Students are encouraged to question dominant or common notions of meaning and form their own understanding of what they learn through critical pedagogy. This method is particularly popular in potentially subjective fields of study like literature, art, and history. One of the central concepts of this teaching method is that students can construct their own meaning while learning, and teachers should facilitate this process rather than “force” meaning on them. The goal of critical pedagogy is to help students “unlearn” previous lessons that may reinforce dominant thought and “relearn” their own ideas.
Pedagogy is a term used in education to describe educational schools of thought or philosophies about how people learn and how teachers should help them learn. It can range from traditional forms of pedagogy, in which the teacher stands at the front of the room and tells the students what they need to know, to less traditional methods of teaching, in which students create meaning for themselves. Critical pedagogy falls into this category, as it aims to allow students to create meaning for themselves in what they learn rather than relying on what others have said something should mean.
Critical pedagogy can be applied quite effectively in the field of literature, which is one of the easiest ways to consider it. Students would often read a work of literature, and the teacher would then explain what the story or poem meant in older forms of education. Students would be expected to learn and remember this “correct” interpretation of the work, then repeat it on a test to demonstrate their understanding.
The desire to demonstrate that there is no single “correct” interpretation or reading of a work of literature drives critical pedagogy. Students are encouraged to create their own meaning based on their own experiences and perspectives, and this type of personal reading tends to strengthen the reader-work of literature bond. Instead of demonstrating knowledge of the “correct” answer, the student must be able to back up his or her reading of the work with text from the story or poem. Learning and comprehension are demonstrated in this way by the student’s ability to critically read the work.
Other fields of study, such as history, can benefit from this type of critical pedagogy. While historical facts such as dates and names of people exist, an effort can be made to move away from dominant historical views and develop new understanding of historical events. This is frequently accomplished by examining the roles of minorities or women in historical contexts, rather than reading history as a story about “old dead white guys,” as it is frequently depicted in American and European schools.