Constructing critical literacy: Self-reflexive ways for curriculum and pedagogy

Schools have the potential to be places where students can come to understand how and why knowledge and power are constructed (Aronowitz & Giroux, 1993). This paper provides an overview of critical literacy from a critical theory/Freirian perspective. Within it, critical literacy is posited as a necessary component of all classroom practices, one that is elemental to Dewey’s (1916) view of democracy, social justice, and what it means to be literate. Features of a critical literacy approach to instruction are provided along with rationales for the necessity of its inclusion in a democratic society.