Education Book Review

AUTHOR:  Kanpol, Barry 

TITLE:  Issues and Trends in Critical Pedagogy. 

DATE:  1997  EDITION:     PAGES:  175  PRICE:  $49.50 

PUBLISHER AND ADDRESS:
	Hampton Press Inc.
	23 Broadway
	Cresskill, NJ 07626 

ISBN:  1-57273-085-4  LC:  96-44099  OCLC:

DESCRIPTION/EVALUATION:
	Written as a follow-up to his Critical Pedagogy:  An Introduction,
Kanpol's purpose here is to explore the critical pedagogical tradition in 
straightforward language accessible to lay readers.  He begins with a 
developmental history, looking at Dewey, the Frankfurt School and 
resistance theory.  He moves on to trends such as multiculturalism,
gender issues and urban schools.  In a final section Kanpol explores 
developing issues like Outcomes Based Education and popular culture.
The work also contains activity suggestions at the end of each chapter
for those who use it as a text.  Overall I would say the effort toward
accessible language is only partially successful.  Kanpol is clear and 
understandable when he is talking from his own experience, less clear
when he is explaining theory or jargon.  One gets a feeling that he has
mistaken conversational conventions for clarity.  There are many places
where singular and plural run together or where just what is being 
referred to is unclear.  For example these two sentences:
"Deviance is closely aligned conceptually with institutional political
resistance.  But, unlike moral irregularities that for example, say,
punishable by crime, this kind of resistance involves teachers 
challenging structural constraints as patterned behaviors." (p40)  A
motivated reader can come to an understanding of what is being said, but
few would call it clear. 

SUBMITTED BY:  Kate Corby, Michigan State University