Educational leaders confront instances of inequity every day, whether they are aware of it or not. Many find themselves inadequately reacting to such issues due in part to traditional preparation programs that fail to interrogate the existence and impact of systems of oppression. Why is naming and tackling inequity not at the forefront of every…

This book introduces critical theory, providing a practical starting point for teachers interested in exploring alternatives for creating a new kind of classroom experience, both for themselves and their students. Critical theory offers most educators an approach to education that is radically different from the norm. This book provides the…

Posits that schools must help students evaluate their culture and seek social change where warranted. Analyzes features of rationality in the mandate that schools provide students with tools for reasoned, logical, and unpartisan social criticism. Suggests that radical theorists have not clearly proposed to schools rational structures for…

Asserts that ethnography's development out of anthropology left it tainted with biases from colonialism and imperialism. Discusses several contemporary approaches, including critical ethnography, really useful knowledge, and action research. Suggests further incorporation of postmodernist ideas into the field of ethnography. (MJP)

Uses the television program "Roseanne" as a teaching aid to analyze societal institutions and their effects on everyday life experiences. Examines attitudes and opinions of 31 White midwestern college students, ages 18 to late 50s, regarding the program. Shows students feel the series critiques patriarchy and affirms women's lives. (NL)

Argues that, far from being a dangerous and destructive break with the past, various factions of postmodernism actually parallel modernist beliefs. Both movements share groups whose creative revisionists approach seeks a constructive accommodation. Similar parallel destructive approaches also exist. (MJP)

Examines the challenge of educating increasing numbers of minority and impoverished students to produce effective citizens and future workers. Offers a lesson on reconceptualizing European westward expansion to analyze the social construction of knowledge. Argues that schools can and must help students think critically, deal with social and…

Current concepts of critical thinking need to be reconstrued into the much broader concept of "critical being" and applied to higher education. Under this construct, critical persons (students) become more than just critical thinkers; they engage critically with the world and with themselves; they not only reflect critically on…

Introduces "What We Consume," a British curriculum package that examines the social use of nature, world economy, and environmental/political controversies. Explains that the package's goal is to develop students' critical awareness of environmental problems and willingness to initiate change. Outlines the curriculum's framework and…