scholarly journals What kind of learning? For what purpose? Reflections on a critical adult education approach to online Social Work and Education courses serving Indigenous distance learners

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Kovach ◽  
Harpell Monty Montgomery
Keyword(s):  
Adult Education ◽  
Transformative Learning ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Critical Examination ◽  
Indigenous Knowledges ◽  
The People ◽  
Education Theory ◽  
Online Distance Learning ◽  
Online Distance

This article begins with a critical examination of adult education theory and practice and its engagement (or lack) with Indigenous knowledges and communities. In doing so, the article reveals the contradictions of early citizenry adult education that sought to bring educational programs to the people without a critical examination of the western hegemonic orientation of such programming. The critique then moves to a discussion of transformative learning within adult education emerging in the late 1970s. In tracing the evolution of adult education theory and practice, the critique asks the questions: “Access to what kind of adult education?, and” “For what purposes?” The article then moves to the present and explores contemporary distance education, with an emphasis on online learning that may be aimed at Indigenous adult learners. In particular, the article explores the possibilities of online distance learning to not only bring educational programming to Indigenous communities and thereby building upon the social justice imperative of accessibility, but also to design decolonizing curricula that engages Indigenous knowledges and upholds oral culture. 

Metaphorical and Literal Groundings

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 335-352
Author(s):  
Anna Cook ◽  
Bonnie Sheehey ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Theory ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Normative Theory ◽  
Ethical Standard ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Ethical Responsibility ◽  
Land Ethic ◽  
Indigenous Knowledges ◽  
Indigenous Philosophy ◽  
Ethical Approaches

Accounts of grounded normativity in Indigenous philosophy can be used to challenge the groundlessness of Western environmental ethical approaches such as Aldo Leopold’s land ethic. Attempts to ground normativity in mainstream Western ethical theory deploy a metaphorical grounding that covers up the literal grounded normativity of Indigenous philosophical practices. Furthermore, Leopold’s land ethic functions as a form of settler philosophical guardianship that works to erase, assimilate, and effectively silence localized Indigenous knowledges through a delocalized ethical standard. Finally, grounded normativ­ity challenges settlers to question their desire for groundless normative theory and practice as reflective of their evasion of ethical responsibility for the destruction and genocide of Indigenous communities.

scholarly journals Direct Line with the Monuments of the City. Case Study: Casa Bianca-Municipal Gallery of Thessaloniki. A Museum Pedagogy Approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. p84
Author(s):  
Markella-Elpida Tsichla ◽  
Eftychia Mourati
Keyword(s):  
Educational Program ◽  
Interactive Games ◽  
Museum Pedagogy ◽  
The People ◽  
The Press ◽  
History Of ◽  
Online Distance Learning ◽  
Online Distance ◽  
The 19Th Century

The villas of Thessaloniki, examples of eclecticism, are architectural “wonders” situated in eastern Thessaloniki, in the district of “Exoches” or “Pyrgoi”, as it was called in the middle of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. Casa Bianca is well known to the people of Thessaloniki, not only for its unique architecture, which is impressive since it creates an aesthetically pleasing result, but also for the story of romance that unfolded inside it. Casa Bianca shifted between various owners and uses. Starting as a house that was given as a wedding present to the newlywed couple Diaz, it was later used as a school, while today it is occupied by the Municipal Gallery of Thessaloniki. The present study aims to approach Casa Bianca, from the point of museum pedagogy with references to the factual history and the history of Art. That can be accomplished by designing an educational program which aims to introduce the young and the elder to the building, to its architecture as well as the choice of its eclectic style by the architect Pietro Arrigoni, the importance of this style in Thessaloniki of that period, the multicultural characteristics and its connection to the composition of the population of that time, the story of romance that monopolized the press at the time, the choice of architect and the various uses of the building up to this day. The educational program designed for Casa Bianca is in sync with the requirements of our time and for this reason it was decided that it would be designed and implemented online (distance learning), i.e. via computer. The website, that was designed exclusively for the Casa Bianca educational program, with the use of various types of media such as text, image, video and interactive games, seeks to stimulate the imagination and curiosity of users and to offer the maximum possible information through an experiential teaching approach and also through active learning.

Thoreau's Critique of Democracy

2003 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 355-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leigh Kathryn Jenco
Keyword(s):  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Moral Obligation ◽  
Civil Disobedience ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Moral Autonomy ◽  
Critical Examination ◽  
The People ◽  
Democratic State ◽  
Political Essays

Most commentators see Henry David Thoreau's political essays as an endorsement of liberal democracy, but this essay holds that Thoreau's critique of majoritarianism and his model of civil disobedience may intend something much more radical: when his criticisms of representative democracy are articulated in more formal terms of political and moral obligation, it becomes clear that the theory and practice of democracy fundamentally conflict with Thoreau's conviction in moral autonomy and conscientious action. His critical examination of the way in which a democratic state threatens the commitments that facilitate and give meaning to the practice of morality intends to reorient the focus of politics, away from institutions and toward the people such institutions were ostensibly in place to serve. His critique stands as a warning that becoming complacent about democracy will inhibit the search for better (perhaps more liberal) ways to organize political life.

Participatory Learning in Formal Adult Education Contexts

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilhan Kucukaydin ◽  
Patricia Cranton
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Adult Education ◽  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Training And Development ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Adult Educators ◽  
Participatory Learning ◽  
Education Theory ◽  
Education Psychology

Formal courses in adult education are most often housed within schools or faculties that include other disciplines such as teacher education, psychology, or training and development. Adult educators teaching these courses may feel obligated to follow the procedures and practices of the institution as well as of the programs with which they are associated. This creates a set of paradoxes and conflicts that are rarely addressed. Adult educators working in formal contexts teach about critical pedagogy and democratic practices without engaging in those practices themselves. This article advocates a participatory learning model based on the historical foundations of adult education theory and practice. The authors explore teaching as a subversive activity, hegemony, critical pedagogy, and power relations. The authors then discuss implications for practice in formal contexts.

scholarly journals Activating Indigenous Knowledge to Create Supportive Educational Environments by Rethinking Family, Community, and School Partnerships

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Hollie Anderson Kulago
Keyword(s):  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Educational Systems ◽  
Indigenous Methodology ◽  
School Partnerships ◽  
Indigenous Students ◽  
Indigenous Knowledges ◽  
The People ◽  
Educational Environments ◽  
Healing Relationships

In this article, the author describes ways that Indigenous knowledges can be activated through social justice philosophies and pedagogies that promote equitable and fair social-educational systems to support Indigenous students. Specifically, she argues that when considering family-community-school partnerships, family and community are one and the same when viewed through the conceptual framework of k’é and that for indigenous communities, education and community are inseparable. She establishes k’é as a Diné philosophy of community that dictates ways of knowing and being that are rooted in traditional teachings and ceremonies meant to ensure survival of the people. She describes a qualitative study that employed an indigenous methodology in which she asks Diné youth how they define community. The findings of the study imply that to support the Diné youth holistically, educators must promote equity and fairness within schools serving Indigenous communities by partaking in active and critical engagement that includes acquiring an understanding of the histories, contributing to the processes of healing relationships and activating Indigenous knowledges that focuses on philosophies of community.

Participatory Learning in Formal Adult Education Contexts

2014 ◽  
pp. 1865-1877
Author(s):  
Ilhan Kucukaydin ◽  
Patricia Cranton
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Adult Education ◽  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Training And Development ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Adult Educators ◽  
Participatory Learning ◽  
Education Theory ◽  
Education Psychology

Formal courses in adult education are most often housed within schools or faculties that include other disciplines such as teacher education, psychology, or training and development. Adult educators teaching these courses may feel obligated to follow the procedures and practices of the institution as well as of the programs with which they are associated. This creates a set of paradoxes and conflicts that are rarely addressed. Adult educators working in formal contexts teach about critical pedagogy and democratic practices without engaging in those practices themselves. This article advocates a participatory learning model based on the historical foundations of adult education theory and practice. The authors explore teaching as a subversive activity, hegemony, critical pedagogy, and power relations. The authors then discuss implications for practice in formal contexts.

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