A Currere Journey Towards a Humanizing Curriculum: An Autobiographical Consideration of Culture and Disability
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Date
2024-08
Authors
Jones, Leah M.
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Publisher
Mount Saint Vincent University
Abstract
This thesis looks at how curriculum can take a humanizing approach through the lens of my own experiences and secondary literature. I specifically use Currere to journey along cycles of time exploring and discovering meaning relating to pedagogical approaches and curriculum theorizing. I use Currere to tell my story and detail my observations within the sphere of education. Using periods of time: past, present and future, I analyze how educators can approach curriculum with an eye towards humanization. I point to the need to acknowledge and embrace the diversity of students and the value of their experiences while being cautious to avoid negative sanctions and dehumanization through politically charged agendas. I discuss the hidden curriculum and its elements along with the need to incorporate equity, diversity, and inclusion into pedagogical considerations. I use the stages of Currere, namely regressive, progressive, analytic and synthetic to examine the elements of autobiographical curricular theorizing concluding with both pedagogical and personal considerations. The literature review contained herein discusses some of the key themes that arise during the regressive stage, specifically belonging, control, and loss. I discuss how I believe the education system can be incorporative rather than segregating and integrate the needs of diverse students from both a cultural and disability standpoint.