Critical Literacy in Support of Critical-Citizenship Education in Social Studies

TEACHING AND LEARNING Critical literacy in support of critical-citizenship education in social studies JANE ABBISS KEY POINTS • Critical-literacy approaches support justice-oriented, critical-citizenship education in social studies. • Developing learner criticality involves analysis of texts, including exploration of author viewpoints, assumptions made, matters of inclusion, and learner responses to social issues and how they are represented in texts. • Taking a critical literacy approach to support critical citizenship involves re-thinking how students in social studies engage with media sources. • Critical literacy aids informed decision-making on social issues. https://doi.org/10.18296/set.0054 set 3, 2016 29 TEACHING AND LEARNING How might social-studies teachers enact critical forms of citizenship education in classrooms and what pedagogies support this? This question is explored in relation to literature about critical citizenship and critical literacy. Also, possibilities for practice are considered and two approaches for critical literacy in social studies are presented: a) using critical questions to engage with texts; and b) focusing on media literacy in relation to current events. It is argued that critical literacy offers a collection of approaches that support justice-oriented, critical-citizenship education in social studies. Introduction Methodologically, this article presents a literature- based, small-scale practitioner inquiry relating to The aim of this article is twofold: first, to briefly challenges in supporting citizenship teaching and explore some contested views of citizenship education learning in social studies. At its core is a commitment and to consider the aims and foundations of critical to informing practice (Cochrane-Smith & Donnell, literacy as a collection of pedagogical approaches 2006; Smith & Helfenbein, 2009). that supports critical-citizenship education; and, secondly, to imagine possibilities for practice that Citizenship education are based on critical literacy and support critical- citizenship education in social-studies teaching and Whereas some countries have specific courses in civics learning in Aotearoa New Zealand. While not the or citizenship as compulsory curriculum, in Aotearoa same as political literacy, which focuses on how New Zealand primary responsibility for citizenship communities make decisions (New Zealand Political education has historically rested with social studies. Studies Association, n.d.), critical literacy supports A view of citizenship education has been taken in critical thinking and informed decision making successive curricula since the 1940s that goes beyond by individuals and communities, through critical a narrow focus on knowledge of, and participation engagement with texts and sources of information in, processes of civic life, including voting, to include relating to social issues. thinking about social problems and questions of social As a teacher educator, my work centres on teacher justice and increased attention to notions of critical preparation and issues of practice and enactment. and active citizenship (Wood & Milligan, 2016). Questions of practice surface for me in my work. Citizenship education in Aotearoa New Zealand may One such question is: how might social studies be more understated than in contexts where there is teachers enact critical forms of citizenship education explicit teaching through civics or citizenship courses, in classrooms and what pedagogies support this? The but citizenship goals are nonetheless a feature of New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education, curriculum. 2007) (NZC) includes a vision that young people in In the most recent curriculum iteration, Aotearoa New Zealand are connected members of citizenship goals relating to the development of communities and international citizens. The future critical, active, informed, and responsible citizens focus principle in the curriculum is articulated in are embedded in the essence statement for the relation to exploration of future-focused issues, Social Science learning area. Citizenship education, including citizenship. Learning in the social sciences though, is not confined to social sciences. Learning is explicitly framed as being “about how societies work in science, for example, is presented in relation and how people can participate as critical, active, to developing science capabilities for citizenship, informed, and responsible citizens” (NZC, p. 17). whereby students are ready, willing and able to use Citizenship, then, is both a broad educational goal their science knowledge (Science Online, 2016). In and a potential topic or concept to be learnt about. recent years, the concept of “digital citizenship” has And social studies, as a core subject in Years 1 to 10, is emerged to guide responsible use of information and a key site for citizenship education. communication technologies and online interactions 30 set 3, 2016 TEACHING AND LEARNING (Te Kete Ipurangi, 2016a). Drawing on a range of contend that educating for justice-oriented citizenship research literature and policy documents, Wood and requires that students are engaged in informed analysis and Milligan (2016) argue that across the decades there discussion about social, political, and economic structures has been a persistent “tension between the cultivation and that that they “consider collective strategies for change of independent thought and socialisation through the that challenge injustice and, when possible, address root transmission of citizenship virtues” (p. 67). The different causes of problems” (p. 243). So, how might such analysis forms of citizenship reflected in various learning contexts and discussion be framed? can be seen to reflect this ongoing tension between Critical literacy provides a way of instilling criticality notions of citizenship that encourage challenges to ideas and framing informed analysis and discussion relating or institutions and conformity to norms of responsibility. to social issues. Critical thinking is part of the vision for Notwithstanding the statements of positive intent that learning articulated in the NZC and a means for instilling are articulated in a range of curriculum documents, the values of innovation, inquiry, and curiosity, although the notion of citizenship is problematic. There are competing concept of critical thinking is not elaborated in detail, not notions of citizenship and the “good” citizen (see, for beyond articulation of the “thinking” key competency example, Kymlicka & Norman, 2000; Roholt, Hildreth which emphasises the use of critical processes and & Baizerman, 2007; Wood, 2012). A distinction can importance of asking questions and challenging the basis be made between personally responsive, participatory, of assumptions (Ministry of Education, 2007). Critical and justice-oriented citizenship (Westheimer & Kahne, thinking, though, clearly involves questioning and 2004). Within Westheimer and Kahne’s conceptual challenging ideas and the authority of claims. Sandretto framework, the “personally responsive” citizen is virtuous (2006) describes critical literacy as “a critical thinking and generally conforming—he or she does the “right tool that encourages readers to question the construction thing” by helping others, working hard, and acting and production of texts” (p. 23). This involves questions responsibly. The “participatory citizen” is emotionally of representation, inclusion and exclusion, and connected and participates actively in community consideration of the effects of texts and how texts relate to organisations and local and national democratic political readers’ own lives. Critical literacy thus presents a means processes—he or she contributes to the organisation of of enacting criticality. community initiatives. The “justice-oriented” citizen may Rather than being a specific technique, critical be actively involved, but is simultaneously concerned with literacy represents an orientation to learning and a the root causes of social injustice—he or she is critically collection of teaching and learning strategies. Strategies conscious of the actions and institutions of the state, used might include taking different reading positions, social tensions and inequities in culturally pluralistic contesting texts from everyday life, juxtaposing texts societies, and the hegemonic economics of citizenship. and reading different accounts of the same event, The justice-oriented citizen is a critical citizen. For the focusing on word choice and portrayals, and engaging critical citizen, being a “good” citizen is not the same as in debate (Luke, 2012; Luke & Freebody, 1997). Critical being deferential or conformist (Castro, 2014; Kymlicka literacy is closely entwined with critical citizenship, in & Norman, 2000; Zembylas, 2015). the Freirean sense that engagement with various texts As the notion of the “good” citizen is disputed, so supports students to engage with issues of social justice is citizenship education a contested field. Motivations in their own communities, question historically created for citizenship education may include the preparation of power relations and institutions, and develop agency local and global citizens with knowledge and capabilities to challenge those institutions (Freebody, Muspratt & that enable participation in a competitive workforce, in Dwyer, 2012; Luke, 2012). Critical engagement with texts support of national economic goals and neoliberal policy provides a foundation for engaging with social

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