In neoliberalist times, pedagogies focused on accountability and efficiency are often prioritised (Tett & Hamilton, 2019) resulting in the narrowing of pedagogies (Whittingham et al., 2021) in ways that disproportionately affect racialized and minoritized communities. The global context, rife with issues such as the pandemic, climate related disasters, and political unrest, has amplified these inequities creating a heightened imperative for educators to design pedagogies that support children across all identities, backgrounds, and conditions to thrive (GEAP, 2022). Such pedagogies include alternate ways to design and enact expansive pedagogies, ones that include different material resources and engage families and communities in meaningful ways (e.g., Whitley et al., 2021). We conceptualize these pedagogies as resources of hope (Williams, 1989).
This special issue features school pedagogies as resources of hope. Hope may be characterized as full of uncertainty, possibility, and goodness that can enable looking forward while reflecting on experiences (Nunn, 2005) in ways that are reflective of the time, context, and people (Giblett, 2009). Pedagogies that function as resources for hope are those that are uniquely configured as chosen responses to educational contexts, build on the strengths of learners, and engender joyful, expansive learning opportunities in classrooms (McKee et al., 2019). These asset-oriented pedagogies are innovative and productive while challenging inequities (Tett & Hamilton, 2019) and may be key to rethinking and resetting education in challenging times (GEAP, 2022).
University-based and teacher researchers are invited to share research that explores, interrogates, and celebrates K-12 school pedagogies as resources for hope. This research may employ various research methodologies reflective of diverse ontologies and epistemologies. Submissions may respond to theoretical and practical questions such as:
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- What are the constituents of school pedagogies that are hopeful and that expand opportunities for learning? What enables or constrains the design and implementation of these pedagogies?
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- What learning materials (e.g., technologies), classroom practices (e.g., collaborative learning), and family engagement might be a part of hopeful pedagogies?
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- What are examples of pedagogies of hope in K-12 classrooms? What are the learning opportunities embedded within? What are the benefits and consequences of designing and implementing these pedagogies for children and educators?
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- How might educators configure school pedagogies of hope? How do these pedagogies respond to the programmatic curriculum, the context, and students?
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- What teacher professional learning opportunities are needed to support teachers in designing these pedagogies of hope?
