Welcome!
Notes from the Field: Teaching for Social
Justice
 |
| Ozette Petroglyphs
from the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State (witnessing
the arrival of a European sailing ship)—photo
credit Teresa MacGregor |
I am delighted
to welcome you to this issue of Educational Insights, “Notes from the Field: Teaching for Social Justice.” The
theme of this issue is social justice, a pedagogical ambition
and responsibility that requires our careful attention.
As theme editors Gabriella Minnes Brandes and Deirdre Kelly
explain in their overview, the research projects reported
in this issue were inspired by teachers’ collaborative
and individual inquiry into how teaching does, might, or
should address societal inequities and prepare learners
for democratic citizenship. Through their contributions,
each of our authors enhances understanding about the importance
and possibilities of teaching for social justice within
pedagogical practice.
This issue
of Educational Insights
publishes, and celebrates, the insights gained by a cohort
of teacher-researchers. In her prelude, Karen Hawkins links
teacher inquiry with professional development and with scholarship in Education. The articles in this
issue illustrate how teachers engaged in systematic, situated
research generate new understandings that both inform their
own practice and bridge across professional and scholarly
communities. The potentials of teacher inquiry are particularly
great when considering how to foster social justice in/through
schools. Building
on David Tripp’s work, Minnes Brandes and Kelly stress
that teacher inquiry “provides an important avenue
for teachers to develop ‘some understanding, influence
over, and responsibility for the social conditions and outcomes
of education’
(Tripp, 1990: 165)” (emphasis added). Thus action-oriented
teacher-generated research has particular potential to critique,
surface, revise, and/or create pedagogical practices that
promote social justice. Educational Insights is proud to offer space to teacher-researchers so that
they might share the results of their inquiries into social
justice as fostered within classrooms and schools.
Deborah
L. Butler
Director,
Centre for Cross–Faculty Inquiry in Education
University of British Columbia
