Schooling Masculinities in Teacher Education

The teaching philosophy for the PDC draws inspiration from bell hooks’ (1994) idea of the classroom as a “radical space of possibility” (p.12). The radical possibilities are present on two levels. Firstly, in the pedagogical practices of the PDC itself which rejects what Paulo Freire (1970) calls the “banking” concept of education – namely, one in which the teacher simply fills their students with knowledge. Instead, the conversations are co-constructed through “problem-solving education”, that is, “the posing of problems of human beings in their relations with the world” (Freire 1970, p.52). As such, the strict teach-subject/student-object dichotomy is rejected in favour of teacher-students and student-teachers.

The second level of radical possibility is in the desire to “know beyond the boundaries of what is acceptable, so that we can think and rethink, so that we can create new visions [and] celebrate teaching that enables transgressions” (hooks, 1994, p.12). In this case, we want to shift the ways that masculinities are thought about in and through education and develop practices that make space for pluralistic and diverse masculinities to flourish.

For the purpose of understanding the efficacy of the PDC on challenging teaching/thinking about gender in education, we will use ethnographic methods (Atkinson 2016). Drawing loosely on “autoethnographic” (McMahon 2016; McGannon & Smith 2015), “participatory” (Atkinson 2016; Gold 1958) and “audience” (Wilson & Sparkes 1996) ethnographic practices, we (the project facilitators) and the group (teacher-students and student-teachers) will engage in self-reflection and exploration of various media as we explore the topics through conversations. This pluralistic form of ethnography is supported by reflective writing activities and the creation of artifacts (e.g. fast writes, mind-maps, illustrations, etc.) which add richness to the ongoing observations throughout the PDC sessions.

Additionally, the participants are engaged in two semi-structured interviews (Rubin and Rubin 1995). The first will cover topics including the pre-service teacher’s experience with critical pedagogies, gender in education, and Critical Masculinities Studies (CMS). The second will take place after completion of the PDC and will explore how the PDC changed the participants thinking on the topics covered as well as what obstacles or successes they had in employing transformative pedagogical practices.