Developing social justice in the creative curriculum

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CURRICULUM SUPPORT.

DEVELOPING SOCIAL JUSTICE IN THE CREATIVE CURRICULUM

Developing social justice in the creative curriculum aims to challenge stereotypes, support meaningful engagement with the world around us and instil a practice that is routed in engaged pedagogy (hooks, 1994).

One of the first things that should take place to develop social justice pedagogic practice is the acknowledgement of ‘norms’, ‘privileges’ and ‘power’ in the social, political and historical concepts, structures, practices and some impacts.

We use the word ‘develop’ within this area of work as this is a journey of practice, which must allow opportunities for continuous learning for all. This learning covers many elements including human rights, which is manifested in our daily lives and in every society (Hahn Tapper, 2013) and integrates Freire’s model, social identity theory (SIT).

This also embeds an approach that responds to the legal ramifications in the Equality Act (2010) within a creative education context, and our duty to remove or minimise disadvantage, Identify & meet specific needs, encourage participation, tackle prejudice and promote understanding.

The types of items to consider when developing social justice in the creative curriculum are listed in the following table:

Items to consider

Description

Critical theories

When presenting critical theories, consider where the marginalised sit within them. An example of this could be feminist theories which sits within gender inequality, however without an intersectional (Crenshaw, 1991) approach this can eliminate opportunities to recognise diversity, critique norms, offer meaningful connections with theories with a diverse audience.

Critical reflection encourages learning at a deeper, transformative level (Mezirow, 1990). These notions of reflection, however, are largely rooted in psychological processes of individual growth (which include the development of the ‘reflective practitioner’), (Gray, 2007). Reflective processes and tools include storytelling, metaphors, critical incident analysis and repertory grids. Reflective writing can foster the construction of a work-life story that provides both meaning and direction (Lengelle, 2013).

Global histories are imperative to recognise, this includes the different communities locally and internationally. Whilst it is impossible to know all the different histories and the variety of perspectives and impacts, what should be possible is to develop general global knowledge and have several key examples of moments in history that can exemplify diverse perspectives and impacts.

Cultural competence is an important tool to acquire and develop that recognises ethics and principles, and demonstrate behaviors, attitudes, policies, and structures that supports an inclusive and social justice pedagogy

Critical reflective writing Global histories Cultural competence Resources Diverse activities

‘Decolonising’ and ‘liberation’ are increasingly used terms associated with higher education. National Union of Students (NUS, 2011) have developed a useful document that articulates the student's request to diversify the curriculum. Additionally, Shades of Noir resources list and terms of references have been specifically designed to enhance the creative curriculum.

There are a variety of opportunities to deliver teaching and learning including the standard lecture, blog tasks, group work...there is also scope to utilise the increasing amounts of diverse events across the country to introduce subjects, histories, perspectives and practices. Shades of Noir provides lists of events, that is updated regularly across the country.

References: Crenshaw, K. (1991). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. Stanford law review, 1241-1299.

Freire, P. (2000). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Bloomsbury Publishing.

Gray, D. E. (2007). Facilitating management learning: Developing critical reflection through reflective tools. Management learning, 38(5), 495-517.

Hahn Tapper, A. J. (2013). A pedagogy of social justice education: Social identity theory, intersectionality, and empowerment. Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 30(4), 411-445.

Hooks, B. (2014). Teaching to transgress. Routledge.

Lengelle, R., Meijers, F., Poell, R., & Post, M. (2013). The effects of creative, expressive, and reflective writing on career learning: An explorative study. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 83(3), 419-427.

NUS, (2011), Liberation, Equality, and Diversity in the Curriculum http://www.sparqs.ac.uk/upfiles/Liberating%20the%20curriculum.pdf

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