249 11.
Break up students into different small groups, and have them discuss which political-economic system they would prefer to implement and live
under and why. Have them debate the merits of their preferred systems with the other groups, and think about what the possible impediments to
implementing them might be. The teacher should ensure a respectful and tolerant exchange of ideas and opinions, while at the same time ensuring
that all students get an equal chance to voice their views. 12.
Have in depth discussions, supported by empirical studies, on the various conceptions and dimensions of human nature.
13. Break up students into different small groups, and have them once again,
in light of the discussion on human nature, discuss what form of political- economic system they would like, and believe is feasible.
14. Finally, break up students into different small groups. Next, play random
songs from the Billboard top 40, and get students to dissect them for their ideological content. Get students to answer the following questions:
a. What are the messages of these songs?
b. Whose interests are these songs promoting?
c. What political-economic ideology do these songs reflect?
Please note that it is the teachers’ job as a facilitator of knowledge to present factual and empirically validated information in an objective a mode as possible,
while helping students to question their deep-seated beliefs, emotions, attitudes, and practices. The teacher should at all points avoid displaying or otherwise
expressing an open political preference, and allow for each student to make up their own mind on political positions. However, the teacher should also emphasize
and point out to students the many local and international organizations that are working on issues of poverty, labour rights, human rights, environmentalism etc.
8.6 End Thoughts:
This chapter has reviewed the central tenets and political objectives of critical and progressive pedagogy as well as their potential limitations, and discussed
some of the ways that findings from my study can help to potentially address these limitations. In particular, it has laid the framework for a theoretical socio-cognitive
250 approach to critical and progressive pedagogy, which has included some
suggestions for a series of lesson activities. Before concluding, it is worth briefly pointing out some key challenges that
would make such a curriculum difficult to implement. First, initiating a state of cognitive dissonance requires on the part of teachers at least a basic understanding
of this concept and the methods used to activate it. Hence, in addition to all of the other concepts and material suggested for this lesson, it requires a significant
amount of preparation time on the teacher’s part, which he or she may not be able to spare. Second, there is no guarantee that having students simulate a sweatshop
environment will succeed in getting their predispositions to surface. And certainly, it will be hard for teachers to assess whether or not their students experience
cognitive dissonance during this lesson in the first place, without having had training in social psychology, andor having access to the help of a social
psychologist. Third, given the realities of the standards-based practices that most UK and US teachers have to abide by, they may not have the time, or indeed even
be allowed to implement such a curriculum. However, teachers concerned with fostering democracy and social justice generally find clever ways to bypass their
schools’ constraints, and in this instance, this curriculum is rather flexible in its time requirements and application. Moreover, its content is comprehensive, and is
meant to offer students a breadth of political-economic knowledge, and in that sense can perhaps be sold to head teachers, principals, and parents on those
grounds. That is, it is not an exercise in political indoctrination. Rather, it is a comprehensive series of activities designed to teach students the basics of
political-economy, and to specifically educate them about what democracy actually entails, in order for them to make informed decisions about the political-
economic arrangements and accompanying socio-cultural norms and values that they would wish to support. It is hard to imagine that anyone, regardless of their
political position, could be against this basic objective. That said, it cannot be emphasized enough that the activities set out in the
above section have not yet been trialed. I can therefore make no claims to their efficacy in achieving the goals of getting young people to develop lasting critical,
political, empathetic, democratic, and co-operative dispositional and reflective attitudes, beliefs, tendencies, and practices. One of the aims of these activities is to
bring to the surface some of the dispositions that young people may have that
251 might pre-dispose them to filter out political and social justice concerns. How far
this curriculum can go in targeting such deep-seated dispositions is unknown. However, at the very least, it is unlikely to undermine this objective, and at best,
can help to nurture young people’s political convictions and knowledge, their tolerance and respect for the views of others, and a passion for the public good
that can transcend their narrow self-interests.
252
Chapter Nine Conclusion
This thesis has explored some of the socio-cultural and political-economic dispositions, emotions, thoughts, and to a more limited extent, practices and
experiences of young people living in the neoliberal urban societies of LA and London. It has examined, among other factors, their political awareness, media-
culture interests and interpretations, their leisure time activities, future aspirations, and the implications of all of these things for the contribution of these young
people to the reproduction or contestation of neoliberal discourses and practices. The thesis has also sought to map out and unpack some of the content, central
tendencies, and conceptual, lexical, and semantic associations that constitute these young people’s socio-cultural and political-economic schemata, and discussed
some of the insights that these can contribute to a socio-cognitive approach to critical and progressive pedagogy aimed at helping young people develop a more
cognizant awareness of neoliberal discourses and practices and their roles in reproducing or contesting them. This chapter begins with an overview of some the
main themes discussed, and lessons found, in each chapter. It then proceeds to a discussion of some of the limitations of this study, and the lessons learned that can
inform future research on this topic.
9.1 Overview of Chapter Themes and Lessons
