Empowering ourselves and transforming schools : educators making a difference / Judith W. Irwin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Irwin, Judith Westphal.

Series:

SUNY series in teacher preparation and development.

SUNY series, teacher preparation and development

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Educational change--United States.

Educational change.

School management and organization--United States.

School management and organization.

Educational change--United States--Case studies.

Physical Description:

xvii, 347 p. : ill.

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, c1996.

Summary:

In this readable and ground-breaking text, Irwin examines the forces that keep educators and students from feeling fully empowered. She defines empowerment as gaining the power to self-actualize and to facilitate this for others. Grounding her arguments in feminist and critical examinations of domination, Irwin begins by defining empowerment as fundamentally opposed to domination. She then examines the implications of this definition for our educational system. This book encourages the reader to consider new directions for educational reform and synthesizes current innovations under the umbrella philosophy of empowerment, suggesting how the change from the patriarchal paradigm to one based on cooperation and connection might revolutionize the organization of schools and their classrooms. The reader is challenged to develop his or her own philosophy and agenda for change through a series of reflective activities. A comparative case study of five "empowered" teachers is included to demonstrate that empowerment is an individual as well as a collective process.

Contents:

Intro

CONTENTS

LIST OF ACTIVITIES

LIST OF TABLES

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

INTRODUCTION

PART ONE: UNDERSTANDING THE SYSTEM OF DOMINATION

1. Understanding Empowerment

2. How Educators Experience Domination

3. How Students Experience Domination

PART TWO: ENVISIONING A SYSTEM OF EMPOWERMENT

4. An Empowering Education

5. Knowledge as Power

6. Literacy as Power

PART THREE: EMPOWERING OURSELVES

7. Self-Empowerment

8. Creating Empowering Communities

9. Teachers Speak for Themselves

10. Empowerment and Education: Past, Present and Future

APPENDIX A: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS AND SAMPLE INTERVIEW PROTOCOL

APPENDIX B: PEBBLES ALONG THE PATH: ON THE PROCESS OF BECOMING A TEACHER-RESEARCHER

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INDEX

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

U

V

W.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (p. 319-335) and index.

ISBN:

1-4384-0759-9

OCLC:

42854754