Practicing What You Teach: Applying the Principles of Social Justice in the Classroom

This book was written in the interest of increasing the understanding and awareness of multicultural and feminist theories, reconciling and respecting their differences, and increasing the degree to which multicultural and feminist content and pedagogy are used in the classroom. The book provides clear, thorough overviews and updates on current feminist theories. The theories are described in the context of the historical times during which they emerged. The reflections on the theories offer different perspectives on their strengths, weaknesses, and applications, as well as presentation in the classroom. Feminist theories are presented in dynamic combinations with multicultural and other perspectives in the interest of considering the intersections of groups’ experiences. The authors reflect on the process, challenges, and outcomes of various pedagogical approaches. This book would be of interest to anyone who is interested in understanding and practicing multicultural and feminist pedagogical approaches at any educational level, but especially high school, college, and graduate school. I would argue, however, that it is never too early to infuse the curriculum with these perspectives. In terms of organization, the book provides information and addresses issues related to multiculturalism and feminism, and then applies this information to the classroom situation in a logical, cohesive fashion. It begins with a chapter that provides an overview of the ideas that lie ahead, followed by a chapter that presents second-wave feminisms (liberal, cultural, radical, and socialist) and pedagogies consistent with their tenets. The learning process is conceptualized in the course of the discussion. Next it builds upon these perspectives by introducing diversity feminisms (postmodern, women-of-color, antiracist, lesbian, third-wave, and global perspectives) that share the view that second-wave feminisms pay insufficient attention to diversity issues such as race, social class, age, religion, sexual orientation and other categories, as well as to the additional variations in oppression and identity associated with them. The authors point out that the feminist theorists of color and antiracist feminists believe that an analysis of oppression, privilege and power coupled with the inclusion of women of colors’ perspectives and activism are essential to transformative pedagogy. The authors review the development and introduction of multicultural and critical approaches, including the importance of listening to the oppressed, problem-solving participatory dialogue, self-reflection, confidence-building, and building on knowledge that can lead to activism. They continue on to present the same information for feminist theory and pedagogical approaches. Chapters describe the principles of feminist pedagogy, including power dynamics, holistic learning, integrating dichotomies, diversity, and social change. The authors explain the multicultural, feminist, theoretical, philosophical, and other groups and the relationships between them very clearly and provide their historical contexts as well. Their implications for learning environments (including safeness of classroom climate, learning styles, classroom structure, and perspectives on knowledge and the role of personal experience) and connections with other philosophies and movements are well integrated, including the role of activism, and the influence of the civil rights movement, Marxism, and Paulo Freire’s (1985, 1994, 1998) pedagogical approach. Sex Roles (2008) 58:886–888 DOI 10.1007/s11199-007-9375-1