Education for Social Transformation: Chicana/o and Latin American Studies and Community Struggles

• Published in: Latin American perspectives Vol. 31; no. 1; pp. 59 - 80
• Main Authors: Ochoa, Gilda Laura, Ochoa, Enrique C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Riverside Sage Publications 01-01-2004; SAGE Publications; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Capitalism; College instruction; College students; Communities; Community; Community colleges; Community relations; Culture; Education; History; Latin America; Latin American studies; Pedagogy; Politics; Reflexivity; Regional studies; Service learning; Social change; Studies; Tutoring; U.S.A; Universities
• ISSN: 0094-582X; 1552-678X
• DOI: 10.1177/0094582X03259909

The classroom is an inherently political arena. It may be either a place that reproduces dominant thought and prevailing hierarchies or an area of liberatory praxis where power and exclusionary ideologies can be challenged (Freire, 1970). Radical educators have long acknowledged that liberatory education involves interactive classes in which the learning process is negotiated, one "learns by doing," and there is an emphasis on relating personal lives to public issues (Freire, 1970; Shor, 1992; hooks, 1994; Darder, 2002). In these student-centered classes, a "power-sharing arrangement" enables participants to explore issues and themes of interest to them and to relate academic materials to their lives and worlds (Freire, 1970; Shor, 1996). Ideally, an engaged pedagogy includes a critical analysis of power, domination, and knowledge and an opportunity to devise strategies and engage in activities that foster change (Freire, 1970; Solorzano, 1997).