High intellectual demand

An important part of the CRP action research process is that educators read and collectively discuss theory, and use this to inform their practice. Rather than treating teachers as technicians by focusing purely on strategies, CRP action research supports the praxis of teachers. Praxis (Freire, 1972/1996) refers to the dynamic interplay of reflection and action aimed at transforming society, along with an active engagement with theoretical insights that empower individuals to critically engage with and change their world. Praxis involves critically reflecting on social, political, and economic conditions to understand and challenge structures of power and oppression, which both informs and is informed by purposeful action towards social transformation.

Praxis involves critically reflecting on social, political, and economic conditions to understand and challenge structures of power and oppression, which both informs and is informed by purposeful action towards social transformation.

Theory provides rich tools for a critical analysis of social reality. It helps individuals and communities understand the structures and systems that shape their lives, that these are neither “natural” or unchangeable, and can offer hopeful ideas for change. hooks (1994) describes theory as a “location for healing” and a “liberatory practice”. For teacher-researchers, where concepts relate to their own pedagogical frustrations and struggles especially within various forms of oppression, including sexism, racism, and classism, theory can help shine a light on these issues. However it is important that a critical engagement with theory is employed. As Goenpul scholar Aileen Moreton-Robinson underscores, while theory can be a powerful tool for understanding and challenging colonial power structures and developing more inclusive and diverse discourses, some theoretical approaches serve to marginalise or misrepresent Indigenous and other marginalised peoples.

Importantly, relevant theoretical knowledge needs to be accessible to all educators, not in a way where it is passively accepted, but in a way that can be open to contestation, and to testing and re-working in the thick of real pedagogical events. Thus theory both emerges from and informs practice. Challenging the deskilling and deprofessionalisation of teaching, this approach argues instead for a vision of teachers as critically engaged, theoretically informed intellectuals who play a crucial role in social transformation (Giroux, 2018).

References

bell hooks. (1994). Teaching to transgress: Education as the practice of freedom. Routledge.

Freire, P. (1970/1996). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Penguin Books.

Giroux, H. A. (2018). Teachers as transformative intellectuals (Thinking about schools (pp. 183-189). Routledge.

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