## Key Ideas > [!abstract] Core Concepts > > - **Critical Theory foundation**: Examines education through lens of domination, seeking social transformation through schooling > - **Banking model critique**: Traditional instruction seen as oppressive; advocates co-construction of knowledge > - **Method vs content**: Explicit teaching is ideologically neutral - can convey any content or values ## Definition **Education as Social Reformation**: Educational philosophy viewing schools as tools for social change, aiming to address societal inequalities through transformed teaching approaches. ## Connected To [[Purpose of School-based Education]] | [[Non-Explicit Teaching]] | [[Explicit Teaching]] | [[Constructivism]] --- ## Theoretical foundation Education as social reformation draws from Critical Theory, which examines societal relationships through power and oppression. Critical Theory, originating from Marxism, seeks social transformation by exposing and challenging systems of domination and suppression. Paulo Freire's _Pedagogy of the Oppressed_ (1968) applied critical theory to education, describing traditional instruction as the "banking model" (where students are empty vessels filled with knowledge by authoritative teachers). This model perpetuates oppression by positioning teachers as all-knowing authorities whilst students passively accept what they are told. Freire advocates a [[Non-Explicit Teaching|problem-posing]] model where teachers and students co-construct knowledge. ## Misconceptions about explicit teaching Social reformation advocates sometimes conflate teaching methodology with ideological content. Some denounce [[Explicit Teaching]] as inherently "traditional" and authoritarian, misunderstanding both the [[Constructivism|constructivist]] foundations of explicit teaching and the distinction between method and content. Explicit teaching recognises that students have [[Prior Knowledge|prior knowledge]] and new knowledge must be actively integrated - a constructivist perspective. The method is neutral whilst content carries ideological weight. Explicit teaching can convey conservative values, Marxist principles, or social justice concepts equally well. ## Contradictions with other purposes Education as social reformation conflicts with other educational goals. The tension with socialisation exists because educators want students to conform to society whilst challenging existing norms. Social transformation may conflict with a child's natural development. The tension with reasoning appears in activism, where the role is to turn a grey issue into a black and white issue. These tensions require balancing social reformation against other purposes of education. ## References Freire, P. (1968). *Pedagogy of the oppressed*. Continuum. Giroux, H. A. (1983). *Theory and resistance in education: A pedagogy for the opposition*. Bergin & Garvey. Goodlad, J. I. (1979). *What schools are for*. Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation. Kincheloe, J. L. (2008). *Critical pedagogy* (2nd ed.). Peter Lang. Labaree, D. F. (1997). Public goods, private goods: The American struggle over educational goals. *American Educational Research Journal*, 34(1), 39-81. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312034001039 McLaren, P. (2015). *Life in schools: An introduction to critical pedagogy in the foundations of education* (6th ed.). Paradigm Publishers. Reimer, K., & McLean, L. (2009). Conceptual clarity and connections: Social justice education and preservice teachers. In K. Reimer & L. McLean (Eds.), *Teaching for social justice: Concepts and models for service-learning in peace studies* (pp. 13-28). Stylus Publishing. Westheimer, J., & Kahne, J. (1998). Education for action: Preparing youth for participatory democracy. In W. Ayers, J. A. Hunt, & T. Quinn (Eds.), *Teaching for social justice* (pp. 1-20). Teachers College Press.