How do I contribute to student teachers’ critical development?: A higher education practitioner’s personal account of a move towards a more critical and emancipatory pedagogy through design and technology

In this paper I explain how I have generated a living educational theory of practice, as a practitioner reflecting on action (Schön, 1995). I describe a self study action research project which I undertook to improve my practice, as a senior lecturer in initial teacher education. I explain how I have learnt to improve my capacity for critical consciousness as well as contribute to the capacity of those in whose learning I may have an educational influence. Through carrying out the research, I show how my values concerning emancipation, social justice and respect for the environment are realised more fully in my practice and how I use these values as living standards of judgement to test and validate my claim to knowledge. My claim is that I have contributed to improvement of students’ knowledge, understanding, awareness and critical consciousness of some aspects of global citizenship through my specialist subject, primary design and technology.