Q.    Why Should I Be Interested?

A.    The literature on Critical Theory is extensive.
There are innumerable books and articles that tell about its history, its meanings, its relevance and significance, its effectiveness as an analytical tool. Almost all of these publications and references note the crucial relationship between Critical Theory and Critical Practice – a relationship often called praxis. But very few writers or critical theoreticians give examples of Critical Practice, examples of what to actually do to make social change more than a pipe dream. In Critical Education Theory, for instance, there are a large number of analytical works which describe why and how the system of education functions to prevent social, cultural or economic change from becoming a reality in the classroom and beyond, but there are very few concrete examples described that would actually assist the teacher in his or her day to day efforts to develop a transformative pedagogy. Notable exceptions include Ira Shor and Paulo Freire the “grandfather” of the movement. Beyond that, however one can point to few instances or examples of Critical Pedagogy (see Glossary ) in practice. In particular, there is a distinct lack of practice guidelines that can be matched to specific theories. This seems odd, considering the explicit linkage between theory and practice within Critical Theory itself.