Making inquiry critical: Examining power and inequity in the classroom
What does the research say?
This article by Crowley and King advocates for critical pedagogy in social studies education, arguing that inquiry-based learning should actively confront real-world social issues. It emphasizes using the Inquiry Design Model (IDM) to challenge master narratives, incorporate diverse perspectives, and promote student action. To help teachers construct a critical inquiry using the IDM approach, the authors offer three important guidelines: 1) Begin by asking compelling questions that critique systems of oppression and power, 2) Expose students to sources that include the perspectives of marginalized and oppressed groups. 3) Develop formative performance tasks that encourage students to take informed action to address the issue they explored. Critical inquiry lessons are designed to engage students with meaningful content, foster collaboration, and encourage creative presentation of findings. As such, they promote a more active and socially conscious approach to social studies education.
Why is it important?
Critical inquiry makes learning real-world and learner relevant as it provides learners with the opportunity to examine issues from multiple perspectives including the reflection of their own views and beliefs. As such, critical inquiry promotes self-awareness, information literacy, and the notion that there is no such thing as neutral knowledge (Crowley & King, 2028). Critical inquiry requires the differentiation between Four Truths: subjective, normative, objective and complex truth. As a learner-centered approach, critical inquiry encourages learners to dive into the complexity of a real-world issue, grapple with the multiple perspectives of the stakeholders involves, and help learners deepen their own perspective without providing a solution.
What are the implications for education?
Teaching with a critical inquiry perspective “may be foreign and uncomfortable to many social studies educators who first have to grapple themselves with the idea that knowledge is socially constructed (Crowley & King, 2018, p.15). Since the curriculum we teach is the story that we pass on to the next generation, it is important to practice critical inquiry as an assurance that the curriculum is inclusive of multiple and often contradictory perspectives.
About the author
LaGarrett J. King is an award winning Professor of Social Studies Education in the Graduate School of Education at the University at Buffalo, New York. He is also the founding Director of the Center for K-12 Black History and Racial Literacy Education. Dr. King earned his PhD from the University of Texas at Austin. A former teacher in Texas and Georgia, his research centers on the teaching and learning of Black history, teacher education, critical theories of race, and Black historical consciousness. His Black history framework has been used with multiple school districts in the United States and Canada.
King’s scholarship helps us examine the current shortcomings of how Black history and race is taught and learned in schools. Beyond critical analysis, he guides his readership through helpful frameworks such as Racial Historical Consciousness and Racial Pedagogical Content Knowledge (RPACK) and introduces principles by which teaching and learning about Black history and the Black experience can be taught with more complexity.
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