72: Committing to Critical Inquiry: Critical Condition

During an oral defense of a dissertation, Lucy Mule, a Holmes Scholar and a member of the Elementary Education Professional Development School (PDS) program at Penn State, remarked upon the timidity of the teacher research projects of our preservice candidates. Although she was quick to compliment the rigor of their efforts, Dr. Mule was concerned that none tackled the assumptions of the curricula in place in their schools. She thought they chose safer topics, which focused on individual student learning. Because their inquiries were not critical, she concluded that these soon-to-be teachers were not likely to become the change agents that the PDS strove to develop. Before Lucy’s words echoed off the walls of the meeting room, Professor James Nolan (a member of the editorial advisory board of this journal and a faculty member working in the same PDS program) asked her what she meant by critical.