Social (in)justice isms and critical pedagogies for change

Karin Redelius
Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences, Stockholm

Thin and thick at the same time – that is one of my overall impressions of this book. It only covers 125 pages, but it is immensely rich and thick content-wise. The authors have done a careful and thorough work in trying to define, clarify, explain, and exemplify what social justice means, and why there is a need for educators (teachers and coaches) to enact such pedagogies in physical education (PE) and youth sport (YS).

The book is very pedagogically laid out – that is another overall impression of mine. I don’t know if that is an expression that can be used in English, but that is how I would phrase it if I could use my mother tongue, the Swedish language (‘pedagogisk’ as in ‘pedagogical’). To explain what I mean I quote my colleague Daniel Roe, who is an American and who wrote his thesis about Swedish youth detention homes as “pedagogical” practice:

The notion of acting pedagogically, or “to be pedagogical,” is frequently expressed in everyday Swedish language (in a way not used in American English). We may hear statements such as “The presentation was very pedagogical,” “I’m afraid I wasn’t so pedagogical there…” or, referring to a teacher, “she’s pedagogical” or “she needs to be more pedagogical.” Academics may even receive reviewer comments such as “please be more pedagogical in the introduction.” In such everyday usages, “pedagogical” relates to how we communicate, or, more specifically, that we are able to successfully communicate that which was intended. The “pedagogical” PowerPoint presentation is clear and structured. The action which we regret as not so pedagogical failed to help another person understand something that is, in our mind, important or beneficial (Roe, 2021, s. 68).

The reason to include this rather long quote is that I think this book is a perfect example of a text that is pedagogical – it successfully communicates that which is intended, and I believe it will help other people understand something that is, in the minds of the authors, important. How have they gone about to accomplish this pedagogical mission?

Linguism and colonialism may very well be a plague for many of our new and newly arrived Swedes who came in great numbers during the refugee wave in 2015 or earlier or later.

The book is very well structured and easy to follow. The authors have put a great deal of effort into making sure that the reader grasps what they are aiming at. They use a metaphor (a 100-meter race) to start with and defines some 15 key words or concepts that are crucial in order to understand the field – from inequality to social justice. They are also transparent in where they get their inspiration from and who they are theoretically informed by, namely Paulo Freire, Michel Foucault, and bell hooks, and for the second part of the book, M Adams.

In the first part of the book, nine different so called sociocultural issues are covered to show the ways young people, and all people, can be marginalised and oppressed. These issues are several “isms”, namely healthism and fatism, ableism and elitism, genderism and sexism, heterosexism, racism, classism, linguism, religionism, and lastly, colonialism, in that order and that is not by chance. Starting to problematise and direct a critical lens towards “healthism” (and “fatism”) in a book that has physical educators as its prime target group is a good choice and continuing with “ableism and elitism” is also logic.

All these sociocultural issues are dealt with in identical ways in the sense that the same five questions or headings are posed to all in the same order. These are:

• • What is it?
  • What research is there in PE/YS on this topic?
  • How could I teach about […] in my program?
  • What is the impact on young persons’ social and emotional well-being?
  • Intersectionality/concluding thought

I must admit that I at first was a bit sceptical about the second question. How would it be possible to present research on one page, or even less, on such huge issues as for example genderism and sexism but, on this topic as well, the authors have done their homework and are able to point at some key or seminal studies that are highlighted in each of the areas, albeit mostly from Anglo-Saxon countries.

The intention of presenting these issues or “isms” is to raise the critical awareness of teachers and coaches, and ultimately make physical education and youth sport a better place for everyone. The intention is also to pave the way for the second part of the book, where pedagogies of social justice and similar approaches are outlined.

The three authors have a background from England (with Palestinian roots), the UK, and Brazil (but living in Australia), respectively. Thereby they have a broad understanding of and experience from different contexts and cultures. How do these experiences and the many examples given in the book resonate with a Scandinavian context (as if there is one…)?

In my opinion, it resonates quite well with the current situation in the Nordic countries, maybe with a few exceptions. The nine different sociocultural issues presented in the first chapter and mentioned above are well-known and debated topics in this part of the world as well, perhaps apart from “linguism”. i.e., language-based discrimination, and “colonialism”, i.e., the subjugation of indigenous people. But who am I to say this? Being a white, straight, woman, in academia, I just revealed my privileged position. Linguism and colonialism may very well be a plague for many of our new and newly arrived Swedes who came in great numbers during the refugee wave in 2015 or earlier or later. Sweden is a multi-cultural country with almost one third of its population having a background other than Swedish. Therefore, all those nine presented different isms are most likely as valid here as anywhere else around the globe.

What might be slightly different is the school system and the way curricula and assessments, for example, are organised and structured. I appreciate the ambition to provide the reader with cases in terms of “real life” practical examples, and there are quite a few such examples in the second part of the book, but I found those a bit hard to read, not least because they were written in italics (maybe not so pedagogical after all). However, all in all, this is a most informative and useful book to read and to keep in the bookshelf, or nearby in the coaching bag to grab easily. It serves as a social justice dictionary as well as an inspiration to hesitate, stop, and question the taken for granted way of teaching or coaching. The authors do not pretend that working with social justice issues are easy. They rather stress the opposite; it is HARD but also rewarding and well worth the effort. I end this review the way the book starts: “The time for critical: It’s now or never.”

Copyright @ Karin Redelius 2023