U for social justice : a self-study examining teacher transformation

The purpose of this self-study research was to create new knowledge about teacher transformation and social justice education. The research was guided by the overarching question: What is the relationship between self-knowledge and social justice education? Over the course of the two-year study, using teaching journals to develop a disciplined practice of self- reflection on social justice practices in teaching, the researcher found that the practice of teaching for social justice is enhanced through an awareness of self. The researcher described transformation with language from Theory U (Scharmer, 2009). Theory U is a learning organization model for transformational leadership. The study is framed within the research literature on critical pedagogy and transformative leadership. The primary data for this self-study research were journal entries, which were coded and analyzed using a grounded theory method to allow for patterns and themes to emerge. This research establishes a new theoretical framework for social justice teaching that weaves self-study, critical pedagogy, transformative leadership theory (U for Social Justice). One of the significant findings of this research is that cultivating a sustained attention to self-awareness through intentional reflective and contemplative practices is a key aspect of developing authentic social justice pedagogy and publicly claiming a role as a transformative leader for social justice.Education, School of (Okanagan)Education, Faculty ofGraduat