There are usually three basics of domains that are required to achieve better knowledge dissemination which in most cases involve pedagogy i. e. practical skills focused on social justice, knowledge attainment and critical consciousness. The required curriculum and the assessment which, is oriented towards social justice, is part of the scope of this research bearing in mind that tomorrow’s leaders need to be equipped with skills to deal with discriminations, injustices, among other vices being experienced today. Scholars and educationists have been reminding us that teaching social justice is not only a goal but also a process.
People fear to be catalysts of change merely because they believe career is more is demanding (Banks, 1998). More importantly, the experience one gains after adopting particular teaching strategy helps in preparing the next group of leaders for the teaching courses for social justice. This will make it possible for the teachers and their “Leaders-students” to improve their learning abilities. This will therefore specify the effectiveness and suitability of the teaching strategies that are applied for developing leaders for social justice.
A survey will be conducted to investigate the effectiveness of the current teaching strategies that are employed in our institutions. Problem statement There is an indelible imprint in today’s society whereby social injustices are not usually visible because they are not only complex but also multiple in nature. Abusing the employed and public neglect of Vietnam veterans are two such examples of invisible social injustice. To make them visible, it requires social actors and leaders who will have some sense of responsibility with others and towards one other.
To face this challenge, teaching strategies should be developed and improved to develop leaders and provide them with resources, knowledge, and skills which will in turn equip leaders with desire and ability to take actions that will initiate change and improve social justice in the society. By examining the paradigm which, have in the past dominated the teaching social justice, this research will aim at constructing suitable, equitable resource oriented strategies that will be efficient in the teaching process.
Definition of Terms Quantitative -Those studies based on the volume of subjects used versus the types of specific numbers or subject based information. Qualitative – Involving or relating to comparisons based on the relative qualities of the sources of the information. Inductive- Any suggestion or opinion influenced by prior experience or knowledge of something Research Questions The following are the research questions drive this study 1. What are the common teaching strategies for preparing leaders for social justice? 2.
What if any, are the common themes in research that need to be applied to improve the teaching process? 3. Which of these teaching strategies are most desirable from for preparing leaders for social justice? Purpose of the study The purpose of this research is to investigate the best teaching strategies for conceptualizing and developing leaders for social justice. The other purpose of this quantitative study is to gain factual information from teachers, students, and players in the social justice sector concerning the teaching approaches and styles that need to be utilized.
The study will particularly outline the preparation of leaders to undertake social justice tasks. The research would improve the conceptualization of the teaching strategies to prepare the leaders to lead socially just schools and societies. It also serves as a guide for developing a course or a set of courses where leaders are able to learn proper techniques for future administrators. Limitations of the study The study does not incorporate factors that include; the rules, policies and costs of the education systems, which are currently being applied.
In trying to get this study succeed, the participants may not be in a position to clearly understand the effectiveness or suitability of these strategies or even explain their significance to the teachers and learners alike. It also does not specify the capacity, which the participants make their opinions known i. e. from an experienced point of view. Hypothesis The following hypothesis would be tested: 1. Learners are unanimous in selecting the best teaching strategies 2. Learners are not unanimous in selecting the best teaching strategies 3.
Learners do not have any preferences as to specific teaching strategies to be adopted Methodology To address the growing issues of teaching strategies for developing leaders for advocating social justice in the society, a survey of the current strategies being utilized will be done. This survey will include previous literature and other studies, which will be categorized in a proposed framework for further analysis. The respondents for this survey are experienced teachers (six years or more) and those who are pursuing a master’s course in the promotional social justice in the society.
The study population comprises of ten service teachers who volunteered to participate in the survey. The participants would be given a brochure to be filled up, which outlines the conceptual framework of the teaching strategies that are applied in the school of education. The School of Education through its mission strive to produce social catalysts for change that can sustain and create teaching strategies for promoting environments where social justice flourishes and excellence is cherished.
In the survey, the opinions of the teachers were sought on the best strategies in pursuit of the good teaching practices. Literature review Teaching strategies Kohl (2001) in his study indicated that teachers may often teach against their conscience, do not give the best they can offer, and do a sloppy job of teaching. They mostly do not follow the methodologies learnt and focus too much on being efficient and in that process, fail to apply the special knowledge they have acquired.
To overcome these prospects, the crux of what Kohl termed “teaching for social justice”, the teaching strategies must be looked further and analyzed clearly. This idea gave birth to certain theories that have led to developing teaching strategies, which have never been tested to ascertain their importance in the society. Researchers like Counts (1969) argued that schools should join liberal forces, design a “curriculum that embraced the laboring classes”, and “uphold the interest of America’s great masses of people”(Counts, 1969, p. 29-30).
Counts had focused on the development of democratically inclusive socialistic educational model that had in some circumstances provided for individualistic lenses, which emphasizes better teaching practices for developing leaders in social justice. Freire (2000) is a researcher closely associated with teaching for social justice. He expounded the belief that teaching is a political act and is never neutral. Freire proposed changing the system of oppression within the public school system and within our society and to focus more on equity.
Research strategies The current teaching strategies used for developing leaders for social justice include Delegation strategies, Expert-oriented strategies, formal and authoritative strategies, and facilitative strategies, and personal models strategies. Each type of strategies is discussed here in brief: Delegation strategies These types of strategies concern developing an autonomous fashion through a capacity function. Teachers are considered resource persons by the learners. It involves self-reflection especially among the learners themselves.
The strategy is a practice that, in one way or another enables teachers to ask non-reflective questions about learning and teaching from their students. In this way, it is possible to shift the blame to the students when they fail to meet the expectations of the teacher. This is particularly suited for developing leaders for social justice. The strategy also helps the teachers to look back and reflect on their practice to see if they are communicating with the students. Based on inquiry, the strategy helps the ‘leader- students’ to make positive changes in own classes and share their newfound knowledge (Bell, 1997).