'Yes, but if we have students think all day when will we get anything done?': two conceptual resources to engage students in democratically dangerous teaching

摘要

While the politics of curriculum reform occupy adults, high stakes get played out in crowded classrooms. As a component of democratic inquiry, how might teachers engage students in a study of those agendas shaping their education? What sorts of conceptual resources could help? To begin to answer these questions, I briefly review scholars who address the emergence in several countries of what Kliebard names as a 'social efficiency' agenda in education. I then examine two strong examples of literature in 'authentic' practices as a curriculum conversation contesting this agenda. While supportive of the intent of scholars concerned with authentic practices, I assert that they insufficiently address ways in which students might engage with issues shaping their experience of formal education and offer two conceptual resources with which to do so.