Critical Personal Reflection

Educating adolescents on social justice issues and diversity is essential to help students recognise
the differences between individuals in our world. It assists them to create a sense of awareness
and consciousness in society (Dover, 2013). Personally, I have never experienced or thought
about social justice issues in depth however, this unit has made me more aware that these issues
are not something you just see on television. These issues are real and are the unfortunate reality
of many people in society. The unit has also taught me that as teachers we have the power to
change and encourage positive views on the younger generations through the inclusion of
pedagogical theories in teaching. This essay will address the importance of teaching social justice
and discuss my pedagogical strategies on how I would implement awareness of social justice
issues within my key learning area (KLA) of food technology.

I believe social justice and diversity are necessary topics which need to be taught through a
mixture of explicit and implicit curriculum throughout the daily life of a teacher (Oliva, 1997).
Students are aware of real world political debates, racial tensions and overall negative discourses
which tend to isolate and marginalise individuals because of their race, ethnicity, religion, gender,
sexuality, language, socio-economic class and/or Aboriginality (Dover, 2013). These negative
discourses result in an obvious imbalance of power which students recognise in society (Dover,
2013). As teachers, it is important to acknowledge these power imbalances and have the
conversation with students about these matters. It is also important to implement social justice and
diversity perspectives in the classroom to reduce bullying between students (U.S Department of
Education, Office of Special Education Programs, 2004). It is the responsibility of the teacher to
maintain a safe environment where all students feel a sense of belonging and if these issues are
not addressed then matters can escalate and some students can feel isolated (U.S Department of
Education, Office of Special Education Programs, 2004). Teachers and education systems have
the power themselves to maintain or help change discourses in our society (Delpit, 1988). There
are many ways in which teachers and education systems can help change and implement social
justice concepts in teaching. This can be simply by following the curriculum for some subjects like
society and culture or history or implicitly by the attitudes and behaviours portrayed to commonly
marginalised students (Delpit, 1988). Teachers are role models for students and by setting positive
examples by correcting stereotypical, prejudice or discriminating behaviours from students, it can
help to diminish negative discourses (U.S Department of Education, Office of Special Education
Programs, 2004).

In my personal teaching approach, I would use the critical pedagogy theory and culturally
responsive teaching methods to enhance the learning of social justice and diversity issues to my
students. Critical pedagogy theory is a teaching practice which makes us think about the social
construction of knowledge and its association with power in society (Sarroub, & Quadros, 2015).
1
When implementing this theory to my pedagogy it is my responsibility to question my own teaching
practices within food technology and question why the main knowledge is legitimised by dominant
culture (Apple, 2001).

Through this, the theory promotes the transformation of power to become more equitable for the
marginalised and minority groups in our society by addressing the unbalanced division of power
which is continual in pedagogical relationships between teachers and students (Ferfolja, Diaz, &
Ullman, 2015).

Culturally responsive teaching is another method I would use in my teaching strategy. Ladson-
Billings (1994) suggests this method acknowledges the importance of including cultural references
of students in all aspects of learning. This can be achieved by adjusting what we teach to be more
culturally conscious (Ladson-Billings, 1994). It draws on the students experiences of cultural
knowledge, frames of reference and performance styles in order to connect with the students and
make learning more relevant for them (Ladson-Billings, 1994). This style of teaching addresses
equity and diversity as it is inclusive of many different individuals. Relating back to the critical
pedagogy theory, it does not allow the content to be legitimised by a dominant culture but instead
broadens this capacity to the teachings and learnings of different cultures (Ladson-Billings, 1994).

Critical pedagogy and culturally responsive teaching promotes equality and diversity through
reflecting multiple cultural and linguistic practices and values to allow an equal opportunity for
students to reach their full potential (U.S Department of Education, Office of Special Education
Programs, 2004). Through this differentiation, it addresses the needs of all learners which
complies with standards 1.3 and 1.5 from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers
(APST) (AITSL, 2011). As my KLA is food technology, I would make my theory and practical
lessons culturally diverse and not centred around dominant white culture. This can be done by
allowing students to cook a dish which represents their cultural identity and getting them to explain
the significance of the dish and what it means to them. Furthermore, throughout the yearly
practicals I would change certain ingredients from western ones to more culturally diverse ones
where students can either relate to or learn more about. This provides equality and diversity by
allowing the students to experience various different foods which originate from different cultures. I
believe food is powerful and can help bring people together in a positive way therefore, allowing
students to share their culture through food creates a safe, supportive and inclusive environment
for all students. However, shortfalls of both these teaching strategies can be the fine line between
culturally stereotyping students, careful planning and research needs to be undertaken by
teachers to ensure this does not occur (U.S Department of Education, Office of Special Education
Programs, 2004)

2
In conclusion, I believe social justice and diversity are essential areas the younger generation
needs education on to build awareness and consciousness about different people in society
(Dover, 2013). It is up to us as teachers to set standards and act as role models for our students to
display acceptable behaviours and attitudes towards individuals (Delpit, 1988). Throughout the
progression of this course it has taught me the importance of illustrating these positive behaviours
and to be mindful of individuals and their backgrounds.

3
References:

AITSL. (2011). Australian professional standards for teachers. Retrieved from

http://www.aitsl.edu.au/docs/default-source/apst-
resources/australian_professional_standard_for_teachers_final.pdf

Apple, M. W. (2001). Educating the ‘right’ way: Markets, standards, God and inequality. New York:
Routledge.

Delpit, L. D. (1988). The silenced dialogue: Power and pedagogy in educating other people’s
children. Harvard Educational Review, 59(3), 280-298.

Dover, A.G. (2013). Teaching for social justice: From conceptual frameworks to classroom
practices, Taylor and Francis Group, 15(1), pp 3-11. doi: 10.1080/15210960.2013.75428

Ferfolja, T.,Diaz, C.J. & Ullman, J (2015).The unseen half. In Ferfolja, T.,Diaz, C.J. & Ullman, J
(Eds), Understanding sociological theory for educational practices, (pp 1-20), Melbourne,
Australia: Cambridge University Press.

Ladson-Billings, G. (1994). The dreamkeepers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishing Co.

Oliva, P. (1997). The curriculum: Theoretical dimensions. New York: Longman.

Sarroub, L.K., & Quadros, S. (2015). Critical pedagogy in classroom discourse. Faculty
Publications: Department of Teaching, Learning and Teacher Education, pp 252-260.

U.S Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (2004). Addressing diversity
in schools: Culturally responsive pedagogy, (Publication No. H326E020003). Retrieved from
http://www.niusileadscape.org/docs/FINAL_PRODUCTS/NCCRESt/practitioner_briefs/%95%20TE
MPLATE/DRAFTS/AUTHOR%20revisions/annablis%20pracbrief%20templates/Diversity_Brief_hig
hres.pdf.