Feminist pedagogy: A critical approach to traditional education pedagogies

This research has stemmed from an alternative approach investigation to the gender unequality that is encountered during the process of traditional education. Firstly it has tried to retrace the basis of inequality by exploring the history of education. This historical path reaches to Ancient Egypt, China, Ancient Greece from modern-day. Even though the place and the time has changed, it has been observed that the common denominator of the ages is same; unequal subordinate position of women in education system and social life. This unequality stayed identical even in the early ages when the question that whether woman had a spirit or not was discussed or when the woman was burned after accused of being a wicth or when she dissmissed from the scope of human rights while equality and freedom were being discussed. In this research that history has been examined in a wide range and outstanding important periods have been handled one by one with regards to the woman's position in education. The ability of schooling in creating a mass adapts itself to the changing ages ingeniously. Being aware of the necessities of their age and characteristics of the mass, authority owners forms the community. The woman they think dangerous is always restrained. Every authority owner from the most revolutionist to the ordinary wicked man provides a role for woman; a mother, a wife, a witch, a prostitute… With a given epithet for each role; virtuous, faithful, hazardous, devout, skillful… Education is the most practical mechanism that enables the reproduction of these roles and epithets. There must be a reason of school's becoming compulsory after the existence of nation-states. The more a person is processed in the system, the more perfect the result of process becomes. Current, competitive, unequal, rote learning, manipulative education system makes students race for the purpose of having a diploma that ensures a job. Traditional education pedagogies embrace the individial so strict that it is almost impossible to challenge knowledge, authority or system. Being one of the theories criticising traditional education pedagogies, feminist pedagogy tries to empower, emancipate the student and afflict any kind of authority including the teacher's. During the teaching-learning process it provides some citeria guiding our choice of classroom practices. It also targets the transformation of person and society using a gender sensitive and equal approach that lets the students express themselves easily and creates a new form of teacher-student relationship. Well then, is it possible to carry out the feminist pedagogy practices? This question has been discussed in the last chapter. This thesis tries to make analysis based on the frame of feminist epistomology and feminist theory. The methods of feminist pedagogy has been reviewed critically. The way of educating a person who is equal, pollycultural, emancipated, self confident, aware of the others' rights has been searched.