07. Social Justice and Intercultural Education
Paper
Opportunities for Social Mobility of Pupils in the Private Pedagogical Theories of Early Childhood Education Teachers
Dorota Duda
University of Lower Silesia, Poland
Presenting Author: Duda, Dorota
The objective of this presentation is to discuss the results of a research project on early childhood education teachers’ awareness of social classes and its consequences for their views on education, and in particular on the possibilities for pupils to change their social position.
Although there are attempts to talk about the death of classes (Mikiewicz, 2014: 43), the topic of class inequality is still relevant and debated, and educational inequalities are not decreasing (Blandford, 2017; Eribon, 2019; Kulz, 2017; McGarvey, 2017; Reay, 2017).
Bourdieu and Passeron's theory of socio-cultural reproduction speaks of the reproduction of the social class by the school system. Related to this is the division into inheritors, i.e. children from the upper classes who possess the qualities that the school system values, and les miracules, children from the lower classes who, despite objectively difficult conditions, experience social mobility (Kłoskowska, 2006: 25). This division is related to two modes of cultural acquisition: total learning and methodological learning. Total learning begins with primary socialisation and is followed up within schooling; in other words, it is early and imperceptible to the child. Methodological learning takes place as part of secondary socialisation and schooling. It is characteristic of pupils with a low-class background and is associated with uncertainty and difficulties in acquiring cultural competence, among other things required by teachers. In addition, pupils with a lower-class background have to deculturate, which is, de facto class eradication or liberation from what has been acquired during primary socialisation and is considered inappropriate by the school system (Bourdieu, 1984: 66-68).
Pupils entering school have different inherited capitals, yet the school does not seem to take this into account and treats pupils as if they all had the same starting position. As a result, children's knowledge and experiences other than those desired by the school are excluded (Grochalska, 2009: 63). According to Szkudlarek, pupils who have undergone total learning find it easier to find their way around the school requirements and use what they have already been equipped with at home (Szkudlarek, 2007: 35).
The different class backgrounds of pupils, and the different ways of acquiring culture, while promoting the culture of the privileged classes and excluding what is incompatible with it within the school system, leads to the differentiation of an individual's educational and life chances already at the earliest stages of education. By making the educational establishment culturally unfamiliar and inaccessible to pupils of low-class backgrounds, the school system, of which teachers are a part, contributes to the self-exclusion of pupils from the path leading to a change in life trajectory. At the same time, the neoliberal narrative seems to overlook the objective difficulties faced by pupils from underprivileged classes. Instead, it speaks of poverty of aspiration, laziness, and parental responsibility for the (poor) choices of educational institutions for their children (Hursh, 2014).
My aim was to explore early childhood education teachers’ openness to the pupils’ social mobility, their awareness of class differences and social inequalities, and ideas for overcoming them. Teachers, along with pupils' resistance (Giroux, 2018), academic resilience (Smulczyk, 2019), and happy coincidences (Mikiewicz, Sadownik, 2014), are the factor that has a major impact on potential changes to pupils’ life situations. In my presentation, I will provide a preliminary typology of teachers' pedagogical convictions that contribute to either social reproduction or changes to pupils' social position.
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedThe empirical material that this presentation draws on comes from a research project in which I explored whether ECE teachers are aware of the existence of class divisions and whether this (un)awareness is visible in their work with pupils. 14 ECE teachers of varying seniority working in the Polish education system took part in the study. The teachers differed in terms of the geographical location of their schools (eight of them worked in large cities, two – in small towns, and four – in rural areas) and their experience with working in a class-diverse environment. Among those in large cities, teachers worked: in a school in a neighbourhood with a bad reputation (1); perceived to be affluent (4); in a socially diverse environment (2); both in a neighbourhood with a so-called bad reputation and also in a private school in a neighbourhood with an affluent location (1). Interviewees from small towns and villages had worked in areas with high economic deprivation (1), in a place that formed an enclave by being a private institution for parents with high economic capital (1) and in places that were so-called urban bedroom communities (2). Two did not define the location of their schools in social terms.
I used the grounded theory methodology (Charmaz, 2009) and a bricolage of interpretive approaches in the research project (Kvale, 2012). The narrative and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. The opening question during the narrative interview was about family relationships, especially from childhood and educational experiences up to the time the interviewee entered university. The semi-structured interview questions focused on four areas: the teacher's workplace, the teacher's vision of the child, the perception of pupils' educational opportunities, and social inequalities. Most of the interviews were conducted in two sessions, one for the narrative part, and the other for semi-structured. They lasted from 45 minutes to 2 hours. All interviews were recorded and transcribed. The responses were coded inductively; the analysis itself was divided into two stages: the identification of teachers' awareness of social class and the analysis of teachers' private pedagogical theories, resulting in a middle-range theory of a preliminary typology of teachers' private pedagogical theories of the possibilities for pupils to change their social trajectories.
The research was carried out in line with the principles of ethical research conduct, with consent obtained from all participants.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsI aimed to establish whether ECE teachers identify the social inequalities experienced by pupils, caused by their families’ insufficient economic capital as well as the low level of cultural capital. My second aim was to analyze whether the social (un)awareness of social classes affects teachers’ attitudes towards their pupils. First of all, most of my interviews had an intuitive perception of the social class concept, but the class narrative was very limited.
Based on the data collected, I distinguished two types of private pedagogical theories of the teachers who participated in my research. The first has emancipatory potential, while the second has adaptive character. Within the types of identified theories, I also distinguished a number of subtypes. Only two teachers’ narratives demonstrated the potential to change the social position of students, and among these, one theory was action-oriented, and the other one was reflection-oriented. Twelve teachers’ narratives had adaptive character. Among those, I distinguished six subtypes: of colonising helplessness character (4), soaking into the structure of the institution (2), upholding the social order (2), escaping the system (2), being in the service of the neoliberal narrative (1) and making educational change without social change (1). I distinguish one more private pedagogical theory, one which has critical potential but has not emerged during my research. This theory is present in literature (Blandford, 2017; McLaren, 2015; Reay, 2017).
The results indicate that there might be little or no opportunity for pupils with low-class backgrounds to change their educational and social trajectories. While being one of the factors that can support pupils in making such change, the teachers in my research emerge as the guards of the social order with its social structure.
ReferencesBlandford, S. (2017). Born to fail? Social mobility: A working class view. John Catt Educational Ltd.
Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction. A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. Harvard University Press.
Charmaz, K. (2009). Teoria ugruntowana. Praktyczny przewodnik po analizie jakościowej. Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.
Eribon, D. (2019). Powrót do Reims. Karakter
Giroux, H. A. (2018). Reprodukcja. Opór i akomodacja. In: H. A. Giroux, L. Witkowski (ed.), Edukacja i sfera publiczna. Idee i doświadczenia pedagogiki radykalnej (p. 111–147). Impuls.
Grochalska, M. (2009). Między pożądaną równością a nieuniknioną różnicą. In: A. Męczkowska-Christiansen, P. Mikiewicz (ed.), Idee—Diagnozy—Nadzieje. Szkoła polska a idee równości (p. 61–80). Wydawnictwo Naukowe Dolnośląskiej Szkoły Wyższej.
Hursh, D. (2014). Market Ideologies and the Undermining of Democracy, Education, and Equality. In: J. Hall (ed.), Underprivileged School Children and the Assault on Dignity (p. 97– 109). Routledge.
Kłoskowska, A. (2006). Teoria socjologiczna Pierre’a Bourdieu. Wstęp do wydania polskiego. In: P. Bourdieu, J.-C. Passeron, Reprodukcja. Elementy teorii systemu nauczania (p. 11–52). Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.
Kulz, C. (2017). Factories for learning. Making race, class and inequality in the neoliberal academy. Manchester University Press.
Kvale, S. (2012). Prowadzenie wywiadów. Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.
McGarvey, D. (2017). Poverty safari: Understanding the anger of Britain’s underclass. Luath Press Limited.
McLaren, P. (2015). Życie w szkołach. Wprowadzenie do pedagogiki krytycznej. Wydawnictwo Naukowe Dolnośląskiej Szkoły Wyższej.
Mikiewicz, P. (2014). Kapitał społeczny i edukacja. Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN.
Mikiewicz, P., Sadownik, A. (2014). Szczęśliwy traf. Edukacja w procesie adaptacji migrantów z Polski w Wielkiej Brytanii. Wydawnictwo Naukowe Dolnośląskiej Szkoły Wyższej.
Reay, D. (2017). Miseducation. Inequality, education and the working classes. Policy Press.
Smulczyk, M. (2019). Przezwyciężenie statusowej determinacji karier szkolnych. Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego.
Szkudlarek, T. (2007). Edukacja i konstruowanie społecznych nierówności. In: J. Klebaniuk (ed.), Fenomen nierówności społecznych. Nierówności społeczne w refleksji humanistycznej (p. 31–52). ENETEIA Wydawnictwo Psychologii i Kultury.
07. Social Justice and Intercultural Education
Paper
Let’s Talk About the Elephant in the Room: Good Intentions!
Patricia Briscoe
Niagara University, Canada
Presenting Author: Briscoe, Patricia
Benevolence is driven by an innate human behaviour giving hope to others. People respond to many tragedies with compassion, often stepping up to help others in different ways—assisting others, donating funds, or giving their time. Over the past decade, global charity, and humanitarian efforts to help others have been staggering. According to the Charities Aid Foundation, World Giving Index (2024), in 2022, Americans, the leading global donors, gave $499.3 billion to charity. These statistics, however, exclude unregistered, not-for-profit, or non-profit organizations and the small-scale charitable acts performed by individuals or groups.
Despite the substantial financial resources and good intentions, increasing evidence suggests that advancement for individuals experiencing severe financial instability has yet to show consistent progress. Lupton (2011, 2015) argues that while people are very generous in charitable giving, much of their money is wasted or harms the people it is targeted to help. While the intention behind charitable giving and acts of kindness seems noble, its impact on broader societal improvement still needs to be investigated. Furthermore, there is a risk of perpetuating adverse outcomes, inadvertently turning good intentions into bad. Chang (2008) refers to these well-meaning but potentially harmful groups as "bad Samaritans" (p.19) who unconsciously support neo-liberal colonizer/colonizing dichotomies and are more generally defined as "helping behaviours from developed countries" (Pinazo et at., 2010, p. 393).
This study was grounded in Niehaus's (2020) theory of good intentions, stating that "altruists' effectiveness often falls short of their intentions" (p.1). This research tested this theory based on the above arguments and the researcher's extensive work in a developing country that receives much small-scale charity. This research explored the behaviours, motivations, and initiatives of these good-intentioned, small-scale individuals and groups, assessing the perceived impact of their endeavours.
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedA case study research method was chosen because of the qualitative methods of combining extensive personal experience with investigating individuals and groups of people in a localized area. (Yin, 2018). The terms unauthorized non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and charity groups were deliberately chosen to represent smaller-scale altruistic entities, distinct from the more prominent, authorized NGOs like the United Nations or Red Cross.
Participant selection initially targeted a few known individuals and then employed the snowball technique. Criteria for participation included: i) involvement in charitable actions within the area over the past decade (2013-2023) and ii) not being affiliated with an NGO or registered charity group. Ten participants were interviewed, conducted both virtually and face-to-face in three months. The interview questions were designed to target participant demographics, how and why they started their charitable work in the area, the motivations behind their actions, the nature of their charitable acts, and their perceived impact. Following Yin's approach (2018) to data analysis, the data was examined and categorized. The primary focus was identifying recurring themes from participants' reflections and personal insights to offer empirically grounded conclusions.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsThe findings of this case study confirmed Niehaus's (2020) theory of good intentions, highlighting the frequent failure to achieve the intended goal of assisting others, often resulting in the giver feeling more fulfilled than the receiver. Additionally, the responses of most participants aligned with similar studies, indicating that well-intentioned individuals and their actions supported neoliberal helping imperatives (O'Sullivan & Smaller, 2023) and perpetuated dominant colonial ideologies. While these acts may offer short-term hope, they have unintended consequences. Reflecting on these findings and my work with marginalized people striving for a better future, I concluded that many well-intentioned efforts require more intentional purpose and direction for positive effectiveness and more sustainable and decolonizing change. Also, they are often driven by individuals unknowingly supporting dominant neoliberal agendas.
Overall, good intentions lack sustainability and the development of the receivers' human skills to advance the betterment of their lives, often causing more harm than good. Rather than fostering economically self-reliant citizens and societies, these actions foster reliance on external aid, perpetuating colonization. The culmination of these findings underscores the urgent need for action: a call for all individuals engaging in well-intentioned behaviours to critically reflect on their beliefs, values, and actions to support shifts of consciousness (Gorski, 2008) and develop the capacity to identify any colonizing implications of their good intentions. This approach aligns with the principles of transformative learning (Mezirow, 2000, 2006) and transformative leadership (Shields, 2013). Extending this approach beyond educational boundaries is critical because of the growing global population of small-scale, well-intentioned charity groups and individuals.
ReferencesChang, H. J. (2008). Bad Samaritans: The guilty secrets of rich nations and the threat to global prosperity. Random House.
Charities Aid Foundation. (2022). World giving index: A global view of giving trends. https://www.cafonline.org/docs/default-source/about-us-research/caf_world_giving_index_2022_210922-final.pdf
Gorski. P. G. (2008) Good intentions are not enough: a decolonizing intercultural education, Intercultural Education, 19:6, 515-525, DOI:10.1080/14675980802568319
Lupton, R. D. (2011). Toxic charity: How churches and charities hurt those they help (and how to reverse it). HarperOne.
Lupton, R. D. (2015). Charity detox: What charity would look like if we cared about results (First edition.). HarperOne.
Mezirow, J. (2000). Learning as transformation: Critical perspectives on a theory in progress. Jossey Bass.
Mezirow, J. (2006) An overview of transformative learning. In P. Sutherland & J. Crowther (Eds.), Lifelong learning: Concepts and contexts (pp. 24–38). Routledge.
Niehaus, P. (2014). A theory of good intentions. San Diego, CA: University of California and Cambridge, MA: NBER, 111.
Pinazo, D., Peris, R., & Gámez, M.-J. (2010). Lay beliefs about developing countries in relation to helping behaviors. The Journal of Social Psychology, 150(4), 393–415. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224540903366685
Shields, C. M. (2013). Transformative leadership in education: Equitable change in an uncertain and complex world. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Yin, R. K. (2018). Case study research and applications: design and methods (Sixth edition.). SAGE.
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