Research Program

Critical pedagogy of democracy and social justice in education

Dr. Paul R. Carr

Overview

A. Schema of research frameworkB. Publications in the four themes of research

1. Race and identity2. Intercultural education3. Critical pedagogy4. Democracy in education

C. Glimpse of research:1. Democracy in education2. Whiteness3. Educational policymaking and accountability

Social Justice

Critical pedagogy

Democratic education

Intercultural education

Race & identity

•Paulo Freire Joe Kinceheloe* Peter McLaren *•Donaldo Macedo Henry Giroux •ASSOCIATED with the Paulo and Nita Freire International Project for Critical Pedagogy (Canada Research Chair – Dr. Joe Kincheloe)

•Lucie Suave * Richard Bourhis * Reinaldo Fleuri * •Aline Gohard-Radenkovic * J-P Tsala-Tsala •BOARD MEMBER: Comparative and Internat. Ed. Society; Association pour la recherche interculturelle

•Kathy Bickmore•D. Schugurensky *•Joel Westheimer•Walter Parker•John Dewey

•COLLABORATION with Dr. Jules Duchastel, Canada Research Chair in Globalization, Democracy and Citizenship at UQAM

•George Dei *•Carl James *•Darren Lund *•Njoke Wane *•Shareen Razack

•ASSOCIATED with the Centre for Leadership and Diversity at the OISE at the University of Toronto

DiscourseAnalysis

MediaAnalysis

PolicyAnalysis

Qualitative Analysis

LEGENDMajor research themesKey areas of inquiryInfluences (*working relationships)Methodological approaches

Research Program – Critical Pedagogy of Democracy and

Social Justice in EducationDr. Paul R. Carr

•Neo-liberalism•Educational policymaking•Media analysis•Inequitable power relations

•Whiteness•Anti-racism•Institutional culture•Social construction of identity

•North/South relations•Immigration & integration•Environmental education•Comparative & internat. ed.

•Doing democracy•Critical engagement•Politics & political literacy•Democratic citizenship

1 - RACE AND IDENTITY: ANTI-RACISM (in press) Carr, Paul R. The Equity Waltz in Canada: The connection between the formal and

informal realities of racism, Journal of Contemporary Issues in Education. (in press) Potvin, Maryse and Paul R. Carr. La conceptualisation et la mise en œuvre de

l’éducation antiraciste : Les cas de l’Ontario et du Québec. Education et francophonie. (in press) Carr, Paul R. and Darren E. Lund. Antiracist education. In Provenzo, E. (ed.), SAGE

Encyclopaedia of Cultural and Social Foundations of Education. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications.

Carr, Paul R. and Gina Thesee. (2006). Race and identity in education in Quebec, DIRECTIONS: Research and Policy on Eliminating Racism, 3(1), 18-23.

Carr, Paul R. and Gina Thesee. (2006). Race et identité dans l’éducation au Québec, DIRECTIONS: Recherche et politiques sur l’élimination du racisme, 3(1), 38-42.

Carr, Paul R. (1997). Reflections on identity formation: Is it easier to embrace or reject Canadian citizenship?, Multiculturalism, 2:1-7.

Carr, Paul R. and Thomas R. Klassen. (1997). Institutional barriers to the implementation of anti-racist education: A case study of the secondary system in a large, racially diverse, urban school board, Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Foundations, 12(1):46-68.

Carr, Paul R. and Thomas R. Klassen. (1997). Different perceptions of race in education: Racial minority and White teachers, Canadian Journal of Education, 1(Winter):68-81. http://www.csse.ca/CJE/Articles/FullText/CJE22-1/CJE22-1-Carr.pdf

Carr, Paul R. and Thomas R. Klassen. (1996). The role of racial minority teachers in anti-racist education, Canadian Ethnic Studies, 28(2):126-138.

Carr, Paul R. (1995). Employment equity for racial minorities in the teaching profession, Multicultural Education Journal, 13(1):28-42. 4

1 - RACE AND IDENTITY: WHITENESS BOOK: Carr, Paul R. & Lund, Darren E. (editors). (2007). The Great White North? Exploring

Whiteness, privilege and identity in education. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.

ARTICLES/CHAPTERS:

(submitted) Carr, Paul R. and Darren E. Lund. The unspoken color of diversity: White privilege and critical engagement in education. In Steinberg, S. (ed.), Diversity: A Reader. New York: Peter Lang Publishing.

(in press) Carr, Paul R. The epistemology of Whiteness in a sea of color: Confronting power and privilege in education, ENTRELUGARES.

(in press) Lund, Darren E. and Carr, Paul R. Exposing the Great White North: Tackling Whiteness, privilege and identity in Canadian education. The epistemology of Whiteness in a sea of color: Confronting power and privilege in education, DIRECTIONS: Research and Policy on Eliminating Racism.

Carr, Paul R. and Darren Lund. (2007). Introduction. In Carr, P. and Lund, D. (eds.). The Great White North? Exploring Whiteness, privilege and identity in education. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.

Carr, Paul R. (2007). The Whiteness of Educational Policymaking. In Carr, P. and Lund, D. (eds.). The Great White North? Exploring Whiteness, privilege and identity in education. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.

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1 - RACE AND IDENTITY: EDUCATIONAL POLICYMAKING

ASSOCIATED with the Centre for Leadership and Diversity at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto (Drs. John Portelli, Jim Ryan and Reva Joshi)

Carr, Paul R. (2006). Social justice and Whiteness in education: Color-blind policymaking and racism, Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies,4, 2. http://www.jceps.com/index.php?pageID=article&articleID=77

Carr, Paul R. (2007). Educational policy and the social justice dilemma. In Claire, H. and Holden, C. (eds), Controversial Issues in Education (pp. 1-10). London: Trentham.

Carr, Paul R. (1999). Transforming the institution, or institutionalizing the transformation? Racial diversity and anti-racism in education in Toronto, McGill Journal of Education, 34 (1):49-77.

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2 – INTERCULTURAL EDUCATIONKEY CONCEPTS: identity; immigration; international and comparative education; environmental educationASSOCIATED with Strategic Network on Immigration in Canada Outside of the Large Urban Centres (The

coordinator of the Network is Dr. Michele Vatz Laaroussi of the Université de Sherbrooke)BOARD MEMBER: Comparative and International Education Society; and the Association pour la recherche

interculturelle

BOOK: (under contract) Thésée, Gina, Carignan, Nicole & Carr, Paul R. (editors). Les faces cachées de la recherche interculturelle. Paris: L’Harmattan.

ARTICLES/CHAPTERS:

(in press) Thésée, Gina and Paul R. Carr. Une proposition d’élargissement de la dimension critique en éducation relative à l’environnement : la résistance éco-épistémologique, Éducation relative à l’environnement : Regards – Recherches – Réflexions.

(in press) Thésée, Gina and Paul R. Carr. L’interculturel en environnement : Où justice sociale devrait rimer avec justice environnementale, Journal of Canadian and International Education.

Thésée, Gina and Paul R. Carr. (2007). Les mesures d’équité et les discontinuités culturelles (Equity Measures and Cultural Discontinuities). In Solar, Claudie, and Fasel Kanoute (eds.), Équité en éducation (Equity in Education). Montreal: Éditions Nouvelles.7

3 - CRITICAL PEDAGOGYKEY CONCEPTS: political literacy; media literacy; institutional culture and change

ASSOCIATED with the Paulo and Nita Freire International Project for Critical Pedagogy (Canada Research Chair – Dr. Joe Kincheloe)

BOOK: (under contract) Lund, Darren E. & Carr, Paul R. (editors). “Doing” Democracy: Striving for Political Literacy and Social Justice. New York: Peter Lang Publishing.

(in press) Carr, Paul. R. Why bother with diversity? The endless debate. In James, Carl, Seeing Ourselves: Exploring Race, Ethnicity and Culture (fourth edition). Toronto: Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.

(in press) Carr, Paul R. and Gina Thesee. The Quest for political (il)literacy: Responding to, and attempting to counter, the neoliberal agenda. In Porfilio, B. and Malott, C. (eds.), An International Examination of Urban Education: The Destructive Path of Neoliberalism. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.

Carr, Paul R. (2007). Shock and awe and the environment, Peace Review, 19(3), 335-343.

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4 - DEMOCRACYCOLLABORATION with Dr. Jules Duchastel, Canada Research Chair in Globalization,

Democracy and Citizenship at UQAM, on research projectBOOK: (under contract) Lund, Darren E. & Carr, Paul R. (editors). “Doing”

Democracy: Striving for Political Literacy and Social Justice. New York: Peter Lang Publishing.

ARTICLES: (in press) Carr, Paul R. Educating for democracy: With or without social justice?, Teacher

Education Quarterly. Carr, Paul R. and Gina Thesee. (2008). Educational institutions negotiating democracy

and social justice: The (im)balance of power and accountability, Journal of Canadian and International Education 36(3), 32-46.

Carr, Paul R. (2007). Experiencing democracy through neo-liberalism: The role of social justice in education, Journal of Critical Education Policy Studies, 5(2). http://www.jceps.com/index.php?pageID=article&articleID=104

Carr, Paul R. (2007). Standards, accountability and democracy: Addressing inequities through a social justice accountability framework, Democracy and Education, 17(1), 1-16.

Carr, Paul R. (2006). Democracy in the classroom?, Academic Exchange Quarterly, 10(2), 7-12.

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Perspectives, experiences and perceptions of education students in relation to democracy

Dr. Paul R. CarrYoungstown State University

prcarr@ysu.edu

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MethodologyPHASE 1 – AMERICAN SAMPLE (COMPLETED)

• Detailed questionnaire (28 open- and close-ended questions)• Undertaken in November and December 2005• College of Education undergraduate students at an Ohio university

asked to voluntarily participate• Qualitative and quantitative analysis

PHASE 2 – CANADIAN SAMPLE (DATE COLLECTED; ANALYSIS UNDERWAY)

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Central themes Four themes emerged:

the particular conceptualization of democracy, with an over-riding focus on elections, seems to be narrow and weakly supported;

the democratic educational experience of teachers is limited, and even contrary to what could be considered a meaningful foundation to engage in debate and action;

the concern about teaching controversial issues, combined with the fear of being labeled doctrinaire, is a serious concern for the majority of participants; and

the understanding of, and linkage to, social justice is considered nebulous and problematic.

Concern with how education systems and teachers conceptualize the citizenship-based, lived experience of democratic education, as opposed to standardized testing and the quest for high academic achievement (-- > neoliberalism)

Lack of critical appreciation among participants of democracy as a philosophy, ethos, political system and cultural phenomenon, as they often associate democracy exclusively with the electoral process.

Limited focus on critical thinking, politics as a way of life, power-sharing, the decision-making process, the role of the media, alternative systems, and social responsibility as part of what could be considered thick democracy.

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Central theme – Political literacy

• Nebulous linkage between democracy and social justice (overriding fear of bias, values-dissemination and indoctrination)

• The critical area of social justice, especially in relation to race and poverty, is not fully supported as an integral part of the teaching about/for democracy.

• The connection between education and democracy is problematic, with many participants questioning the foundation of such a linkage.

• Timidity about “politics” being part of education.• Civic engagement is understood in relatively narrow terms, concentrated within a

specific class/course or associated with elections. • Some significant differences between African-American and White participants in

relation to the place and significance of social justice in education.

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Central theme – Engagement in/with politics

• Excessive emphasis on presidential politics when talking about democracy, eclipsing local, regional and international issues.

• Almost all of the participants focus on elections as the pivotal underpinning to democracy.

• Almost all participants-- although extremely supportive of democracy in the US-- are dissatisfied with a number of aspects associated with democracy (i.e., elections, issues raised, elected officials).

• US democracy is often considered to be a model, far preferable to what exists in other systems/countries; however, there does not appear to be a strong understanding of how democracy functions elsewhere.

Framework for democratic education

a. Educational curricula • what is explicitly asked of teachers and students through curriculum and other policy

documents re: democracy, citizenship, social justice? • who is involved in developing the formal and informal curricula? • how can the myth of social studies being the only area to explore politics best be

approached and rectified? b. Teacher preparation • how are educators prepared to understand and interact with democracy? • what type of on-going support is provided to teachers to undertake critical work? • how are educators evaluated to ensure that they are able to effectively engage in

democracy?

c. Institutional culture• how do educational systems support, cultivate and demonstrate leadership in relation to

democracy in education? • what is, and should be, done to encourage a culture of democracy in schools?• how are macro issues defined, articulated and funded, and what is the linkage to social

justice within the institutional culture of educational systems? 

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Framework for democratic educationd. Accountability what leadership measures are in place to ensure that democratic policies, practices and

outcomes are in place? how are academic standards connected to democracy, citizenship and social justice? how are decisionmaking processes evaluated to ensure that social justice will be a functional

reality in addition to written policy directives? e. Civic engagement how should students become engaged with democracy at school? what should be done to forge a stronger linkage between citizens/ communities and

international issues? how should the formal curriculum recognize the importance of civic engagement? f. Political education how can controversial issues be addressed in education without the fear of being labeled anti-

patriotic? what can be done to introduce students to the complexity of politics, especially outside of the

electoral process? what strategies, measures, activities and experiences should be infused into the formal and

informal educational experience in order to support and infuse political education and political literacy into schools?

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The Great White North? Translucent Whiteness in a Colour-Blind Society

Dr. Paul R. Carr

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The myth of White goodness

• Canada as a civilized, non-colonizing, pacifist nation, with “two founding peoples” (English and French)

• Land of opportunity, more welcoming and charitable than the US (“less” segregated, racist and divided)

• Canadians embrace multiculturalism, difference and minority status; ours is a “meritocracy”

• How do we reconcile our history of history of colonization, slavery & racism?

• Colour-blindness masks internment of Japanese in WWII, razing of Africville in N.S., Chinese head-tax, under-achievement in education by some groups, etc.

• Canada as a White country (embassies, symbols, monarchy)

• Prime Ministers, Supreme Court Judges, major cultural and media figures, business icons, etc. are largely, if not exclusively, White

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White identity

• We know that people of colour are racialized but do Whites know that they have a racial origin?

• Do Whites use their privilege to deny or ignore their racial identity, and, simultaneously, infer inherent racial attributes to the “Other”?

• If White people do not know they are White, how can those in positions of power (who are mainly White) effectively understand and challenge racism and unearned privilege?

• If there are Black, Asian, Chinese, Racial Minority, etc. communities, is there then, logically, a White community?

• If Affirmative Action for minorities today is wrong, was Affirmative Action for Whites for the past 400 years equally wrong?

• If we are colour-blind, why is there racism (individual, collective, systemic, institutional)?

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Shades of Whiteness

• If Whites experience power and privilege differently, does that mean that we are all simply “individuals”, responsible for our own actions?

• If White groups also experience discrimination, does this mean that there is no real racial discrimination against people of colour?– Francophones vs. Anglophones in Canada– Catholics vs. Protestants in Northern Ireland– Hungarians vs. Romanians in Romania– Basques vs. Spanish in Spain– Jews vs Christians in Europe & North America

• Social class power and privilege

• “Whites, no matter how poor, are part of a club, even if it is the second tier”

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Why talk about Whiteness?

• Power: gaps in income, disproportionate incarceration rates, employment discrimination, status and representation based on race, etc.

• Equity advancements have often avoided racial issues (i.e., women’s movement)

• Networks, associations, clubs, etc. are changing but Whiteness is still a predominant factor; private schools are mainly for Whites producing more inequity

• Unwritten, unspoken, coded language still characterizes public discourse (jokes, expressions, concerns about “reverse discrimination”, rejection of notion of racism)

• Confusion between overt and systemic racism

• Data collection on race is discouraged

• “Filling a quote” and “Playing the race card” can be used to neutralize racial equality

Toronto District School Board

• 50%+ of students do not have English as their mother tongue; more than 100 languages represented in the schools

• Approximately 55% of the students are racial minorities; roughly 15% of the teachers are racial minorities

• More than 30% of the students are born outside Canada in more than 175 countries

• More than 10% of the students are in Canada less than three years

• The drop-out rate for Black students is 2-3 times higher than for White students22

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The imagery of Whiteness

• “White as Snow”, “Pure White”, “Snow White”…

• Metaphors, analogies, images, cultural landmarks and concrete manifestations in language, law and cultural practices

White ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------BlackGood

EvilLightness DarknessBenevolence

MalevolenceCleanliness, kindness, and serenity Undesirablethe conqueror the “dark

continent”

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White racial superiority

• Slavery, colonialism, neo-colonialism, & imperialism

• Whiteness moral, biological, religious superiority

• Hate groups against people of colour (& others)

• Europeans and Aboriginal peoples (forced religious conversion, disrespect of language, culture and family, and attempts to terminate First Nations)

• Why are churches still largely segregated?

• Why are inter-racial marriages still taboo for many?

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Whiteness and education

• Education as a key site for learning and advancing social justice– Most teachers are White– Curriculum is still contested, considered Euro-centric– Student identity and experience is evolving– Issues of power, democracy and social justice need to be addressed formally as well as informally in

an authentic way– Neo-liberalism can reinforce marketization of public education as well as less political literacy

• The study of Whiteness forces us to interrogate identity, difference, equity and power from diverse vantage-points, with myriad linkages to the international context

• A multitude of studies on racial groups, racial problems, integration, multiculturalism, etc. without a explicit focus on Whiteness and White complicity in shaping social realities

• Educational policymaking, curriculum development, teacher training and teacher unions, etc., are infused with Whiteness

Mimi Pinguin, important characature in Mexico in the 1940s, in a series of stamps in 2005

(Source : http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/29/AR2005062902831.html)

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Is Tin-Tin racist?(Sources : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/07/12/ntintin112.xml)

(http://vivirlatino.com/2007/07/13/racist-book-ruffles-feathers-in-the-uk.php)

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American art and culture (Source : http://www.sonofthesouth.net/slavery/african-american-art/racist-picture.htm)

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Whites who paint their faces black (Blackface)(Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackface)

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White hate groups (Sources : http://www.rulen.com/kkk/ et http://sun.menloschool.org/~sportman/ethnic/individual/kkk/)

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Questioning Whiteness - General

1. In what ways did/has Whiteness entered your life in Canada as either privilege and/or oppression?

2. Can you name ten White Canadians and ten non-White Canadians who have made a major contribution to science, culture, and life of Canada (excluding sports figures)?

3. Does surviving institutional Whiteness require individual or institutional responses?

4. What aspects of Whiteness are difficult to quantify?

5. Is there a reason for the difficulty in articulating Indigenous responses to institutional colonization and racism?

6. Do you think that being motivated to fight racial inequality as a result of White guilt is necessarily a sign of an ill-guided motive? In which instances do you think White guilt could be beneficial, and, conversely, harmful?

7. Statistical projections indicate that in major Canadian cities (Toronto, Vancouver) White people will soon be in the minority. How might this affect the process of White Racial Identity Development (WRID)?

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Questioning Whiteness - General

8. How can individuals work against the silencing of race? What conversations need to happen?

9. What are some of the tactics or mechanisms that Whites use in their denial of race privilege? How are the respective tactics or mechanisms related to attempts to justify and rationalize their beliefs that their achievements are a result of their individual efforts?

10. Is it possible for racial minorities to gain equitable access to employment and educational opportunities without special structural and institutional programs like Affirmative Action and Employment Equity?

11. If racism is to be addressed, White people must recognize (i.e., admitting to) “White privilege,” dealing with the resulting personal or internal discomfort, tensions and conflicts, and challenging the very system or structures that contribute to the privilege. Discuss how best this state of being might be attained without developing the urge to give up or back down in the face of personal and interpersonal conflicts that could undermine the socio-economic and political success for which everyone strives.

12. How is Whiteness complicated by other expressions of ethnicity? By other religious identities? By sexual difference?

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Questioning Whiteness - Education13. Does Canadian multiculturalism hinder possibilities of discussing Whiteness openly within

schools and communities?

14. How do policies aimed at equity and anti-racism play out in the schools? Are they enough and, if not, how do we continue to move forward in the struggle against oppressive practices and systemic racism in the education system?

15. How should Whiteness be broached within an institutional context by those who may not be in positions of power?

16. How should Whites be made aware of, and become engaged in, the conceptualization and application of race and anti-racism?

17. What do members of minoritized racial groups need to be aware of as they become part of the decision-making process?

18. How should Aboriginals and Whites negotiate pedagogy in a changing world?

19. How would you as a teacher develop understandings of the difficult knowledge necessary to interrogate Whiteness and White privilege?

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Questioning Whiteness - Education

20. What are some of the ways we might be able to avoid "tokenizing" the inclusion of racial minority (or non-White) people's experiences and/or scholarship in education?

21. How may teacher educators use antiracism pedagogy to disrupt the discourse of denial, defensiveness, emotional tensions, ignorance, hostility, and “counter-knowledge strategies” that teacher candidates often engage in to avoid a critical interrogation of racism and privilege?

22. The next generation of teachers demonstrates limited knowledge of Canada’s racist history. Consequently, they demonstrate moral superiority toward their neighbours to the South. How do we work toward a comprehensive picture of Canadian history that highlights similarities between American and Canadian racial histories?

23. Given Canada’s colonialist history and the implications that are evidenced in contemporary social and schooling practices, how might teacher candidates’ engagement with colonial and post-colonial discourses further their understanding of race and racial discourses?

24. Do discussions of race in secondary school philosophy classrooms necessarily include discussions of Whiteness? In short, is it necessary to consider Whiteness in discussions of race?

25. What problems, especially in relation to race, unfold when commercialized imperatives and practices are the chief forces structuring the day-to-day happenings in schools of education?

SOCIAL JUSTICE ACCOUNTABILITY FRAMEWORK

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