Curriculum Reflections and Practice From the Perspective of Critical Pedagogy: Taking Three Mandarin Teachers of a Professional Learning Community as an Example

[LANGUAGE=”English”] IntroductionTaiwan’s curriculum reform is a product of collective effort from the entire society and embodies the essence of critical pedagogy. However, even in the 12-Year Basic Education Curriculum, the ability of teachers to fully embrace the ideals of a democratic plan as advanced by critical pedagogy is hindered. The researchers observed that in the field of Mandarin instruction, teachers tend to rely on textbook content as the main focus of their teaching and assessment. Although they may have a definite understanding of knowledge arrangements, they often lack critical thinking skills. As a result, teachers find it difficult to move beyond closed answers, even when faced with questioning or alternative approaches to teaching. The distance between the conventional “subject-based teaching” approach and the modern “students as knowledge builders” approach is vast and even further from the ideal objective of “teachers as the transformative intellectuals.” This research explored curriculum reflections and the practices of three Mandarin teachers in a professional learning community (PLC). This study was conducted through dialogues centered around a lesson study and from the perspective of critical pedagogy. We discussed ways in which critical consciousness is fostered by classroom observation and pedagogical conversations facilitated by the PLC. We explored the interplay between PLC dialogue and curriculum practice and how it informs the teaching practices of Mandarin teachers.Literature ReviewFreire (1968/2019) argued that critical thinking arises from the awakening of consciousness and dialogic thinking. Freire defined dialogue as “the encounter between men, mediated by the world, in order to name the world,” which involves a dialectical process of moving from thesis to antithesis to synthesis. He also used the term “praxis” instead of dialogue, referring to reflection and action on the world. Freire considered dialogue as the teaching and learning process, in which learning occurs through discussion and debate between teachers and students about social and political realities. According to Giroux (2010), most practical studies promoting critical pedagogy tend to focus on instrumental methodology, with a limited number of studies having a broader perspective or critical understanding of education. Ellsworth (1989) expressed the concern that the concept of education advocated by critical pedagogy is too abstract, overly theoretical,