ABSTRACT

This article identifies a conceptual paradox between recent educational policy in England and a social-democratic understanding of critical literacy. Recent political events including Brexit, the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election, and the Coronavirus Pandemic reiterate the need for pedagogies that equip students to critique information circulated online. After setting out critical literacy’s genealogy as a democratic educational model, the authors situate these theoretical approaches within the context of English secondary education reform. The article then draws on teacher agency research to consider the practical barriers to implementing a critical literacy pedagogy capable of navigating the present political landscape. Addressing gaps within literary education and digital media research, the overall argument is that educational policy in England since 2010 has served the priorities of a neoliberal state system. In this context, enacting the democratic, social-justice orientated critical literacy demanded by the challenges of communicating in the twenty-first-century is both daunting and urgent.

摘要

本文确定了英格兰最近的教育政策与社会民主主义对批判性识字的理解之间的概念悖论。最近的政治事件，包括英国脱欧、2020 年美国总统大选和冠状病毒大流行，重申需要让学生能够批评在线传播的信息的教学法。在将批判性识字的谱系作为一种民主教育模式提出之后，作者将这些理论方法置于英语中等教育改革的背景下。然后，本文利用教师机构的研究来考虑实施能够驾驭当前政治格局的批判性扫盲教学法的实际障碍。解决文学教育和数字媒体研究中的差距，总体观点是，自 2010 年以来英格兰的教育政策一直服务于新自由主义国家体系的优先事项。在这种情况下，制定 21 世纪沟通挑战所要求的民主的、以社会正义为导向的批判性素养既艰巨又紧迫。