MOVING FORWARD
Critical pedagogy is situated within a transformative paradigm of thought about education (see Paradigms of Education), which aims to shift one's way of seeing and acting within the social world. When focusing on the social and humanistic goals and roles of health care, health professions need this type of education.
Many scholars have applied critical perspectives to other health and social care topics, such as disability (critical disability studies), race (critical race theory), and sociology of professions (theories of professional closure). Given the overlap amongst these topics and practices, we used examples from these various domains; we hope that you will expand your critical lens and become a critically conscious, reflective educator.
We emphasize, however, maintaining an equally critical position about one's critical reflection; all ways of seeing the world are limited and being critical is not always inherently "better." Stephen Brookfield has some excellent points on this critical stance towards one's own critical views; his works can be found in our References section.
Along these same lines, we shared many practices and examples of activities and assignments you could use as a critical pedagogue, we emphasize that there is no singular 'recipe.' Adapting your teaching to your own social, cultural, and geographical context and continually questioning and challenging your own teaching practices is essential.
We hope you felt unsettled at times, safe enough to share, and are moving forward with many new questions. Please let us know if you have any inspiring moments, or challenges, in your teaching and education practice!
Thank you for participating in Teaching for Transformation.
