Awakening critical stances: students engaging in inquiry practices and reflecting on their social realities

Abstract

This qualitative study, which is based on a descriptive and interpretive approach, presents tenth graders’ reflections about their social reality. Through a cycle of inquiry practices, the students analysed and understood their local issues. Similarly, this study acknowledged the role humans have in the society and their ability to transform social injustice. For this study, writing in a second language became the tool for students to raise their voice and awaken their critical awareness. In addition, this research focused on critical literacy as described by Freire (1970), which involves the teacher – student in a dialogue of interaction, reflection, and analysis of their world. Consequently, the students were encouraged to participate actively in class, and their personal experiences were acknowledged as a starting point to critically read and write about their world (Freire & Macedo, 1987). Furthermore, the concept of language was seen as a social practice (Pennycook, 2001), and it fostered critical analysis of social contexts through interaction. Thus, the students could construct new knowledge, which allowed them to address the situation from different perspectives. Finally, the pedagogical intervention intended to foster students’ immersion in their local contexts to identify problems that affected their worlds. Thus, they could approach, document, analyse and understand them. With this in mind, they strengthened their position about reality and developed their critical points of view. In essence, the students identified the main causes and effects of social issues, such as corruption, indifference, passiveness, and others. Thus, these aspects allowed them to establish their critical stances as a step to commit themselves to social transformation.