CriticalTheory
Torre Goodson
MU778
Module 4 – Final Paper
Prompt 2
Psychological and sociological concepts or theories can guide conceptualization of an approach to classroom pedagogy. Theories help define the framework in which problems are viewed and subsequently approached. There is no shortage of psychological and sociological theories available to educators and the possible applications of any one theory are extensive. I chose to view my practices through the lens of critical theory for the purposes of reconceptualizing my pedagogical approach. Critical theory is a sociological approach largely concerned with examining and critiquing society and its status quo. Critical theorists often focus on the process of enabling or enacting change by identifying and offering solutions for social conditions and inequities. These inequities may be based on any characteristic that socially defines a subgroup. The most commonly researched characteristics are those of gender, race, and socioeconomic status (Benedict, 2006). Critical theory posits that the fundamental task of educators is to ensure the future points toward a more socially just world, presumably without the inequities present when maintaining the status quo (Giroux, 2010).
Critical theory provides a framework that observes the implicit structures of society or an institution. At the center of the critical theorist framework lies the question of how the process of education functions to reproduce and sustain the dominate status quo (Benedict, 2006). Realization the educational process’s role in the sustenance of the status quo creates the opportunity to visualize what could be as opposed to what is. In addition, a critical theorist framework allows the opportunity to examine the intended consequences (an explicit curriculum) of a pedagogical concept in addition to its unintended consequences (an implicit curriculum). In the context of education, critical theory seeks to answer the questions “what should be
MU778
Module 4 – Final Paper
Prompt 2
Psychological and sociological concepts or theories can guide conceptualization of an approach to classroom pedagogy. Theories help define the framework in which problems are viewed and subsequently approached. There is no shortage of psychological and sociological theories available to educators and the possible applications of any one theory are extensive. I chose to view my practices through the lens of critical theory for the purposes of reconceptualizing my pedagogical approach. Critical theory is a sociological approach largely concerned with examining and critiquing society and its status quo. Critical theorists often focus on the process of enabling or enacting change by identifying and offering solutions for social conditions and inequities. These inequities may be based on any characteristic that socially defines a subgroup. The most commonly researched characteristics are those of gender, race, and socioeconomic status (Benedict, 2006). Critical theory posits that the fundamental task of educators is to ensure the future points toward a more socially just world, presumably without the inequities present when maintaining the status quo (Giroux, 2010).
Critical theory provides a framework that observes the implicit structures of society or an institution. At the center of the critical theorist framework lies the question of how the process of education functions to reproduce and sustain the dominate status quo (Benedict, 2006). Realization the educational process’s role in the sustenance of the status quo creates the opportunity to visualize what could be as opposed to what is. In addition, a critical theorist framework allows the opportunity to examine the intended consequences (an explicit curriculum) of a pedagogical concept in addition to its unintended consequences (an implicit curriculum). In the context of education, critical theory seeks to answer the questions “what should be
References: Apple, M. (2000). Official knowledge, democratic education in a conservative age. Psychology Press. Bendict, C. (2006). Chasing legitimacy: The US national music standards viewed through a critical theorist framework Giroux, H. (2010, January 03). Rethinking education as the practice of freedom: Paulo freire and the promise of critical pedagogy Leonardo, Z. (2012). The race for class: Reflections on a critical raceclass theory of education. Lincoln, Y.S., Lynnham, S.A., & Guba, E.A. (2011). Paradigmatic controversies, contradictions, and emerging confluences, revisited Wych, G. (2012). Gender and instrument associations, stereotypes, and stratification: Applications of research in music education. Music Education,30(2), 22-31