6. Development Education, re-imagining the curriculum

“Social justice education seeks to engage learners in a critical analysis of injustice by encouraging them to create works of art that imagine new realities and shift social interactions” - Dewhurst, 2014

It is my job as an art teacher to educate the students on social justice issues like gender equality and to encourage them to become activists. Using Development Education as a way of reimagining the curriculum and reflecting on the Change Lab experience. Incorporating development education into my Units of Learning, allows me to teach the students about equality and sustainability. Giving the students the skills to be critically engaged in discussions about the world. The Sustainable Development Goals by the United Nations are resourceful themes to address. Connecting the students to goals they value, like life on land focusing on climate action.

The Ecofeminist project I delivered to 5th year students at Glenart College this year, in response to my groups Change Lab project “Will You Walk With Us”. “Ecofeminism is a branch of feminism that sees environmentalism, and the relationship between women and the earth, as foundational to its analysis and practice” (Zein, Setiawan, 2017, p.1).

Through sustainable interventions the students investigated social justice issues and questioned their role in creating a more equal world.The students were faced with uncomfortable questions, asked to respond and create an accordion book. Ecofeminism was a new term they had not heard of before so we broke it down. Starting with Eco, looking at how we can make the art room more sustainable and working with natural materials over bought. Then linking to feminism, identifying the inequalities in the world and what are role is to make the world equal for all, regardless of gender, race and social status.

Development education will influence my teaching practice in the future. I will continue to create sustainable interventions and question the patriarchy and become social justice warriors alongside my students.

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References:

Dewhurst, M. (2014) Social Justice Art; A Framework for Activist Art Pedagogy, New York: Harvard Education.

United Nations. (2015) The 17 Goals. URL= https://sdgs.un.org/goals (accessed: 23 April 2021)

Zein, L. F., & Setiawan, A. R. (2017) General Overview of Ecofeminism. OSF Preprints.