Observation
In class, we talked about power and the ability of partnerships to disseminate power if partnerships are affective. Although we mostly looked at power and partnerships in relation to stakeholder engagement, I find this notion can cross over into the formal education setting. In particular, the power within the partnership between student and teacher.
After reading through an excerpt from Friere’s (1972, 2003) Pedagogy of the Oppressed and an article entitled The Real Challenge of ESD by M.G. Jackson (2011) it became apparent that educators and consequently education systems have the ability to ‘oppress’ or ‘liberate’ (Friere 2003) learners. I have come to the conclusion, after reading these two texts, that ‘oppression’ or ‘liberation’ is dependent upon the predominant world view that the educator is operating in as well the educator’s philosophy on learning.
To first discuss Friere’s (2003) Pedagogy of the oppressed, Friere (2003) talks about two philosophies of education, one is the ‘banking’ approach to learning and the other is ‘Problem Posing’ approach to learning. According to Friere (2003), educators who follow a ‘banking’ approach to learning see learners as merely empty vessels with no prior knowledge, whose sole purpose is to sit, listen and absorb information. This type of philosophy does not view learning in terms of systemic thinking or critical thinking. In fact, the ‘banking’ concept sets out to achieve conformity and acceptance of dominant world views (something Jackson discusses). He calls this view of learning necrophilic. Without directly alluding to the notion of unsustainability, necrophily creates an unsustainable society. This is revealed in Friere’s (2003) reference to Fromm’s explanation of necrophily. ‘The necrophilis person is driven by the desire to transform the organic into the inorganic….he loves control, and in the act of controlling he kills life.’ (p.61) This quote from Fromm reveals the power imbalance between educators who hold this philosophy and their learners and consequently between humans and the living planet. The ‘banking’ concept overpowers learners and moulds them into the educator’s view of the world, to control. For control is what the ‘banking’ concept sets out to achieve and in doing so creates learners who set out to achieve the same goal in their interactions with the world.
In contrast, Friere (2003) wishes for an education system that uses ‘problem-posing’, this concept seeks to change the imbalance of power between the educator and the learner. As he states ‘The teacher is no longer…the-one-who-teaches, but who is himself taught in dialogue with the students, who in turn while being taught also teach’ (Friere 2003 p63). Unlike the ‘banking’ concept it seeks to create sustainability, ‘arguments based on ‘authority’ are no longer valid; in order to function, authority must be on the side of freedom, not against it’ (Friere 2003 p63). It fosters critical thinking and reflection on how we, as humans, interact with our world.
While Friere(2003) looked at the two different partnerships between learners and educators, Jackson (2011) looks at how education systems are designed to perpetuate the dominant world view or unsustainability and offers a way to overcome this disempowerment of learners. He offers two steps to be taken. The first step he refers to as ‘transformative learning’ in which assumptions about how an individual views the world and how this relates to the dominant world view is questioned. New world views are visualised (similar to envisioning) and these new views are put into practice. The second step is developing new formal educational programs. According to Jackson (2011) ‘the purpose of formal education is to perpetuate an existing cultural model.’ (p.29) Jackson (2011) proposes new formal educational programs that are born from the development of alternative world views that come from the ‘transformative learning’ process. He suggests that they should encompass Sterling’s ‘third-order’ thinking in which learners question their current dominant social paradigm and develop new ways of viewing the world.
Jackson (2011) questions whether or not society would accept this transformation in education. I tend to agree with him as I find myself asking whether or not the power balance within his model of education is equal. Is there a hidden agenda from the educator? Then again, perhaps my questioning is influenced by the unconscious hold the dominant world view has over me?
Implication
There is a power issue in the partnerships between learner and educator and formal education and the dominant world view. The power can be balanced or tipping towards those with the control (educator and the dominant world view). Even I find I am influenced by the dominant world view that would suggest that there is nothing wrong with the current formal education system. Yet there is. When the power in partnerships is imbalanced like those between learner and educator or formal education system and the dominant world view, it creates unsustainable practices. Power has to be equal for Sustainable Development to succeed.
Action
I need to be more aware of how the dominant world view affects my thinking. I have to start thinking outside the box. I need to realise that our partnerships with each other and the environment is not equal. Power is imbalanced, this is evident in the social inequities present in society and our lack of regard for our species when it comes to meeting our own needs. I have to stop hesitating when thinking that perhaps there is nothing wrong with the current world view and that these new ways of thinking are too radical. Imbalances of power cannot be the right thing. Power needs to be equal in all partnerships, within formal education and outside. I need to bring this thinking to the table as an educator.
Friere P 2003 From Pedagogy of the Oppressed in A Darder M Baltodana and R D Torress eds The Critical Pedagogy Reader Routledge, New York pp 57-68
Jackson M G 2011 The Real Challenge of ESD Journal of Sustainable Development 5(1): 27-31
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