Reflective Minds/Intentional Hearts: Joining Humanistic Education and Critical Theory for Liberating Education

Abstract

This paper proposes an integration of critical theory and humanistic education. Strengths and limitations of each are discussed, and a model for liberatory education is proposed that incorporates the pedagogical skills of the humanists with the social analysis of the critical theorists. This model is illustrated with an example from a fifth-grade classroom. The paper describes materials and resources from various areas within education that synthesize personal and social change. Finally, it poses questions for further dialogue among humanistic educators and critical theorists interested in liberatory education.