Toward a Transformative Transition: A Critical Pedagogical Approach to Social-Psychological Interventions in First-Year Seminar

Abstract

In 2014–2015, a group of first-time freshman students participated in the Education as the Practice of Freedom Project. The project pedagogy and curriculum were inspired by Critical Pedagogy, Critical Race Theory of Education, and Anti-Colonial Schooling; they incorporated a series of social-psychological reflective assignments and activities (stereo-type threat, growth mindset, and relevance interventions) developed to transform the way students perceive, experience, and transition to higher education. This research seeks to explore as up to what extent the aforementioned pedagogical frameworks amends social-psychological academic stressors that affect how the students of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities perceive, experience, and transition to higher education, with a particular focus on what this pedagogical framework in first year seminar looks like in practice. A transformative research design was employed for this research project that triangulates qualitative and quantitative data (auto-ethnographic case-study), with in-depth interviews of faculty, focus groups with students, and a document analysis of syllabi, lesson plans, assignments, a formative experiment, and institutional data analysis. This research is praxis driven with an intent to influence educators, administrators, stakeholders, and anyone who is about that life.

Citation

Tillis, G.E. (2019), "Toward a Transformative Transition: A Critical Pedagogical Approach to Social-Psychological Interventions in First-Year Seminar", Hoffman, J., Blessinger, P. and Makhanya, M. (Ed.) Strategies for Fostering Inclusive Classrooms in Higher Education: International Perspectives on Equity and Inclusion (Innovations in Higher Education Teaching and Learning, Vol. 16), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 183-195. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2055-364120190000016015