'Youth amplified': using critical pedagogy to stimulate learning through dialogue at a youth radio show

Abstract

In this paper I describe and analyse how critical pedagogy, an approach to teaching and learning that encourages students to reflect on their socio-political contexts, may stimulate critical consciousness and dialogue at a youth radio show. The participants, who attended four diverse Cape Town high schools and predominantly lived in poor townships, named the show Youth Amplified. Youth Amplified dialogues were catalysed by a range of materials, including documentary films, newspapers and academic articles, which participants engaged with prior to the show. Participants then generated questions, which contributed to the dialogues that took place live on air. Two central themes emerged from the radio shows. First, the values and discourses of elite schools were transported to Youth Amplified and presented as incontestable truths that often denigrated marginalised learners. Second, participants used 'race' as a marker of social difference to make sense of peers and South African society. I argue that critical pedagogy interventions also need to work with educators to reflect on inequalities and socio-political contexts, if such interventions are to be successful. The show illuminated that young South Africans want to speak about racialised and class-based forms of historical oppression, but that these kinds of discussions require skilled facilitation.

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The case for case studies: Dialogic engagement and case study creation in a higher education classroom

“…Research has focused on the use of dialogic groups as a successful method of teaching students social justice and equity particularly within the context of critical pedagogy and intergroup dialog (Aliakbari and Faraji, 2011; Lopez and Zúñiga, 2010). One study highlighted how promoting dialog on social justice through critical pedagogy in a diverse group of South African youths led to the development of critical consciousness and social reflexivity (Cooper, 2016). Critical pedagogy through dialog allows for discussion between teachers and students where all members are equally respected.…”

"You can't write in Kaapse Afrikaans in your question paper. . . .The terms must be right": Race- and class-infused language ideologies in educational places on the Cape Flats

“…I was attracted to the youth radio show, in which seven RGHS students participated, because it comprised a form of what Ladson-Billings (1995) called culturally relevant pedagogy that connects with students' sociopolitical challenges. Youth Amplified utilised a form of critical pedagogy, exposing participants to materials that dealt with the sociopolitical contexts in which they lived (see Cooper, 2016). Participants engaged in debates and discussions, live on air, after watching documentary films or reading written texts prior to the show.…”