چكيده
Building upon literature of critical pedagogy and aiming at examining the effect of implementing a critical pedagogical approach in an EFL classroom, the researcher attempted to practice the principles of critical pedagogy in a university essay writing classroom. In pursuing this goal, to examine classroom interactions and the incidences of power relations among the students and between the teacher and the students, Freire’s 10 values of critical pedagogy identified by Shor (1993), Gutierrez’ (1993) six features of dialogic classroom interaction, and Gore’s (1998) eight techniques of power were used. Adopting Ada’s (1988) model of critical literacy, and Tang and John’s (1999) categories of textual identities, the effects of classroom practices on students’ writing were also investigated.
The results of the classroom observations were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. Among the class sessions that were observed for a period of a semester, five class sessions were selected for the weeks of 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 to be analyzed. Students’ journal writings were also examined both qualitatively and quantitatively in search of 1) traces of empowerment and 2) changes in the quality of writing as students continued writing. Students’ essays were examined quantitatively to explore the changes in students’ perception of themselves as writers. Students’ interviews were categorized based on themes related to the principles of critical pedagogy to complement the data obtained from other instruments.
The results showed that classroom practices ended up to student empowerment, as well as to teacher empowerment, and to the students’ development to make a more creative and critical classroom which could enhance the students’ learning.
The data also revealed that the characteristic of students writing moved beyond the descriptive mode, identified as the least powerful mode, towards critical and creative modes, identified as the most powerful modes. The students also, progressed to identify themselves as writers equal to published authors whose articles they had read and to involve in analyzing the merits and faults of their work.
