Abstract
Many psychologists concerned about diversity have advocated for the application of feminist and multicultural theory in the multiple venues in which psychology is practiced. The editors of Teaching and Social Justice skillfully accomplish this goal and make an important contribution to pedagogical theory. The authors describe and define multicultural and feminist pedagogical theories. Enns and Sinacore carefully integrate the primary themes of these theoretical perspectives and discuss issues related to feminist and multicultural work in academic contexts. The authors also emphasize the importance of seeing diversity as meaning more than the examination of race/culture and gender (as is common in the United States), and discuss how physical ability, social class, sexual orientation, and situational privilege contribute to identity and experience for teachers, students, therapists, consultants, and clients. In this way, the book successfully weaves theory, individual identity, and psychological practice in the pursuit of social justice.
The first part of the book (Chapters 1-6), which defines and integrates the various multicultural and feminist theories, is quite well done. In particular, the chapters on second-wave feminisms and diversity feminisms (Chapters 2 and 3) clarify distinctions among these multiple perspectives often mistaken for a monolithic theory or approach. The chapters in this section will be a resource for readers who are new to feminism and multicultural theory as they learn to identify differences and similarities among the theories. This section will also be helpful for readers whose work within their own disciplines precludes them from remaining current on general feminist and multicultural literature. The series of definitional chapters demonstrates the substantial overlap between feminist and multicultural activist goals. Although the distinctions among these theories are important, this analysis highlights that these perspectives have more in common than not. Chapter 6 presents an elegant integration of the theories and is an important contribution of this text. The main thrust of this section is that each of these theories prioritizes the recognition of diversity and pursues social justice in slightly different ways.
The book excels when it provides examples or descriptions of theoretical content. For example, Chapter 2 moves from describing liberal, cultural, radical, and socialist feminism by extracting essential tenets and approaches of each, to providing brief descriptions of what a classroom would look like when taught by feminists of each type. This analysis allows reflective teachers to purposefully create a classroom in line with their pedagogical philosophies, the abilities and identities of the students, the course content, and goals in assessing student learning.
The second part of the text (Chapters 7-11) addresses particular academic contexts in which these theories can be applied. This section examines specific aspects of teaching (i.e., the classroom experience, the process of mentoring, and institutional roles), and highlights issues to consider in applying feminist and multicultural theory in a teaching career. The chapters on the feminist classroom (Chapter 7) and multicultural pedagogies (Chapter 8) clearly illustrate the benefits and drawbacks of feminist and multicultural teaching. Although there can be profound personal growth outcomes for students (e.g., self-esteem, critical thinking, empowerment), teaching from a multicultural and feminist perspective can be difficult to manage in the classroom as students struggle with their identity and “voice,” negotiate relative privilege, and cope with negative emotions. Similarly, the chapters on mentoring (Chapter 9) and educational institutions (Chapter 10) provide good reviews of the relevant literature and identify prominent issues as teachers strive to approach their work in ways that are consistent with feminist and multicultural perspectives, despite substantial interpersonal and institutional pressure to operate hierarchically. In describing current literature, the authors highlight the need for additional research focused on diverse populations of students. It is significant in the evaluation of the pedagogical theories described in the first part of the book that they suffer from lack of empirical support. Minimal research has been conducted to evaluate whether feminist and multicultural pedagogical models are effective for students in classrooms (p. 110), or for teachers and students in mentoring relationships (p. 150).
I found the second part of the book less satisfying because it did not provide guidance for practice as therapists or teachers. However, Teaching and Social Justice achieves the stated purpose—theoretical review and integration. In discussing academic contexts, the authors call for integration of the described theories in interactions with students, but provide little guidance on how this can be done. Whereas other books exist that are more explicitly focused on providing teaching guidance (e.g., Adams, Bell, & Griffin, 1997; Bronstein & Quina, 2003; Fisher, 2001), these previous volumes do not succinctly describe the connection between the techniques and specific theory, and do not address teaching in a way that integrates theory. The beauty and frustration of this book is that it accurately describes the complexity of problems facing teachers who wish to integrate and use multicultural and feminist theory in their classrooms but does not explain how this could be done.
The readability and style of Teaching and Social Justice are very good. Although the writing tends to rely on complex terminology, this cannot be helped. The content is dense, but the authors have been as clear as possible. Moreover, the editors have done an exceptional job of maintaining a consistent structure and style throughout the chapters, enhancing the quality and readability of the text. Although individual chapters could stand alone (e.g., to explicate theoretical perspectives), presented together they create a unified whole. The book is an excellent resource for creative teachers who can build on the substantial theoretical foundation laid out here as they work toward social justice.
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