Transformative Education and The School System
�Context
How can our schools be cultural spaces against ecological degradation, poverty, and gender insensitivity?gender insensitivity?
How can our schools be liminal spaces of human creativity and imagination to respond to challenges of our times?
Paradigm shift�This situation calls for a paradigm shift in the system of education towards �an instructional system that is transformative in its culture;transformative in its culture;
�an educational system that creates a balance between knowledge acquisition and values formation and
� places an equal focus on personal achievement and social responsibility(Gonzales, et al, 2002).
transformative- based education requires a redesigning of a school system �the mission-vision-goals � complemented by a set of core values; � complemented by a set of core values; � organization/ governance system; � institutional culture and climate; �curriculum program and �the human and material support system. � (Duderstatd 2000) A Tale of Power & Vision.flv
School Vision, Mission, and Core Values: Bedrock of Transformative Education
� Administrators will have to revisit, review and rearticulate their schools Vision-Mission- Goal (VMG) statement and to evolve their core values.
The core values are to be incorporated � The core values are to be incorporated into the teaching program across key learning areas.
� The school may consider to map a new educational agenda oriented to the vision of God’s reign of justice, peace and integrity of creation.
TRANSFORMATIVE EDUCATION AND VALUES
FORMATION TOWARD SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES
�The mission is to make teaching social
responsibility a core practice in
education so that young people
develop the convictions and skills to
shape a safe, sustainable, democratic,
and just world.
�This challenge raises questions about
content and how schools are
structured.
� It demands a balance between
personal competence and social skills
and social responsibility.
�This effort can renew a sense of
purpose and meaning among
educators (Berman, 1992).
Transformative Education and the Curricular Program or the
school’s instructional program.
� Strategizing curriculum program
� includes review and revision of the
traditional curriculumtraditional curriculum
� reorganization towards integrating
strong transformative elements,
especially the content areas.
Curriculum Content Major Themes
�The major themes consist of:� Justice and Peace Education
� Environment Education� Environment Education
� Engaged Citizenship
� Poverty Reduction
� Gender Sensitivity
� Youth Empowerment
�The desired outcome of
transformative education is a
transformed student who could
improved society, an integrated,
wholistic, God-loving person a
Desired outcome
wholistic, God-loving person a
builder of family and community.
�The school will need to match the
requirements of the student to
challenge him / her to seek
leadership for a sustainable
future. (de Jesus, 2007)
In short, the outcome of transformative
education is a transformed person,
commissioned in turn to transform society
(de Jesus, 2007).
The Transformative Teacher
� Teachers who know and believe in the power
of transformation are the ones capable of
moulding the soul, mind and heart of the moulding the soul, mind and heart of the
school’s institutional processes and structures
so that these reflect the school’s aspiration to
be a living arena of cultural transformation.
Two aspects
� Witnessing the transformative process
demands from teachers two fundamental
things:
�1) that they, as persons, are examples of �1) that they, as persons, are examples of
transformation as a lifelong process; and
� 2)they teach transformatively.
� In the transformative teacher, BEING TRANSFORMATIVE
and EDUCATING TRANSFORMATIVELY become one.
• Transformation towards right relationships is a
lifelong experience, process and commitment
that ask to be embraced as one of life’s realities.
• This movement towards right relationships has • This movement towards right relationships has
brought about the growing awareness about
human rights, environmental advocacies, gender
sensitivity, poverty reduction, youth
empowerment, and engaged citizenship.
VOCATION
�Teaching becomes a vocation when
one grows into appreciating how
one’s involvement in the education
process impacts society at an
individual, social and ecological individual, social and ecological
level, and embraces the
responsibility of such an impact as
a lifelong commitment.
�Teaching becomes a way of life
when one’s craft as a teacher is
expressed whatever one’s
profession or involvement.
For a transformative teacher, the
academic is seen in relation to real
life, not only in terms of its
application but also its responsible
impact in society and the earth.
Educating Transformatively—Inviting Students to
Experience the Transformative Process
• The basic dynamics of eco/human
community that students need to
understand are: interrelatedness,
interdependence and
interconnectedness. interconnectedness. A True Teacher.flv
ANIMATOR
�A teacher’s role is to be animator and usher of students into community living.
� Interrelatedness focuses on how each one is related to everything else in the community. community.
� Interdependence highlights the need of each one for the other and the role of each one in the wellbeing of the whole community.
� Interconnectedness stresses how each one’s actions or decisions affects others and the whole community.
INTEGRATIVE LEARNING AND
REFLECTION – CO-LEARNER
� Teachers best develop integrative learning
and reflection when they are co-learners
with their students in an atmosphere of
acceptance, wellbeing and concern, open to
the variety of talents, gifts, and personhood the variety of talents, gifts, and personhood
of all.
� Participation is evoked in this kind of
atmosphere, allowing genuine dialogue to
guide the learning process towards critical
inquiry and conscientious reflection about
the realities in the world and themselves.
CHALLENGER
� Radical imagination is
cultivated when the
transformative teacher guides
the students in seeing and
naming the root causes of a
situation, not just the
symptoms.symptoms.
� The transformative teacher
acts as a challenger who
motivates the students to
imagine alternatives to the
situation that needs to be
changed.
Mentor
• A transformative teacher is a mentor to students, guiding them in appreciating how their giftedness, talents and skills are God-given and skills are God-given capacities to be constantly honed, expressed with humility and used in the service of the wider community.
COMPASSIONATE HEART
�Transformative teachers hone in
their students a compassionate heart.
�A transformative teacher will hone
compassionate hearts most
effectively through his/her way of life
that exhibits transformation both in
the personal and professional
dimensions.
� Being transformative is an experience in
actively participating in the fulfilment of actively participating in the fulfilment of
God’s dream for all peoples—a world that is
just, peaceful, and harmonious.
� The transformative teacher journeys as a
faith companion of students as they,
together, co-create God’s world. [YOUTUBE-HQ]-
Even_Eagles_Need_a_Push_by_David_McNally.flv.flv ,