Moving from Traditional to Transformative Curriculum and Pedagogy
Lisa Fetman editor Linsay DeMartino editor
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Myers Education Press
Published:12th Mar '26
Should be back in stock very soon
Curriculum and pedagogy are the heartbeat of our schools. They encompass what we do and do not teach–what content and approaches we either choose or are mandated to choose, or leave out or are mandated to leave out. Curriculum entails the overall educational experience of schooling, while pedagogy is the art and craft of teaching–or the translation of curriculum into student knowledge and growth. Hence, curriculum and pedagogy are sociocultural phenomena that impact and are impacted by context (e.g., students, community, colleagues, geography, etc.).
Once upon a time, curriculum and pedagogy were the spaces in which educators could exercise creativity and exploration, reflecting the individual needs of their students and communities. However, as political structures shifted and the standards movement took hold in the late 20th century, freedoms around curriculum and pedagogy began to fade with increased oversight over and standardization of "best practices" with greater emphasis placed on performance and efficiency. Pedagogical practices were soon framed around producing results (test scores, graduation rates, measurable learning objectives derived from prescribed state standards), while curriculum became a prescribed structure formatted to reflect state standards with an eye toward test performance. Curriculum and pedagogy were further impeded by hegemonic forces calling for censorship of teaching and curriculum, such as the ban on Ethnic Studies in Tucson, Arizona, and continued attacks on Critical Race Theory nationwide. Further, curriculum became a tool for concealing and/or silencing the experiences and voices of our diverse students, educators, and communities. The results of these phenomena are teachers feeling uninspired and deprofessionalized and students feeling devalued and unheard–especially marginalized students.
Since curriculum and pedagogy directly impact the experiences of teachers and students, they must be transformed. However, how do we do that within today's tenuous PreK-12 environment? How do we transform curriculum and pedagogy so that they reflect, liberate, and ensure justice for students and educators in preschools, elementary schools, middle schools, high schools and the content areas taught within them? Moving from Traditional to Transformative Curriculum and Pedagogy addresses these challenges by providing clear and direct guidance for current and aspiring educators committed to transforming the status quo in their classrooms and schools.
Innovative and creative methodologies and practices that...
"The greatest challenge in teacher preparation and ongoing professional development is to intentionally support future and current educators to confront and dismantle institutional barriers that have historically marginalized students and their families. Only by boldly confronting systemic inequities will we realize a world in which all students are not only invited but supported to meet their fullest potential as learners and contributors to our society, economy, and global community. Moving from Traditional to Transformative Curriculum and Pedagogy provides a substantiated narrative and research based strategies which support teachers in their civic duty and moral imperative to create learning environments and provide educational opportunities that promote and provide liberty and justice for all." - Jody Tucker, EdD, University of Colorado Denver School of Education and Human Development, Former Director of Clinical Teacher Education, Professional Development Schools & NxtGEN Current Director of Professional Development and Partnerships, Continuing and Professional Education "Moving from Traditional to Transformative Curriculum and Pedagogy advances important notions of liberatory practices, policies, and possibilities, foregrounding a sense of educational imagination about the "what" and "how" of teaching and learning. This significant volume is relational at its core; carefully considering how schools, communities, and critical explorations of curriculum and pedagogy can become enmeshed in schools. At a time when the continued erasure of minoritized people and communities has (again) taken the national spotlight, the ideas presented in Moving from Traditional to Transformative Curriculum and Pedagogy become a necessary tool, not just for everyday educational practices, but for enacting hope and refusing oppression."
- Boni Wozolek, PhD, Penn State University, Abington College "In an era where the assault on public education has reached a fever pitch, Fetman and DeMartino have put together an impressive volume that pushes and provokes us to create curriculum and pedagogies that give meaning and texture to educational justice! Providing cutting edge scholarship coupled with practical guidance for scholars and practitioners alike, this is a must read text whose intellectual generosity is only surpassed by its searing vision for transformative education. A timely text for a time such as this."
- Kevin Lawrence Henry, Jr., PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, University of Wisconsin-Madison
ISBN: 9781975506865
Dimensions: 229mm x 152mm x 13mm
Weight: unknown
175 pages