ERIC Number: EJ1138792
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Building Critical Community in Middle School Learning Environments
Dowdy, Josh; Dore, Elizabeth
Teacher Educators' Journal, v10 p62-76 Spr 2017
Research pertaining to institutions of public education reveals that curricular structures often function to produce and reproduce systemic inequalities. The following personal statement outlines a middle school teacher's attempt to address social reproduction in public education. By situating issues of inequity within a local context of socio-cultural reproduction, the author demonstrates parallels between written works of seminal, critical theorists demonstrating how socially reproductive structures persist under current standardized "high-stakes" educational reform agendas. The review highlights the transformative power of intersectionality, critical discourse, and personal narrative, along with the use of 21st century online platforms to connect students from privileged and disadvantaged communities as curricular structures with the power to interrogate dominant culture norms within public learning environments. Ultimately, the statement concludes with a call for the implementation of such curriculum to create and develop opportunities for new socio-cultural awarenesses in K-12 settings.
Descriptors: Middle School Teachers, Educational Environment, Sense of Community, Public Education, Individual Development, Instructional Innovation, Educational Change, Educational Resources, Stakeholders, Barriers, Group Dynamics, Interviews
Association of Teacher Educators in Virginia. Shenandoah University, Winchester, VA 22601. e-mail: ehthomps@ehc.edu; Web site: http://ateva.org/?page_id=450
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Middle Schools; Secondary Education; Junior High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Virginia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A