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Non-Sexist and Inclusive

Pedagogy

Real Curriculum Series

Workshop

“Metaphors for pedagogical mediation

with meaning”

May 7 & 8, 2016

Alexandra Camp, Surrey, Canada.

Conceptual and methodological design: Esperanza Tasies

Facillitation: Esperanza Tasies, Daysi Marquez, Barbara Ryeburn, Susan Ruzic.

Illustrations: Maria Dominguez, Diego Chinchilla and José Cespedes.

Editing: Rocio Chamorro.

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Translation: Ruth Leckie and Erika Fuchs

Introduction:

This workshop is the result of many years of research. It is developed within the

framework of what is known as “Non-Sexist and Inclusive Pedagogy.”1 The

conceptual and methodological space proposed here, sets out a series of

educational activities that have been arranged in a specific sequence based on the

findings of almost 20 years of action research in Central America.

Due to time constraints, we are sharing only a selection of the activities that have

been structured based on the assumptions they link together, and which bestow

form and coherence to the proposal. We hope to be able to contribute to the

knowledge and use of these activities by a group of Canadian teachers.

For this two-day workshop, to start we outline the general objective that includes

activities co-facilitated by Canadian teachers.

General objective: To build a space for dialogue and exchange of teaching

experiences in the framework of non-sexist and inclusive pedagogical construction.

Our aim during these two days is to generate collective processes that will

contribute to the transformation of the real curriculum, processes that take apart

the “straitjackets” that act as mechanisms that exclude within classrooms and that,

in large measure, come from official directives and from the social control role

assigned to the school in the process of socialization.

It is important to clarify that a series of activities have been selected and adapted,

within the framework of the Non-Sexist and Inclusive Pedagogy project developed

with the different organizations involved in it from Central American countries.

Sincerely,

Daysi and Esperanza

1 Since 1998, this project has been carried out with the support of Central American teachers’

organizations grouped together under FOMCA, with the support and solidarity of CoDevelopment Canada and the work of Maria Trejos Montero and Esperanza Tasies Castro in the research and

design of this proposal.

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Welcome activity and participant introductions

This workshop is a space for coming together between teachers, in which we will

get to know each other informally in order to share and understand the context in

which, as teachers, we participate in this workshop.

[Boxes around Image: Who are we?

Where do we come from?

Which processes have brought us to this place?]

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Unit 1. Society and culture

The process of Non-Sexist and Inclusive Pedagogy (NSP), developed since 1998,

builds on that of critical pedagogy and recognizes the historical process of

challenging positivism as a “scientific truth”, deconstructing the importance that

“hard facts” have validity in and of themselves, in order to give way to discussions

and processes of construction of sense in accordance with the necessity of

disrupting sexism and others forms of discrimination.

As a collective construction of knowledge, we have conferred special importance

and value to perceptions and feelings. For this reason, we have incorporated into

this workshop the importance of perceiving reality with all of the senses, and,

above all, the consciousness of what is happening, of every detail and piece of

information. We believe that women will occupy an important space, being aware

of what is called “feminine intuition.”2

1.1. The role that perception of facts has played in the construction of

this proposal.

During a general crisis, which from some

perspectives is seen as a “civilizing crisis”, as

women we contribute our capacity to “see” the

world from different perspectives3. A permanent

search for the development of a conscious

pedagogy and pedagogical mediation, has led us

early on in the process to identify the need to

incorporate the dimension of temporariness in all

of the teaching strategies that are used in the NSP

framework and in the construction of the “real

curriculum” in this process.

2 The concept of feminine intuition, is many times used to devalue the capacity of women to do science; however, here it is valued for the capacity it confers on women to be aware of the details of a process. 3 It is important to clarify that contributions of the fenomenology are attributed, however, emphasis is not placed on excessive academicisms and is instead placed much more on the practical possibilities that philosophical discussion and in general the social sciences offer us.

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By going deeper into subjectivity and inter-subjectivity we have been able to

consistently achieve spaces of reflection that transcend “form,” in the process of

deconstruction of sexism as a normalized practice in pedagogical mediation.

The perception of time and its passage will be a recurring aspect in the teaching

strategies that today we will get to know and use from this space that we share.

Perception as a source of knowledge has been addressed in NSP, during the

development of constant diagnosis by teachers involved in this process. This has

been “reinforced” by the currents that analyze the form of “deconstructing” in the

broadest sense in which it has been applied here; that is, in the sense of

deconstructing the hidden curriculum as upholding sexism and discrimination in the

classroom.

1.1.1. Activity “Perception and evocation for learning with sense”

The goal of this activity is to understand the role of perception and evocation as

sources of knowledge. We suggest that in pairs you observe a rose and describe it

in the greatest detail possible, then share an anecdote about a memory or

experience evoked by this moment.

The facilitators ask that you come back only when you have delved deeper into the

evocation and know more about each other (more than each other’s names, as a

mere formality).

The aim is to prepare participants for the deconstruction of positivist “objectivity”

and of data isolated from context as the data of “learning”.

Pedagogical objective: To establish a space that incorporates perception and

evocation as a valid scientific activity and as a way to overcome the preponderance

of form above content (this latter, as part of instrumental reason).

Suggested duration of activity: 1 hour

Materials: 1 rose per each pair participating

In pairs, participants describe the rose in the greatest detail possible and then

share the “evocation” that this brought them, taking into account the importance

of this feeling itself as a source of knowledge or interest. Participants will speak

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about what “the observation of the rose” allows them to remember. The facilitators

ask that some pairs speak about this introductory experience in the workshop.

1.2. Sexism and the identification of the archetype and stereotype

relationship

As part of the process analyzing archetypes and

stereotypes is the methodology that has been

used to identify the hidden curriculum and its

consequences.

In the case of Honduras, the process involved

identifying the masculine archetype that feeds the

myths of masculinity.

In this workshop, we will work to identify and

understand the relationship between the

archetype and the stereotype in the

construction of daily reality.

A review of the so-called

“Foundational myths” allows for a

process of consciousness-raising by

teachers, once we identify the

existence of the masculine archetype

in the foundational myth of the

national, where the feminine

archetype is also present.

[Image: The archetype is considered as unconscious content, as a vestige of the

primitive being. This is the case of the archetype of masculinity.]

Just like what occurs with mythological characters, the archetypal models combine

historical facts with fantasies, realities with desires, tragedies with fears and

worries; grouping together all these with religious beliefs, ethical values or moral

prescriptions about what people should think, feel and do (Guil, 1999, p.96).

The conscious confrontation of the masculine archetype in myths of what is

considered the national dimension has been a key step in the deconstruction of the

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hidden curriculum and in the consciousness-raising of teachers that have

participated in this activity.

In NSP we have reviewed the foundational myths that make up the official

curriculum, with the goal of making visible the hidden curriculum in a conscious

manner.

This exercise has

allowed for conscious

inquiry into hegemonic

masculinity and, with

it, understanding the

legitimization of the

subordination of

women.

This is one of the first

reflective activities

developed in the

framework of the

Central American

process known as NSP.

[Image: Ulysses, as a

Greek mythological

character, the basis of

Western thought,

represents an archetype carrier of masculinity.]

In the following activity the teachers in this workshop will review the foundational

myths and identify the Western masculine archetype present in them.

1.2.1. Activity “Archetypes and stereotypes. Normalized inequality in

myths.”

This activity is to identify archetypes that uphold the myths and normalize

inequality. In it, we will also consciously review the manner in which sexism is

reproduced in “national myths”, through a comparison of masculine archetypes

with the mythological figure of Ulysses or Odysseus in Greek tragedy.

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Pedagogical objectives:

To identify the mechanism that normalizes gender inequality present in national

myths.

Suggested duration of the activity: 1 hour

Materials: Guidelines present in this design, flipchart, markers.

The workshop participants are divided into five small groups. Each small group will

discuss a foundational

Canadian myth and will

identify if the central

character has traits and

characteristics that are

similar to the Western

masculine archetype,

using Ulysses, the

Odyssey’s main

character, as a reference

or starting point for

discussion.

The facilitators will hand

out a sheet with

materials and propose

two possible characters

and groups that they

uphold within the

foundational myth, from

a Western archetype

perspective.

The existence of the feminine, “from the male

gaze”, is also present in the origins of the Western

Civilization.]

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The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)

Guidelines for group activity: Archetypes and Stereotypes; The naturalization of

inequality through myths.

We will analysis in small groups “Canadian foundational myths” and identify the

western archetypes present in them. The working groups will share the results of

their analysis in a plenary session.

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1.3. Time and space in conscious work against gender

discrimination.

We return to the historical

background to highlight the

importance of situating ourselves

biographically in the problems that

we tackle in non-sexist teaching. This

methodology locates biography in

time and space, using tools that offer

a dialectic with which to understand

historical development.

Our ongoing search for ways to

consciously construct a knowledge of

reality has led us to look at the fusion

of personal time and social time. We

have moved forward collectively by

reconstructing the past in order to

build the present.

The next activity has been used in Honduras with the

intention of helping Honduran teachers to be aware of

historical gender oppression. In the books developed

by the NSP project there are also teaching strategies

to allow students to inquire into their family and

community past in order to become biographically

aware.

1.3.1 Activity “My grandmother

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told me”

Pedagogical objective: To develop a teaching strategy that moves from

personal time to social time through biographical location.

Suggested time for the activity: one hour (60 minutes)

Materials: This guide and a large spiral for display

Each participant thinks about, in “personal time”, the stories that their

grandmothers told them about the past. These stories should speak of social and

historical events and include the ways of life of women in the past.

Once people have worked on this, each participant, supported by the facilitators,

presents their story and locates it on a spiral that symbolizes social time. Once the

presentations are finished, the participants discuss and draw conclusions about the

past and gender relations.

I cut the picture and write the story my grandmother told me...

Unit 2.

Society,

schools and

teaching

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We have identified several important ways

to better understand the kind of society in

which the contemporary school is located.

The second unit of this workshop will cover

the classroom, starting with the double

function of the school system.

In Honduras, for example, we have recently

begun to question the homogenizing

function of the school system4. It is

impossible to deny that schools have played

a crucial role in incorporating the concept of

the Nation into our subjectivity, just as we

have seen in this workshop when we

analyzed the role of foundational myths.

Here we will look at the function of social

control that schools carry out, alongside the

academic functions that explicitly define

them.

In El Salvador and

Honduras, the

disciplinary problems that schools are facing are aggravated by

the worsening crisis of the school system in general. This is why

we have included ways to analyze mechanisms of control and

homogenization of student behaviours.

Later in this same unit we will look at two teaching strategies

that have been put into practice in Central American classrooms

through the NSP process (Real Curriculum Series).

We have also left space for workshop participants to find new

meanings and propose educational applications to the real

curriculum.

4 This concept is used in this context to show that schools are part of society’s system of discipline and social control and thus interconnected with the generalized crisis of values in the prevailing

social order.

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Schools as a space of social

control.

The function of the school system is to educate the

workforce and reproduce the system. However, it is

clear that in times of unemployment schools continue

to be very important, especially in controlling the

student population. For this workshop we have used

the biographical experiences that Central American

teachers have shared in order to analyze the school

system as an institution for social control and for

internalizing values that assume a homogenous

population, without acknowledging social

fragmentation and diversity.

2.1.1. Activity: “Our classrooms look like this”

This activity has been very important in Honduras and El Salvador where the

makeup of classrooms is very complex and there is a great diversity of classroom

identities. By doing this activity in the workshop we hope to create a

representation of the classroom from a critical perspective that allows for an

understanding of the complexity of schools in the 21st century.

Participants identify the main features of the students in their classrooms using the

illustrations provided here. In the large group people share their perceptions and

concerns.

Pedagogical objective: To identify, by recognizing the various identities present

in the classroom, the school’s time and space as well as the forms of social control

and the sexism that sustains them.

Suggested time for the activity: one hour and a half (90 minutes)

“Social control in the school system”.

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This activity goes along with the previous one and identifies forms of social control

that normalize sexism and are expressed in the rules or general attitudes of

educational communities.

Suggested time for the activity: one hour (60 minutes)

Materials: Handout with illustrations for teachers and flipcharts.

Facilitators divide the teachers into groups and ask that they analyze the different

identities in their classrooms, creating a “mirror classroom” and, using the

generative questions (preguntas generadoras) for reflection, come up with

conclusions which will be shared with the larger group.

What difficulties do these identities hold for teachers?

Discuss/explain fully the topic of identities in the classrooms

and their implications.

What rules and what mechanisms of discipline associated

with sexism and discrimination are used in the classroom (if

any)?

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2.2. The real curriculum and our educational proposal

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In these few pages we have attempted to give an overall description of our work

and the assumptions we have explored through the NSP Project (Real Curriculum

Series). Now we will turn to teaching itself and the assumptions which underlie or

support it. We’ve approached teaching as building a path to knowledge.

In order for the group to develop a practical definition before doing the next

activity, we complete the following phrase and give a definition of teaching as a

path to knowledge.

To open up this important discussion of how we approach teaching and to learn

collectively, we build a scenario with our answer to the question: “For us teaching

is…?

In the following exercise we work in pairs with a teaching tool or strategy

developed for classrooms in Costa Rica which teaches the subject of “Literary

Figures” to children in level four of primary school.

2.2.1. Activity: “Creating onomatopoeias”

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The subject of literary figures was

the excuse to create and put this

activity into practice. It is meant to

generate creative spaces that

allow for the use of all senses and

all recreational spaces as a source

of knowledge.

Facilitators regroup the pairs who

did the rose activity (which was to

encourage people to use their

capacity for perception and evocation).

Pedagogical Objective: Participants will reflect on the importance of the senses

in the teaching/learning process.

Suggested time for the activity: 40 minutes

The pairs who worked together the first day regroup, resume thir relationship and

reproduce an onomatopoeia, expressing in written and verbal form the sound that

a musical instrument produces.

The activity end with the teachers

producing the sounds.

Facilitators encourage them to use

online resources to recreate the sound.

Some pairs may share the

onomatopoeia they have created.

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2.2.2. Activity “Metaphors for cognition”

This activity will be carried out in the small groups that have been working

together throughout the workshop. We present a series of laminated sheets

showing the growth of a plant. Participants work in the small groups, describing

the biological growth process of the plant and at the same time, building on the

concept of the “autonomy of the knowing person as part of a process.” It is an

analogy that allows us to reflect on the autonomy that a student requires. This

same technique has been used in teaching about sexual and reproductive rights in

Honduras.

Pedagogical objective: Participants will consciously use analogies as a teaching

resource.

Suggested time for the activity: one hour (60 minutes)

What elements need to be generated in the process of a student becoming

autonomous?

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2.2.3 Activity “Stations for teaching that deconstructs

sexism and discrimination in the classroom”

Facilitators open up the space so that participants can redefine in their own way

the discussions of the workshop. This is done through the strategy of using

stations. Each small group will have an hour to come up with an activity that they

will then present on for 15 minutes. All the participants will move around the room

to hear/see the presentations of each small group.

Pedagogical objective: To create an autonomous space where the participants

can develop their own teaching strategies.

Suggested time for the activity: one hour (60 minutes)

Materials: flip charts, scissors, cardboard, pens and any other supplies that can

be used in this group teaching project.

With this activity we end these days of reflection on our own pedagogical work.

Thank you very much.

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Bibliography of sources directly cited and/or consulted

Cathalifaud, A. (2003). Fundamentos del Constructivismo Sociopoiético. (R. Al. C,

Ed.). La Hemeroteca científica en línea.

Contreras Oyarzo, M. (2007). Mercado y escuela: la desigualdad escolar como

reflejo de relaciones desiguales. Nómadas #15, 121–127.

Guil. A. (1999). El papel de los arquetipos en los actuales estereotipos sobre la

mujer. Revista Comunicar. #12, 95–100.

Niel, L. I. (2006). El tiempo y la posibilidad de un encuentro entre Husserl y

Derrida. Revista Tópicos, 121–136.

Tasies, E. Trejos, M (n.d.). Serie Currículo Real. En Pedagogía No sexista e

Incluyente. San José, Costa Rica: PNS.

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