Awakening Students Through Critical Literacy: Implications For Teaching And Learning Within Contemporary Education

The Freiran (1993) principles on becoming literate highlight the need for individuals to acquire knowledge of the \u27world\u27 and the \u27word\u27 within their context. Freire firmly believed that we learn things about the world by acting and changing the world around us (1993, 108). This process, according to Freire, involves transformation of our world by our own involvement. For Freire, literacy is a fundamental tool for the transformative process of changing the world. This transformation process will not be possible without teachers\u27 and students\u27 engagement in critical issues. The issue of engaging students is essential to critical literacy and there are huge benefits to be gained by involving students. According to Rosenberg (2010), getting students involved will help in their production of knowledge. Rosenberg (2010) also affirms that the production of knowledge may lead to the development of abilities and cultivation of principles, which would represent the true democratization of the teaching-learning process. This research paper focuses on the impact of critical literacy intervention on students\u27 motivation and attitudes towards critical literacy. In addition, this paper focuses on the use of critical literacy within English lessons using students\u27 work, teachers\u27 narratives and questionnaires. The data collected highlights the need for critical literacy within students\u27 education