in English and the Language Arts
Dantas & Manyak (Eds.)
Home-School Connections in a Multicultural Society: Learning From and With Culturally and
Linguistically Diverse Families
Janks
Literacy and Power
Nieto
Language, Culture, and Teaching: Critical Perspectives for a New Century, Second Edition
Botelho & Rudman
Critical Multicultural Analysis of Children’s Literature: Mirrors, Windows, and Doors
Spears-Bunton & Powell (Eds.)
Toward a Literacy of Promise: Joining the African-American Struggle
Bruna & Gomez (Eds.)
The Work of Language in Multicultural Classrooms: Talking Science, Writing Science
Morrell
Critical Literacy and Urban Youth: Pedagogies of Access, Dissent, and Liberation
Edelsky
With Literacy and Justice for All: Rethinking the Social in Language and Education, Third Edition
Harmon/Wilson
Beyond Grammar: Language, Power, and the Classroom
Berlin
Contextualizing College ESL Classroom Praxis: A Participatory Approach to Effective Instruction
Vasquez
Negotiating Critical Literacies with Young Children
Goldstein
Teaching and Learning in a Multicultural School: Choices, Risks, and Dilemmas
Collins
Community Writing: Researching Social Issues Through Composition
Visit www.routledge.com/education for additional information on titles in the Language,
Culture, and Teaching series.
Social Justice Pedagogy
Across the Curriculum
The Practice of Freedom
Edited by
Thandeka K. Chapman
University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Nikola Hobbel
Humboldt State University
First published 2010
by Routledge
270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Simultaneously published in the UK
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2010.
To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
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© 2010 Taylor & Francis
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic,
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invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
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Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be
trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for
identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog record has been requested for this book
ISBN 0-203-85448-9 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 10: 0–415–80600–3 (hbk)
ISBN 10: 0–415–80604–6 (pbk)
ISBN 10: 0–203–85448–9 (ebk)
ISBN 13: 978–0–415–80600–8 (hbk)
ISBN 13: 978–0–415–80604–6 (pbk)
ISBN 13: 978–0–203–85448–8 (ebk)
I would like to dedicate this book to the Milwaukee
PEOPLE (Pre-College Enrichment Opportunity Program
for Learning Excellence) students with whom I fell in
love and who brought me to their city.—T.K.C.
To Dan, with love, gratitude and respect.—N.H.

Contents
Foreword by Sonia Nieto ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xvi
Introduction: Conversations, Problems, and Action 1
THANDEKA K. CHAPMAN AND NIKOLA HOBBEL
PART I
Historical Perspectives 7
1 “These are Revolutionary Times”: Human Rights, Social Justice,
and Popular Protest 9
CARL A. GRANT AND MELISSA L. GIBSON
2 Federal Education Policy and Social Justice Education 36
CHRISTINE E. SLEETER
3 Roots of Social Justice Pedagogies in Social Movements 59
MAURIANNE ADAMS
PART II
Theoretical Intersections 87
4 Critical Theory as Social Justice Pedagogy 89
BEKISIZWE S. NDIMANDE
5 “Jump at Da Sun”: Black Feminist Influences on Social
Justice Pedagogy 104
ADRIENNE D. DIXSON AND JAMILA D. SMITH
6 Can We Learn Queerly? Normativity and Social Justice Pedagogies 121
LISA W. LOUTZENHEISER
viii Contents
7 Critical Multiculturalism: Transformative Educational
Principles and Practices 144
PATRICIA D. QUIJADA CERECER, LETICIA ALVAREZ GUTIÉRREZ,
AND FRANCISCO RIOS
8 After Poststructuralism: Rethinking the Discourse of
Social Justice Pedagogy 164
ROBERT J. PARKES, JENNIFER M. GORE AND WENDY ELSWORTH
9 Indigenous Knowledges and Social Justice Pedagogy 184
BRYAN MCKINLEY JONES BRAYBOY AND TERESA L. MCCARTY
10 Welcoming the Unwelcome: Disability as Diversity 201
DAVID J. CONNOR AND SUSAN L. GABEL
PART III
Social Justice Pedagogy and Praxis 221
11 Social Justice and Arts Education: Spheres of Freedom 223
THERESE QUINN
12 Writing in Academic Genres: Is Social Justice a Learning Outcome? 236
NIKOLA HOBBEL AND THANDEKA K. CHAPMAN
13 Writing, Pedagogy, and Social Justice 250
KORINA M. JOCSON
14 Mathematics Education for Social Transformation 262
ERIC (RICO) GUTSTEIN
15 Science Curricular Materials through the Lens of Social Justice:
Research Findings 273
MARY M. ATWATER AND REGINA L. SURIEL
16 Critical Media Inquiry as High School Social Studies for
Social Justice: Doc Your Bloc 283
DAVID STOVALL AND DANIEL MORALES-DOYLE
17 Second Language Education: With Liberty And Languages for All 299
RAQUEL OXFORD
Afterword: The Power not yet in Power 309
IRA SHOR
About the Contributors 313
Index 318
Foreword
Sonia Nieto
Social justice: it’s on everyone’s mind these days. From political pundits to teacher
educators, from school principals to parents, and from political scientists to car
salespeople, everyone has an opinion on social justice. Some are staunch advocates,
others fierce opponents, but everyone seems passionate about the promise or the
perils of social justice. Some consider it the sine qua nonof a democracy. Others
liken it to socialism and the end of the civilized world as we know it. But what
exactly issocial justice? And, in terms of the specific matters addressed in this text,
what does social justice have to do with education?
In Social Justice Pedagogy Across the Curriculum: The Practice of Freedom, editors
Thandeka K. Chapman and Nikola Hobbel address these questions and more. They
and the other authors in this book tackle multiple layers of the concept of social jus-
tice as it applies to education, and they provide powerful examples of what it looks
like in practice, particularly in schools with diverse populations. Using Freirean
theories of liberatory education, basic tenets of multicultural education, important
concepts of Black feminist thought, poststructural analysis, and queer pedagogy,
among others, the authors weave a tapestry that is at once complex and provocative.
In the process, they offer all of us—teachers, teacher educators, researchers, policy
makers, and others interested in the current context of education—a comprehen-
sive and thought-provoking look at the history of social justice, a thorough explo-
ration of the theoretical underpinnings of the concept, and engaging stories of how
it is used in classrooms.
Social Justice Pedagogy Across the Curriculum is the newest addition to the
Language, Culture, and Teaching (LCT) series, a series for preservice and practic-
ing teachers that encourages critical thought and thoughtful action in teaching and
learning. If you are already teaching, no doubt many of you are working in diverse
settings and searching for theories and strategies to help you connect with your stu-
dents. If you are not yet teaching, most of you will probably find yourselves work-
ing in diverse communities with students whose identities—race/ethnicity,
language, social class, and so forth—differ from your own. The books in the LCT
series ask you to recognize that there is no “generic” student, but that instead all stu-
dents come to school with their individual sociocultural realities and specific
sociopolitical contexts. Through theoretical discussions, practical applications,