Reflections on Cultural Democracy and Schooling

This article provides an extensive critical reflection on a variety of issues that impact the practice of cultural democracy within education. The discussion begins by identifying contemporary conditions of inequality faced by subaltern communities in the U.S. and abroad. Key to this discussion is the link between culture and power, which opens the door to a decolonizing understanding of social justice. Drawing on John Dewey and Paulo Freire's writings on democracy and education, a set of pedagogical principles are asserted, which can support a culturally democratic approach within the classroom. In building a rationale for a critical pedagogical path toward a cultural democratic pedagogy, the process of racialization and language domination are explored, alongside the significance of resistance in the education of subaltern students. Finally, a collective vision of liberation is reinforced here as paramount to the transformation of education and creating educational opportunities, despite the limitations of hegemonic schooling.