Identity, Diversity and Teaching for Social Justice

In recent times, educational reformers have proposed ways of using education to reduce inequality, overcome discriminatory values and attitudes, and alleviate social problems. An increasing number of language theorists and practitioners contends that in order to reduce inequality it is essential to address the personal, cultural, and political implications of language teaching. Awareness of these factors activate the need to gain deeper insight into the personal and professional nuances of teachers’ lives. The gap between sociolinguistic theory and educational practice points to the fact that linguists and educationists themselves carry the prejudices of particular social, ideological, cultural and geographical backgrounds. Who teaches what to whom, why and how affects curricular decisions which can thus become fraught with political allegiances; in this way the non-neutrality of language pedagogy is confirmed. Drawing from a suite of data sources the book explores the following questions: Do teachers’ autobiographical experiences shape their professional identities? Does subscription to counter-hegemonic ideologies impact teachers’ personal and professional positionality and authority? What contributions can feminist theorising make to language teaching in socially diverse classrooms? Through an exploration of these questions, the book gestures towards an imperative to re-think educative and pedagogic relationships and the politics of difference and dialogue in demographically diverse classrooms that subscribe to social redress agendas.

The Author: Juliet Perumal graduated with a Ph.D. in Education from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. She holds a Bachelor of Paedagogics (Arts) from the University of Durban-Westville, an Honours in Education from the University of South Africa and a Masters in Education (specialising in Language and Literature) from the University of Cape Town. She currently teaches in the Division of Educational Policy and Leadership Studies in the School of Education at the University of the Witwatersrand. Her research interests include: curriculum studies, language and gender, and critical pedagogies.

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