Shaping a Path Forward: Critical Approaches to Civic Education in Tumultuous Times

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to offer an exploration of civic education by focusing on its emancipatory potential in a democratic society. It highlights a suite of critical approaches to civic education that can inform our understanding and practice of democracy, liberation, and struggle. In particular, this chapter enacts Freire’s notion of dialogue as a pathway for civic education that challenges the status quo and transforms society to be more just for all. It focuses on the educational, social, and political imperative to develop a critical consciousness among citizens in tumultuous times characterized by threats to the common good.