Using drama in education to develop pre-service English teachers’ understanding and capacity in teaching social justice at post-primary level

One of the most common forms of non-recognition in education is for a group to be generally left outside educational discourse by not being named or known (Lynch and Baker 2005). Addressing inequalities of respect and recognition involves, amongst other things, the development of critical and empathetic perspectives and of educational experiences which enable critical dialogue (Lynch and Baker 2005). This paper examines a project conducted in the University of Limerick in 2010 with a cohort of 3rd year pre-service English teachers. The aim of the project was to facilitate an understanding of how drama in education could be used as a successful pedagogical tool for the critique of social inequality issues and the promotion of social justice. Tuition was provided by the author to four pre-service English teachers in both drama in education and development education (with a specific focus on social justice) over the course of a semester. The cohort were then challenged to employ a post-engagement approach to the development of a resource pack which would illustrate how drama in education could be used as an effective pedagogical tool for developing awareness and reflection on a variety of social justice issues. Resource packs developed by the cohort illustrated the capacity of drama in education to act as an effective medium for enhancing awareness and critical understanding in the area

Reading other worlds, reading my world

In this article, Carmel Hinchion and Jennifer Hennessy reflect on a project undertaken by the Ubuntu Network in partnership with pre-service English teachers and their lecturers at the University of Limerick. The project was set in the context of an English pedagogy course as part of the undergraduate initial teacher education (ITE) programme where student English teachers prepare for teaching in post-primary classrooms. Their article focuses on a literature unit where ‘culturally salient’ texts were chosen to promote, not only a reading of the word but of the world (Freire, 1970). A culturally salient text, as understood by Kress (1995), is one that allows us to ask questions about its significance in its own cultural domain and for other cultures. Drawing on the metaphor of a ‘reconstitutive mirroring experience’ (O’Loughlin, 2009), literature acts as a reflexive and reflective medium in shaping a world view

At the altar of educational efficiency: performativity and the role of the teacher

This paper critiques the impact of neo-liberalism on postprimary education, and in particular on the teaching of English. The paper explores the implications of performativity and exam-driven schooling on the teaching and learning of poetry. The authors argue that meeting the demands of an education system dominated by technicism and standardisation poses considerable challenge to teacher autonomy and pedagogy. They also draw attention to the uncontested dominance of this social contract in education and suggest it to be a catalyst for the standardisation and commodification of knowledge that has resulted in considerable de-professionalisation of English teachers. The paper proposes that as a result teachers are confronted with the choice of conformity or resistance in their practice, and argues that counterhegemonic endeavour is urgently needed in the drive to redress this circumstance

“The points, the points, the points”: exploring the impact of performance oriented education on the espoused values of senior cycle poetry teachers in Ireland

Teachers of English experience significant pressure in attempting to meet the requirements of the national examination system, while also seeking to uphold their own ideological and philosophical perspectives on the value of poetry. Drawing on a mixed method study into the teaching of poetry at post-primary level in Ireland conducted between 2007 and 2010, this paper examines current methodological trends in poetry pedagogy. The research identifies a marked imbalance in the prioritisation of pupil development, with many teachers privileging the cognitive development of pupils’ poetic understanding over the affective. The paper also suggests limited attention to the interwoven dimensions of the affective and cognitive domains in the teaching of poetry at senior cycle level in Irish schools. This paper advocates the need to support teachers to develop an integrated pedagogy for teaching poetry in second-level schools, which engages both the critical and the creative in a meaningful manner