Abstract
Inclusion is a desirable goal to attain in any education system. However, if the classroom experiences provided to achieve this goal do not empower learners, students are likely to be done a disservice. It is indeed important to empower all students, and it is perhaps even more critical for descendants of formerly enslaved and colonized peoples. Using Jamaica as a focus case, the author argues that there are classroom environments in the Caribbean that still reflect vestiges of that oppressive history, which continue to deprive many students of their agency and self-efficacy. It is of real urgency, therefore, that all Caribbean educators practice critical pedagogy to empower all students. One factor that has significant implications for student empowerment is the instructional culture of the education system. In general, the instructional culture is either teacher- or learner-centered. Teacher-centered instructional approaches are likely to disempower students; on the other hand, learner-centered practices are apt to empower students. Learning theories provide a pedagogical frame that can inform instructional culture. The constructivist theory of learning counters hegemonic instructional practices and decenters power in the classroom. This chapter, therefore, is devoted to explicating an understanding of how principles of constructivism can inform an instructional culture that would potentially empower Caribbean students and contribute to the decolonization process still necessary in the region.
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Notes
- 1.
Hereafter will be referred to as “Caribbean.”
- 2.
Lady Mico initially bequeathed the money for her nephew to marry his cousin; this union did not take place, so the funds were redirected to educate children of the former enslaved in the Caribbean (Gordon, 1963).
- 3.
Formerly Mico Teachers’ College.
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Culture is set of values, conventions, or social practices associated with a particular field, activity, or societal characteristic.
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Inclusion is an educational practice whereby students with special needs are fully integrated into the general education classrooms at a school.
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Bailey, E.K. (2019). Resetting the Instructional Culture: Constructivist Pedagogy for Learner Empowerment in the Postcolonial Context of the Caribbean. In: Blackman, S., Conrad, D., Brown, L. (eds) Achieving Inclusive Education in the Caribbean and Beyond. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15769-2_10
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