Critical Pedagogy for Early Childhood and Elementary Educators

Among the welter of books on critical pedagogy, this volume will be especially valued for its direct focus on early years and elementary educators. Benefiting from the considered views of two veteran teachers of critical pedagogy, the volume is far more than a knowledge-rich resource, offering as it does vital support in applying the tenets of critical pedagogy to classroom practice. Alongside specific examples of teachers engaging in critical pedagogy in elementary and early-childhood classrooms, the material features close analysis and guidance that will help ease teachers into reflective practice in critical pedagogy that is based on praxis—the point at which theory and practice meet and interact. Indeed, the authors move readers even further than this, showing how students as well as teachers can transform their experience of education through critical reflection.

After surveying the field of critical pedagogy, the authors discuss the core precepts that inform the classroom practice of critical pedagogues. They move on to discuss how vital these early and elementary years are in forging children’s nascent identities. Other topics covered include discrimination, gender issues, the development of social justice projects, and the social transformations that critical pedagogy can manifest in the classroom. Finally, this resource explains how teachers can move forward in their classroom practice to enhance equity, justice and social responsibility. This book is essential reading for classroom practitioners in early and elementary education, whether neophytes or veterans, who are interested in deploying this powerful educational paradigm in their work.

After surveying the field ofcritical pedagogy, the authors discuss the core precepts that inform the classroom practice of critical pedagogues. They move on to discuss how vital these early and elementary years are in forging children’s nascent identities. Other topics covered include discrimination, gender issues, the development of social justice projects, and the social transformations that critical pedagogy can manifest in the classroom. Finally, this resource explains how teachers can move forward in their classroom practice to enhance equity, justice and social responsibility. This book is essential reading for classroom practitioners in early and elementary education, whether neophytes or veterans, who are interested in deploying this powerful educational paradigm in their work.

• critical pedagogy
• early childhood education
• educational beliefs
• elementary education
• praxis
• social justice
• transformation
• learning and instruction

From the reviews:

“While this book is scholarly, it remains eminently readable, providing a valuable contribution to the field of critical discourse. … Student teachers, emerging teachers and current practitioners will find this a very useful book which will be a clear asset to them as they prepare essays … and ponder their own teaching practice. Reading this work will assist teachers to think about what assumptions they are making, what can be improved and what the underlying forces are, that are pervading education currently. … Highly Recommended.” (Evonne Phillips, hekupu.ac.nz, Vol. 3 (2), March, 2013)

Critical Pedagogy for Early Childhood and Elementary Educators, by Lois McFadyen Christensen and Jerry Aldridge, is not only a must read for anyone who is interested in a more just and right education for all, but it should also be on the required reading list for those studying to be early childhood and elementary school teachers. The text is scholarly, practical, accessible, and a book whose time has come.

James D. Kirylo

Author of Paulo Freire: The Man from Recife

• School of Education, University of Alabama, Birmingham, Birmingham, USA

  Lois McFadyen Christensen

• Childhood Eduation (OMEP), World Organization for Early, Birmingham, USA

  Jerry Aldridge

Policies and ethics