Social Justice Pedagogy Across the Curriculum What knowledge and tools do pre- and in-service educators need to teach for and about social justice across the curriculum in K-12 classrooms? This compelling text synthesizes in one volume historical foundations, philosophic/ theoretical conceptualizations, and applications of social justice education in public school classrooms. • Part I details the history of the multicultural movement and the instantiation of public schooling as a social justice project. (cid:129) Part II connects theoretical frameworks to social justice curricula. Parts I and II are general to all K-12 classrooms. (cid:129) Part III provides powerful specific subject-area examples of good practice, including English as a Second Language and Special/Exceptional Education. Social Justice Pedagogy Across the Curriculum includes highlighted Points of Inquiry and Points of Praxis sections offering recommendations to teachers and researchers and activities, resources, and suggested readings. These features invite teachers at all stages of their careers to reflect on the role of social justice in education, particularly as it relates to their particular classrooms, schools, and communities. Relevant for any course that addresses history, theory, or practice of multicul- tural/social justice education and teaching diverse groups of students, this text is ideal for classes that are not subject-level specific and serve a host of students from various backgrounds. Thandeka K. Chapmanis Associate Professor of Urban Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Nikola Hobbelis Associate Professor of English Education, Humboldt State University. Language, Culture, and Teaching Sonia Nieto, Series Editor Chapman & Hobbel (Eds.) Social Justice Pedagogy Across the Curriculum: The Practice of Freedom Andrews Re-framing Literacy: Teaching and Learning in English and the Language Arts Dantas & Manyak (Eds.) Home-School Connections in a Multicultural Society: Learning From and With Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Families Janks Literacy and Power Nieto Language, Culture, and Teaching: Critical Perspectives for a New Century, Second Edition Botelho & Rudman Critical Multicultural Analysis of Children’s Literature: Mirrors, Windows, and Doors Spears-Bunton & Powell (Eds.) Toward a Literacy of Promise: Joining the African-American Struggle Bruna & Gomez (Eds.) The Work of Language in Multicultural Classrooms: Talking Science, Writing Science Morrell Critical Literacy and Urban Youth: Pedagogies of Access, Dissent, and Liberation Edelsky With Literacy and Justice for All: Rethinking the Social in Language and Education, Third Edition Harmon/Wilson Beyond Grammar: Language, Power, and the Classroom Berlin Contextualizing College ESL Classroom Praxis: A Participatory Approach to Effective Instruction Vasquez Negotiating Critical Literacies with Young Children Goldstein Teaching and Learning in a Multicultural School: Choices, Risks, and Dilemmas Collins Community Writing: Researching Social Issues Through Composition Visit www.routledge.com/education for additional information on titles in the Language, Culture, and Teaching series. Social Justice Pedagogy Across the Curriculum The Practice of Freedom Edited by Thandeka K. Chapman University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Nikola Hobbel Humboldt State University First published 2010 by Routledge 270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 Simultaneously published in the UK by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2010. To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk. © 2010 Taylor & Francis All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record has been requested for this book ISBN 0-203-85448-9 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 10: 0–415–80600–3 (hbk) ISBN 10: 0–415–80604–6 (pbk) ISBN 10: 0–203–85448–9 (ebk) ISBN 13: 978–0–415–80600–8 (hbk) ISBN 13: 978–0–415–80604–6 (pbk) ISBN 13: 978–0–203–85448–8 (ebk) I would like to dedicate this book to the Milwaukee PEOPLE (Pre-College Enrichment Opportunity Program for Learning Excellence) students with whom I fell in love and who brought me to their city.—T.K.C. To Dan, with love, gratitude and respect.—N.H. Contents Foreword by Sonia Nieto ix Preface xi Acknowledgments xvi Introduction: Conversations, Problems, and Action 1 THANDEKA K. CHAPMAN AND NIKOLA HOBBEL PART I Historical Perspectives 7 1 “These are Revolutionary Times”: Human Rights, Social Justice, and Popular Protest 9 CARL A. GRANT AND MELISSA L. GIBSON 2 Federal Education Policy and Social Justice Education 36 CHRISTINE E. SLEETER 3 Roots of Social Justice Pedagogies in Social Movements 59 MAURIANNE ADAMS PART II Theoretical Intersections 87 4 Critical Theory as Social Justice Pedagogy 89 BEKISIZWE S. NDIMANDE 5 “Jump at Da Sun”: Black Feminist Influences on Social Justice Pedagogy 104 ADRIENNE D. DIXSON AND JAMILA D. SMITH 6 Can We Learn Queerly? Normativity and Social Justice Pedagogies 121 LISA W. LOUTZENHEISER viii Contents 7 Critical Multiculturalism: Transformative Educational Principles and Practices 144 PATRICIA D. QUIJADA CERECER, LETICIA ALVAREZ GUTIÉRREZ, AND FRANCISCO RIOS 8 After Poststructuralism: Rethinking the Discourse of Social Justice Pedagogy 164 ROBERT J. PARKES, JENNIFER M. GORE AND WENDY ELSWORTH 9 Indigenous Knowledges and Social Justice Pedagogy 184 BRYAN MCKINLEY JONES BRAYBOY AND TERESA L. MCCARTY 10 Welcoming the Unwelcome: Disability as Diversity 201 DAVID J. CONNOR AND SUSAN L. GABEL PART III Social Justice Pedagogy and Praxis 221 11 Social Justice and Arts Education: Spheres of Freedom 223 THERESE QUINN 12 Writing in Academic Genres: Is Social Justice a Learning Outcome? 236 NIKOLA HOBBEL AND THANDEKA K. CHAPMAN 13 Writing, Pedagogy, and Social Justice 250 KORINA M. JOCSON 14 Mathematics Education for Social Transformation 262 ERIC (RICO) GUTSTEIN 15 Science Curricular Materials through the Lens of Social Justice: Research Findings 273 MARY M. ATWATER AND REGINA L. SURIEL 16 Critical Media Inquiry as High School Social Studies for Social Justice: Doc Your Bloc 283 DAVID STOVALL AND DANIEL MORALES-DOYLE 17 Second Language Education: With Liberty And Languages for All 299 RAQUEL OXFORD Afterword: The Power not yet in Power 309 IRA SHOR About the Contributors 313 Index 318 Foreword Sonia Nieto Social justice: it’s on everyone’s mind these days. From political pundits to teacher educators, from school principals to parents, and from political scientists to car salespeople, everyone has an opinion on social justice. Some are staunch advocates, others fierce opponents, but everyone seems passionate about the promise or the perils of social justice. Some consider it the sine qua nonof a democracy. Others liken it to socialism and the end of the civilized world as we know it. But what exactly issocial justice? And, in terms of the specific matters addressed in this text, what does social justice have to do with education? In Social Justice Pedagogy Across the Curriculum: The Practice of Freedom, editors Thandeka K. Chapman and Nikola Hobbel address these questions and more. They and the other authors in this book tackle multiple layers of the concept of social jus- tice as it applies to education, and they provide powerful examples of what it looks like in practice, particularly in schools with diverse populations. Using Freirean theories of liberatory education, basic tenets of multicultural education, important concepts of Black feminist thought, poststructural analysis, and queer pedagogy, among others, the authors weave a tapestry that is at once complex and provocative. In the process, they offer all of us—teachers, teacher educators, researchers, policy makers, and others interested in the current context of education—a comprehen- sive and thought-provoking look at the history of social justice, a thorough explo- ration of the theoretical underpinnings of the concept, and engaging stories of how it is used in classrooms. Social Justice Pedagogy Across the Curriculum is the newest addition to the Language, Culture, and Teaching (LCT) series, a series for preservice and practic- ing teachers that encourages critical thought and thoughtful action in teaching and learning. If you are already teaching, no doubt many of you are working in diverse settings and searching for theories and strategies to help you connect with your stu- dents. If you are not yet teaching, most of you will probably find yourselves work- ing in diverse communities with students whose identities—race/ethnicity, language, social class, and so forth—differ from your own. The books in the LCT series ask you to recognize that there is no “generic” student, but that instead all stu- dents come to school with their individual sociocultural realities and specific sociopolitical contexts. Through theoretical discussions, practical applications,