Education and social change: a theoretical approach

This chapter explores some of the theoretical underpinnings of education which could bring about socially just schooling. Looking in detail at how critical pedagogies can produce emancipatory learning in schools and briefly exploring ideas about education from Dewey to Illich, the paper is intended to assist parents and educators alike understand the need for a progressive and democratic education within school in order for them to get the best, not only for their own children or pupils, but also to create a more socially just world outside the classroom. The issues explored also include how parents might supplement their children’s education outside of school in order to engage them in thinking of education as a life-experience rather than as an abstract activity that only takes place away from life in general. The paper also explores the notion that education should become more explicitly politicised to link the notion of a democratic public with the experience of a democratic education.