the possibilities of a critical pedagogy and empowering effects on motivation 2008 language and...

The possibilities of a critical pedagogy and empowering effects

on motivation

2008 Language and Educational Research ConferenceFlinders University

Students ‘perceptions and beliefs are social enactments with unique ingredients

Tacit factors influence what students do and what happens in lessons

Factors other than ability influence students’ learning

Factors other than what they know or what the teacher knows influence students’ learning too

For students to be able to be effective learners they need to be able to take part effectively in their learning, their lessons, their education and their lives

For students to play an active role in their learning, and in their world there needs to be a shift in powers (Shor 2004) and space for inclusivity

"[Student voice is] the active opportunity for students to express their opinions and make decisions regarding the planning, implementation, and evaluation of their learning experiences.“ (Rogers 2005)

Deconstruction of language

Conscientizaçao (Freire 1979)

Teacher and student dialogue (Smyth 2001)

Reflection and action (Freire 1994)

Problem posing (Freire 1979; Shor 1992; Leonard in McLaren & Leonard 2004)

Individuals make dispositional and environmental responses

Behavior is influenced by perceptions of task/ability; self efficacy and performance; outcome expectancy (Askell-Williams 2000)

Individuals are driven by the goals they pursue in their thoughts and actions ( Winne 1990, p.297)

Intellectual processing is enhanced by affect and the ‘’energizing role’’ that it plays (Piaget 1981 in Hidi 1990, p. 549)

More recent research (Hidi 1990) identifies that interest is an ‘energizing’ factor in learning

Interests can tell us about: “ the direction of the agents own growth, and is therefore,

imperiously demanded, if the agent is to be’’(Dewey 1913, p.6)

Interests (in topics, activities/processes preferred)

Attributions (explanations) Goals (students aims) Efficacy (how confident they feel about

their abilities and output in Spanish) Reflections on students’ learning and

performance in Spanish language/culture learning

Career Stages

Teacher Philosophy

Teacher MoraleContext

Banking System of Education

Monolingual MindsetOvert promotion of Asian Languages

Economic rationale

Individual SituationalInterest

(Hidi 1991)

PrincipalsTeachers Students Parents Local

communityBeliefs/

Backgrounds

Five Schools: Language is compulsory in year 8 and 9 (3

schools) Language is optional (2 schools)

Sample: 92 Students 68% Females 41% Males Group size range (from 6 to 33 students) Students can choose languages (8-2)

Do you think learning Spanish is interesting? What parts of learning Spanish are/are not

interesting to you? What could Spanish teachers do to make

learning Spanish more interesting for you? What could you do to? Please list the topics that interest you most

/least when learning Spanish. Do you believe you will continue learning

Spanish till year 12? Please explain in as much detail as possible, the

reasons for why you may or may not continue your study of Spanish

Culture (101) The Language (87) Classroom Activities (26) Learning (14) Affective statements (11) Travel (5) Topics (3)

‘’It intrigues me not only as a language but as a culture’’

“Pronunciation . Because its challenging for not just me but for most people’’

‘’Being challenged to learn new words, phrases and alphabets’’

“Projects are good because you learn from them”

“The language is interesting and complex” “Being able to understand a culture interests

me. Learning Spanish helps me understand not only one culture but many”

Language (47) Book work (19) Aspects of culture

(12 Activities (10) Teacher behaviour

(8) Repetitive work (8) Tests (7) Everything (7)

Nothing, I find it interesting (4)

Not sure (3) Homework (3) Worksheets (3) Difficulty (2)

“Learning verbs isn’t interesting but you need them” “When lessons involve non-stop grammatical learning and

you can only learn so much” “When I began Spanish I didn’t think it was important and

now I’m quite interested in continuing in the future? “not learning about the culture” “I don’t believe that Spanish will be something I need

later on in life but the teacher that I’ve had over the past two years has made it interesting”

“Learning things over and over. I guess it’s in case you forget”

“I hate it when you don’t get to do things with the language”

“I don’t think Spanish is not interesting but sometimes I get bored in class”

“Do more work that involves us” “More cooking” “I would definitely say that teachers need to do

more creative things with their students, Spanish isn’t all about learning verbs and doing worksheets, you need to learn more about the culture as well”

“Spanish exchanges should be organised each year”

‘’I think they should ask what we want to learn one lesson”

“Teachers should want kids to ask questions” “Spanish should be more important to schools so

that people can learn it too”

Make learning Spanish practical (26) Vary approach and strategies (14) Include games that help make learning

difficult or boring things fun (13) Use more collaborative work/tasks in the

language (4) Consider student interest (2) Speak to us in Spanish (4)

Share ideas/ views with the teacher (9) Be involved/participate more (9) Pay attention/ concentrate more (8) Try harder/apply myself (6) Not sure (6) Better attitude (6) Engage in own research/external work (4) Study more (3) Speak more in Spanish (3) Take more interest (3) Think of long term goals (1) Not miss lessons (1)

‘’I don’t know what really appeals most about Spanish to me, I just really enjoy learning it’’

‘’I don’t know I’m just a student’’ ‘’learning about the culture, although, I don’t see it being

particularly useful in the future’’ ‘’I don’t really see myself needing to learn Spanish in

order to secure a job that interests me however, I am very interested in travelling’’…”22 countries speak Spanish”…”I’m interested in a number of other senior subjects and because of the stresses associated with learning a whole new language, I would prefer to focus on my passions’’

“Having a language on your CV looks great …”it will give me the cutting edge”

(will continue if) ‘’if my grades are good, if I enjoy it and it doesn’t get boring’’

I will continue because I find it interesting and a challenge

STUDENTS TEACHERS Boring (12) Hate it (5) Subject difficulty (9) Demands in Yr 12 (2) Losing interest (10) Poor grades (2) Other subject interests (13) Lessons don’t motivate me (1) Not needed for future(5) Teaching (7) Can’t speak it well (1) Better at other language (1) Not important to me (1) Don’t like it (2) Transfer of institution (1) Won’t be travelling (1)

Poor parental support (4) Subject choice (5) Other teachers/ SSO’s (3) Inequitable treatment of languages

in schools (3) Lack of school support (2) Families won’t travel (2) School’s culture (1) Perceptions of subject difficulty (2) Students choice easy subjects (2) Future professions (1) University requirements (1) Not valued in curriculum (1) Lack of understanding of purpose of

learning (2) Lack of resources (1) Class sizes (1) The community (1) Fear of SACE exam (1)

‘’Learning about a different culture and being able to understand it interests me but through learning Spanish I am not learning how to understand one other culture but many others which is really great’’

It is important to “ be able to speak in another language, learn the differences between English and Spanish and put sentences together and feel confident to speak, write or understand Spanish”

“When I began Spanish I didn’t think it was important and now I’m quite interested in continuing in the future”

Abstract

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Quest?ABAC Journal. 25(1) :33-52.Freire, P. (1998). Teachers As Cultural Workers; letters to those who dare teach. Oxford.Westview Press.Freire ,P. (1970). Pedagogia del Oprimido. Montevideo. Siglo Veintiuno editores; TierraNueva.Gudjonsdottir, H. (2007). Tranformative Pathways: Journal of Research in TechnologyEducation.. 40(2): 165-182.Hidi ,S. (1990). Interest and its Contribution as a Mental Resource. Review ofEducational Research 60(4): 549-571.Murphy P. K., A., P. A. (2000). A Motivated Exploration of MotivationTerminology. Contemporary Educational Psychology 25(3): 3-53.Renninger, K. A., H. S., & Krapp ,A., (1992). The Role of Interest in Learning andDevelopment. USA, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.Rogers, A. (2005). Student voice: Bridges to learning. Seattle: University of Washington.Online. In Soundout. Retrieved March 1, 2008, fromhttp:www.soundout.org/definition.htmlShor, I. (2004). Paulo Freire: A critical encounter. London & New York. Routledge.Smyth J. (2001). Critical Politics of Teachers' Work; An Australian Perspective. New York,Peter Language Publishing Inc.