International Association of Educators   |  ISSN: 2834-7919   |  e-ISSN: 1554-5210
International Journal of Progressive Education
International Association of Educators

Original article | International Journal of Progressive Education 2008, Vol. 4(1) 24-48

In the belly of paradox: Teaching equity in an [in]equitable space as a graduate Teaching  Assistant (TA)

Riyad Ahmed Shahjahan

pp. 24 - 48   |  Manu. Number: ijpe.2008.011

Published online: February 15, 2008  |   Number of Views: 105  |  Number of Download: 255

Save PDF

Abstract

While much has been written on teaching equity and social justice issues in the higher education classroom from a faculty perspective, there exists scant literature on these issues from the perspective of graduate Teaching Assistants (TAs). In this paper, a TA of a research intensive university, using a variety of sources of evidence, analyzes his experiences teaching equity studies in the university context. Using an anti-colonial discursive framework he offers answers  to  the  following  questions:  What are the paradoxes, contradictions and challenges of teaching equity and social justice issues as a TA in the university context? Some of the issues he raises are the inequitable curricula, engaging with student difference in an inclusive manner, privileging certain bodies in assignments and classroom discussions, and dealing with student diversity without marginalizing equity studies itself. He concludes with a discussion on the implications of the challenges in teaching equity  studies  in  the  higher education context.

Keywords:

How to Cite this Article?

APA 6th edition
Shahjahan, R.A. (2008). In the belly of paradox: Teaching equity in an [in]equitable space as a graduate Teaching  Assistant (TA) . International Journal of Progressive Education, 4(1), 24-48.

Harvard
Shahjahan, R. (2008). In the belly of paradox: Teaching equity in an [in]equitable space as a graduate Teaching  Assistant (TA) . International Journal of Progressive Education, 4(1), pp. 24-48.

Chicago 16th edition
Shahjahan, Riyad Ahmed (2008). "In the belly of paradox: Teaching equity in an [in]equitable space as a graduate Teaching  Assistant (TA) ". International Journal of Progressive Education 4 (1):24-48.

References
  1. Agnew, V. (2003). Where I come from. Waterloo: Wilfred Laurier University   Press. [Google Scholar]
  2. Alexander, M. J. (2005). Pedagogies of crossing: Meditations on feminism, sexual politics, memory and the sacred. Durham: Duke University   Press. [Google Scholar]
  3. Alston, K. (1995). Begging the question: is critical thinking biased? Educational Theory, 45(2), 225-233. [Google Scholar]
  4. Angod, L. (2006). From post-colonial to anti-colonial politics: Difference, knowledge and R. v. R.D.S. In G. S. Dei & A. Kempf (Eds.), Anti-colonialism and education: The politics of resistance (pp. 159-173). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. [Google Scholar]
  5. Anon. (1995). A graduate student's journey. New Directions for Student Services, 72, 7-12. [Google Scholar]
  6. Apple, M. (2004). Ideology and curriculum (3rd  ed.). New York:   Routledge. [Google Scholar]
  7. Arnowitz, S. (2001). The Knowledge Factory: Dismantling the Corporate University and Creating True Higher Learning. Boston: Beacon   Press. [Google Scholar]
  8. Bailin, S. (1995). Is critical thinking biased? clarifications and   implications. Educational Theory, 45(2),  191-197. [Google Scholar]
  9. Battiste, M., Bell, L., & Findlay, L. M. (2002). Decolonizing education in Canadian Universities: An interdisciplinary, international, indigenous research project. Canadian Journal of Native Education, 26(2),  82-95. [Google Scholar]
  10. Blaut, J.M. (1993). The colonizer's model of the world: Geographical diffusionism and Eurocentric history. New York: Guilford  Press. [Google Scholar]
  11. Bollis-Pecci, T. S., & Walker, K. L. (1999-2000). Peer mentoring perspectives in     GTA training: a conceptual road map. Journal of Graduate Teaching Assistant Development, 7(1), 27-37. [Google Scholar]
  12. Boler, M & Zembylas, M. (2003). Discomforting truths: The emotional terrain of understanding difference. In Trofonas, P. (Ed.) Pedagogies of difference: Rethinking education for social change (pp. 110-136). New York: RoutledgeFarmer. [Google Scholar]
  13. Bowers, C. A. (1983). Linguistic roots of cultural invasion in Paulo Freire's   pedagogy. Teachers College Record, 84(4),  935-953. [Google Scholar]
  14. Bowers, C. A. (1987). Elements of a Post-liberal Theory of Education. New York: Teachers College Press. [Google Scholar]
  15. Braithwaite, K. (Ed.). (2003). Access and Equity in the University. Toronto: Canadian Scholars' press. [Google Scholar]
  16. Brookfield, S. D. (2003). Racializing the discourse of adult education. Harvard Educational Review, 73(4),  497-523. [Google Scholar]
  17. Burk, J. E. (2001). Preparing the professoriate: instructional design training for   GTAs. Journal of Graduate Teaching Assistant Development, 8(1),   21-26. [Google Scholar]
  18. Churchill, W. (1995). Since predator came: Notes from the struggles for American Indian liberation. Littleton, Colarado: Aigis  Publications. [Google Scholar]
  19. Clarke, D. (2005). Language, writing, comments and trauma: Resisting the spiritual wound in academic life. Unpublished Master of Education Dissertation, University of Toronto,  Toronto. [Google Scholar]
  20. Collins, P. H. (2000). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment (2nd ed.). New York:   Routledge. [Google Scholar]
  21. DeCesare, M. (2003). On being a graduate teaching assistant. Retrieved March 22, 2005,  from http://www.csun.edu/~mdecesare/JGTAD.pdf [Google Scholar]
  22. Dei, G. (1996). Anti-racism education theory and practice. Halifax: Fernwood Publishing. [Google Scholar]
  23. Dei, G. (2000). Rethinking the role of indigenous knowledges in the   academy. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 4(2),   111-132. [Google Scholar]
  24. Dei, G. J. S. (2006). Introduction: Mapping the terrain--towards a new politics of resistance. In G. J. S. Dei & A. Kempf (Eds.), Anti-colonialism and education: The politics of resistance (pp. 1-23). Rotterdam: Sense   Publishers. [Google Scholar]
  25. Dei, G.J.S., Hall, B., & Rosenberg, D.G. (2000). (Eds.). Indigenous knowledges in the global contexts: Multiple readings of the world. Toronto: University of  Toronto Press. [Google Scholar]
  26. Dei, G., & Asgharzadeh, A. (2001). The power of social theory: The anti-colonial discursive framework. Journal of Educational Thought, 35(3),   297-323. [Google Scholar]
  27. Dei, G., Asgharzadeh, Bahador & Shahjahan (2006). Schooling and difference in  Africa: Democratic challenges in a contemporary context. Toronto: University of Toronto press. [Google Scholar]
  28. Dei, G. J. S., & Kempf, A. (Eds.). (2006). Anti-colonialism and education: The politics of resistance. Rotterdam: Sense  Publishers. [Google Scholar]
  29. Delpit, L. (1988). The silenced dialogue: Power and pedagogy in educating other people's children. Harvard Educational Review, 58(3),   280-298. [Google Scholar]
  30. Egege, S. & Kutieleh, S. (2004). Critical thinking: Teaching foreign notions to foreign students. International Education Journal, 4(4),  75-85. [Google Scholar]
  31. Ellsworth, E. (1992). Why doesn't this feel empowering: Working through the  repressive myths of critical pedagogy. In C. Luke & J. Gore (Eds.), Feminisms and Critical Pedagogy (pp. 90-119). New York:   Routledge. [Google Scholar]
  32. Eyre, L. (1993). Compulsory heterosexuality in a university classroom. Canadian Journal of Education, 18(3),  273-284. [Google Scholar]
  33. Fanon, F. (1963). The wretched of the earth. New York: Grove   Press. [Google Scholar]
  34. Farnum, R. (1997). Elite college discrimination and the limits of conflict   theory. [Google Scholar]
  35. Harvard Educational Review, 67(3),  507-530. [Google Scholar]
  36. Feezel, J. D., & Meyers, S. A. (1997). Assessing graduate teaching assistant communication concerns. Communication Quarterly, 45(3),   110-124. [Google Scholar]
  37. Fernandes, L. (2003). Transforming feminist practice: Non-violence, social justice and the possibilities of a spiritualized feminism. San Francisco: Aunt Lute Books. [Google Scholar]
  38. Flores, J. (1997). Latino studies: New contexts, new concepts. Harvard Educational Review, 67(2), 208-221. [Google Scholar]
  39. Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum. Freire, P. (1994). Pedagogy of hope. New York:   Continuum. [Google Scholar]
  40. Freire, P. (1997). A response. In P. Freire, J. Fraser, D. Macedo, T. McKinnon & W. Stokes (Eds.), Mentoring the mentor: A critical dialogue with Paulo Freire (pp. 303-329). New York: Peter  Lang. [Google Scholar]
  41. Freire, P. (1998a). Pedagogy of freedom: Ethics, democracy, and civic   courage. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and  Littlefield. [Google Scholar]
  42. Freire, P. (1998b). Teachers as cultural workers: Letters to those who dare   teach. Boulder, Colorado: Westview  Press. [Google Scholar]
  43. Gandhi, M. (2002). The essential Gandhi: An anthology of his writings on his life, work and ideas. New York: Vintage  books. [Google Scholar]
  44. Giroux, H. (1986). Radical pedagogy and the politics of student voice. Interchange, 17(1), 48-69. [Google Scholar]
  45. Giroux, H. (1992). Border crossings: Cultural workers and the politics of   education. New York: Routledge. [Google Scholar]
  46. Giroux, H. (1996). Living dangerously: Multiculturalism and the politics of difference. New York: Peter  Lang. [Google Scholar]
  47. Giroux, H. & Giroux, S. (2004). Take back higher education: Race, youth, and the crisis of democracy in the post-civil rights era. New York: Palgrave MacMillan. [Google Scholar]
  48. Glass, R. D. (2001). On Paulo Freire’s philosophy of praxis and the foundations of liberation education. Educational Researcher, 30(2),  15-25. [Google Scholar]
  49. Graveline, F. J. (1998). Circle works: Transforming Eurocentric   consciousness. Halifax: Fernwood Publishing. [Google Scholar]
  50. Hanohano, P. (1999). The spiritual imperative of native epistemology: Restoring harmony and balance to education. Canadian Journal of Native Education, 23(2), 206-218. [Google Scholar]
  51. Harris, H. (2002). Coyote goes to school: The paradox of indigenous higher education. Canadian Journal of Native Education, 26(2),   187-196. [Google Scholar]
  52. Harrison, N. (2003). How are human relations practiced in language? English and Indigenous students at university. Paper presented at the AARE Conference, Auckland, New Zealand. [Google Scholar]
  53. Harrison, N. (2004). Rethinking critical thinking: Indigenous students studying at university.  Teaching Education, 15(4), 375-384. [Google Scholar]
  54. Hoodfar, H. (1992). Feminist anthropology and critical pedagogy: The anthropology of classrooms' excluded voices. Canadian Journal of Education, 17(3), 303- 321. [Google Scholar]
  55. hooks, b. (1994). Teaching to transgress: Education as a practice of freedom. New York: Routledge. [Google Scholar]
  56. Kenway, J., & Modra, H. (1992). Feminist pedagogy and emancipatory possibilities.   In C. Luke & J. Gore (Eds.), Feminisms and Critical Pedagogy (pp. 138-166). New York: Routledge. [Google Scholar]
  57. Lal, S. (2000). Dangerous silences: Lessons in daring. Radical Teacher, 58,   12-15. [Google Scholar]
  58. Laubscher, L., & Powell, S. (2003). Skinning the drum: Teaching about diversity as "other". Harvard Educational Review, 73(2),  203-224. [Google Scholar]
  59. Leathwood, C. (2005). Assessment policy and practice in higher education: purpose, standards and equity. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 30(3), 307-324. [Google Scholar]
  60. Loomba, A. (1998). Colonialism/postcolonialism. London:   Routledge. [Google Scholar]
  61. Maher, F.A. & Tetreault, M.K. (1994). The feminist classroom. New York: Basic Books. [Google Scholar]
  62. Margonis, F. (2003). Paulo Freire and post-colonial dilemmas. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 22, 145-156. [Google Scholar]
  63. Marker, M. (2004). Theories and disciplines as sites of struggle: The reproduction of colonial dominance through the controlling of knowledge in the   academy. Canadian Journal of Native Education, 28(1/2),  102-110. [Google Scholar]
  64. Martin, J. R. (1992). Critical thinking for a humane world. In S. Norris (Ed.), The Generalizability of Critical Thinking (pp. 163-180). New York: Teachers College Press. [Google Scholar]
  65. McKenna, K. (1991). Subjects of discourse: Learning the language that counts. In H. Bannerji, L. Carty, K. Dehli, S. Helad & K. McKenna (Eds.), Unsettling Relations: The University As a Site of Feminist Struggles (pp.   109-128). Toronto: Women's Press  Collective. [Google Scholar]
  66. McLaren, P. (1997). Freiran pedagogy: The challenge of postmodernismand the  politics of race. In P. Freire, J. Fraser, D. Macedo, T. McKinnon & W. Stokes (Eds.), Mentoring the mentor: A critical dialogue with Paulo Freire (pp. 99- 125). New York: Peter  Lang. [Google Scholar]
  67. McLaren, P. (1998). Life in schools: An introduction to critical pedagogy in the foundations of education (3rd ed.). New York:  Longman. [Google Scholar]
  68. Memmi, A. (1991). The colonizer and the colonized. Boston: Beacon   Press. [Google Scholar]
  69. Mihesauh, D., & Wilson, A. (Eds.). (2004). Indigenizing the academy: Transforming scholarship and empowering communities. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. [Google Scholar]
  70. Minh-ha, T.T. (1989). Woman, native, other: Writing postcoloniality and   feminism. Bloomingtom: Indiana  University Press. [Google Scholar]
  71. Mohanty, C. T. (2003). Feminism without borders: Decolonizing theory, practicing solidarity. Durham, NC: Duke University  Press. [Google Scholar]
  72. Nakagawa, Y. (2000). Education for awakening: An Eastern approach to holistic education. Vermont: Foundation for Educational  Renewal. [Google Scholar]
  73. Nast, H. & Pulido, L. (2000). Resisting corporate multiculturalism: Mapping faculty initiatives and institutional-student harassment in the classroom. Professional Geographer,  52(4), 722-737. [Google Scholar]
  74. Ng, R. (1993). "A woman out of control": Deconstructing sexism and racism in the university. Canadian Journal of Education, 18(3),   189-205. [Google Scholar]
  75. Ng, R. (1995). Teaching against the grain: Contradictions and possibilities. In R.   Ng, P. Staton & J. Scane (Eds.), Anti-racism, feminism and critical approaches to education (pp. 129-152). London: Bergin &  Garvey. [Google Scholar]
  76. Norris, S. P. (1995). Sustaining and responding to charges of bias in critical   thinking. Educational Theory, 45(2),  199-211. [Google Scholar]
  77. Nyquist, J. D., & Wulff, D. H. (1996). Working effectively with graduate   assistants. London: Sage Publications. [Google Scholar]
  78. Orr, D. (2002). The uses of mindfulness in anti-oppressive pedagogies: Philosophy and praxis. Canadian Journal of Education, 27(4),   477-490. [Google Scholar]
  79. Palmer, P. (1998). The courage to teach: Exploring the inner landscape of a teacher's life. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. [Google Scholar]
  80. Park, C. (2004). The graduate teaching assistant (GTA): lessons from North American experience. Teaching in Higher Education, 9(3),  349-361. [Google Scholar]
  81. Pickering, M. (1988). Teaching the large course: can ability as a teaching assistant be predicted? Journal of College Science Teaching, 18(1),   55-56. [Google Scholar]
  82. Pinterics, N. (2001). Riding the feminist waves: In with the third? Canadian Woman Studies, 20/21(4/1), 15-21. [Google Scholar]
  83. Prieto, L. (2003). Teaching assistant development: Research and   impressions. Retrieved March 22, 2005, from http://teachpsych.lemoyne.edu/teachpsych/eit/eit2002/eit02-01.pdf. [Google Scholar]
  84. Razack, S. H. (1998). Looking white people in the eye: Gender, race, and culture in courtrooms and classrooms. Toronto: University of Toronto   Press. [Google Scholar]
  85. Roberts, P. (2000). Education, literacy, and humanization. Westport: Bergin and Garvey. [Google Scholar]
  86. Roberts, P. (2003). Epistemology, ethics and education: Adressing dilemmas of difference in the work of Paulo Freire. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 22, 157-173. [Google Scholar]
  87. Rubin, D. L. (1993). The other half of international teaching assistant training: classroom communication workshops for international students. Innovative Higher Education, 17(3),  183-193. [Google Scholar]
  88. Scheurich, J., & Young, M. (2002). Coloring epistemologies: Are our research epistemologies racially biased? In J. Scheurich (Ed.), Anti-racist scholarship: An advocacy (pp. 51-73). New York: SUNY  Press. [Google Scholar]
  89. Schick, C. (2002). Keeping the ivory tower white: Discourses of racial domination.   In S. H. razack (Ed.), Race, Space and the Law: Unmapping a White Settler Society (pp. 99-119). Toronto: Between the  Lines. [Google Scholar]
  90. Semali, L. M., & Kincheloe, J. L. (Eds.). (1999). What is indigenous   knowledge? Voices from the academy. New York: Falmer  Press. [Google Scholar]
  91. Shahjahan, R. A. (2004). Centering spirituality in the academy: Toward a transformative way of teaching and learning. Journal of Transformative Education, 2(4), 294-312. [Google Scholar]
  92. Sheth, A., & Dei, G. J. S. (1997). Limiting the academics of possibilities: A self- reflexive exercise in Freiran politics. In P. Freire, J. Fraser, D. Macedo, T. McKinnon & W. Stokes (Eds.), Mentoring the mentor: A critical dialogue with Paulo Freire (pp. 143-173). New York: Peter  Lang. [Google Scholar]
  93. Shor, I. (1996). When students have power: Negotiating authority in a critical pedagogy. Chicago: University of Chicago  Press. [Google Scholar]
  94. Shor, I., & Freire, P. (1987). A pedagogy for liberation. Massachusetts: Bergin & Garvey Publishers. [Google Scholar]
  95. Sleeter, C., & McLaren, P. (Eds.). (1995). Multicultural education, critical pedagogy and the politics of difference. New York:  SUNY. [Google Scholar]
  96. Smith, K. S., & Simpson, R. D. (1993). Becoming successful as an international teaching assistant. Review of Higher Education, 16(4),   483-497. [Google Scholar]
  97. Smith, L. T. (2001). Decolonizing methodologies: research and indigenous   peoples. London: Zed Books Ltd. [Google Scholar]
  98. Srivastava, S. (1993). Voyeurism and vulnerability: Critiquing the power relations of anti-racist workshops. Canadian Woman Studies, 14(2),   105-109. [Google Scholar]
  99. Stewart-Harawira, M. (2005). The new imperial order: Indigenous responses to globalization. London: Zed  Books. [Google Scholar]
  100. Sweet, S. (1998). Practicing radical pedagogy: Balancing ideals with institutional constraints. Teaching Sociology, 26(2),  100-111. [Google Scholar]
  101. Thiongo, N. W. (1986). Decolonising the mind: the politics of language in African literature. London: James  Currey. [Google Scholar]
  102. Tierney, W. G. (1993). Academic freedom and the parameters of knowledge. Harvard Educational Review, 63(2),  143-160. [Google Scholar]
  103. Tisdell, E. J. (2003). Exploring spirituality and culture in adult and higher   education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. University of Toronto Arts and Science Calendar (2004). Rules and   regulations. Retrieved May 12th, 2004 from http://www.artsandscience.utoronto.ca/ofr/calendar/rules.htm#grading [Google Scholar]
  104. Vacarr, B. (2001). Moving beyond polite correctness: Practicing mindfulness in the diverse classroom. Harvard Educational Review, 71(2),   285-295. [Google Scholar]
  105. Wane, N., Shahjahan, R. A., & Wagner, A. (2004). Walking the Talk: Decolonizing the politics of equity of knowledge and charting the course for an inclusive curriculum in higher education. Canadian Journal of Development Studies, XXV(3), 499-510. [Google Scholar]
  106. Weiler, K. (1988). Women teaching for change: Gender, class and power. South Hadley, Massachusetts: Bergin and  Garvey. [Google Scholar]
  107. Wheary, J., & Ennis, R. H. (1995). Gender bias in critical thinking: continuing the dialogue. Educational Theory, 45(2),  213-224. [Google Scholar]
  108. Wong, Y. R. (2004). Knowing through discomfort: A mindfulness-based critical    social work pedagogy. Critical Social Work, 5(1), Retrieved February 12th, 2005 from http://criticalsocialwork.com/units/socialwork/critical.nsf/8c20dad9f1c4be3a8 5256d6e006d1089/dd7c350ba0866ae785256ec20063c090?OpenDocument [Google Scholar]
  109. Yule, G., & Hoffman, P. (1990). Predicting success for international teaching assistant in a US university. TESOL Quarterly, 24(2),  227-243. [Google Scholar]
  110. Zhou, Y., Knoke, D. & Sakamoto, I. (2005). Rethinking silence in the classroom: Chinese students' experiences of sharing indigenous   knowledges. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 9(3),   287-311. [Google Scholar]
Download
Metric
History
Related

Volume 4 Issue 1

February 2008

All Articles

International Journal of Progressive Education

International Association of Educators.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License.
Privacy policy     |     Terms of Use     |     Use of Cookies
Creative Commons Lisansı
© 2012 - 2024 - THDSoft e-Journal Management System.