Teaching in turbulent times
Foreword
The title of this book maps the key drive of this innovative and timely edited collection. This is an important and well-crafted book by early educationalists and researchers Dr. Christopher R. Matthews, Dr. Ursula Edgington and Dr. Alex Channon. The editors and contributors care deeply about the power of teaching and learning; the pages are fired up with critical pedagogical approaches to spark the imagination.
The introduction offers the framing of the methodological, theoretical, conceptual and ethical journey of the book; this is brought to life by the powerful personal narratives and learning journeys of the editors. The chapters that follow, by new and experienced scholars, offer a nuanced and sharp lens that probe structural issues that play out in and outside higher education (HE) and further education (FE) classrooms.
In their drive to position education as a tool for social justice, authors’ conceptual frameworks weave together across time and space to fuel creative, inclusive and critical pedagogical approaches that promote diverse learner and community engagement that challenge inequality. For example, social class, ethnicity, gender and disability so often silenced in pedagogical technocratic discourses is afforded a robust, theoretical and yet accessible lens that generates powerful narratives on the power of transformative and democratic approaches to teaching and learning.
The book provides a strong basis for supporting a dialogic, empowering and critical stance for the development of staff in both HE and FE infusing classrooms.