Didactique

Democracy and education are considered to be mutually reinforcing, yet it is unclear how democracy is achieved in/through education. At a time when educational systems and governments rhetorically advocate for greater accountability for academic achievement, there seems to be less emphasis placed on the area of social justice for students. The capacity of the institutional culture of an entire educational system of a jurisdiction (the provincial/state level, school boards and schools) to support and achieve a high level of critical democracy has not been the focus of extensive research. For the purpose of this paper, democratic education is considered to be an amalgam of concepts, including how decisions are made, what those decisions are, and the effect of those decisions, covering both student outcomes and the institutional culture, with a particular emphasis on social justice. The paper argues for a more rigorous and balanced approach to conceptualizing democracy in education, thus the need to interrogate conceptions of power relations and accountability, and proposes a framework for democratic education.

The thinking of Aimé Césaire (1913-2008), a combination of poetic discourse, political stance and ecological awareness well ahead of its time, reveals a place of symbolic revolt where a “community of experienced oppressions” converge. Césaire expresses a relationship to a world in search of meaning, in search of roots. The poet’s stylus-words are chiselled as if to better create the sharp critical awareness required to transcend geographical, racial and disciplinary barriers. Césaire’s “Negritude” takes on the appearance of an eco-political manifesto addressed to all the “damned
of the earth”, inviting them to a spirited winning back of self, a march towards a shared “humanitude”. In his writing, we find the principles of environmentalism and a critical shift. There is a question scorned dignity, the duty of indignation, imaginary
worlds to re-conquer, collective commitment, subversive vigilance and identityworld. Césaire, justly called the baobab tree of poetry, searches high and low in his quest to find his roots. He discovers them in the earth and sky, in the water, air and fire, the five mythical elements of nature. Intermingling culture and nature, Césaire created an ode to sharing the planet that aims to combat all forms of colonialism.
We explore a little-known site of Césaire’s work: his relationship to the world
from an ecological perspective. The poetic, political, environmental and educational
dimensions of his work are explored in three of his poems: Negritude, Discourse on
Colonialism and Discourse on Negritude. This inquiry shows Negritude as a humanism
rooted in the black identity-world.

The United Nations declared that 2011 be recognized as the “International Year for People of African Descent” (IYPAD). This year marks the tenth anniversary of the World Conference Against Racism (often referred to as the Durban Conference), in which a resolution was approved stating that slavery and the colonization that sustained it were crimes against humanity. The outcome for this International Year is disappointing, if not shocking, at several levels, in terms of mediatisation, appropriation, program content, educational connection, and, significantly, any tangible impact in relation to people of African descent (PAD). The IYPAD was largely ignored and trivialized at the local, regional and national levels in almost all of the countries concerned. Following the hegemonic leadership of the United States, a number of nations proceeded to convert this International Year, which sought to underscore and engage all peoples in debates, actions and measures that could formally acknowledge historic injustices in relation to people of African descent, into the paradox of willingly rendering the focus of the Year invisible. Within this context of banalization of the IYPAD, this study, within an anti-colonial perspective, seeks to examine the international dynamic and related motives that characterize the significance of this problematic. Our analysis has led to three central interpretations: i) Africa, and all related and inter-connected questions, remain on the periphery of the world’s politics, economics and international political economy;  ii) the competition between nations for the recognition of human history remains a political and economic affair, and Africa and her descendants are not accorded a seat at the same table as the colonizing forces; and iii) the IYPAD declaration, ensconced in the yolk of an empathetic conscience by some and bad faith by others, can be seen as the residue of colonization, in which the degree of invisibility of people of African descent is still tethered to the heart-beat of colonizing nations and their proxy consorts, which are economically coerced and subjugated.

Neoliberalism is a concept, philosophy, and operating system which serves as atemplate for the world's political-economy (Tabb, 2001; Treanor, 2005). In somequarters, globalization has been reduced to a series of inexpensive "midnight-madness" sales at Walmart without any meaningful socio-cultural inter-change.Economics, within the energized neoliberal era that makes little attempt to mask the rawness of the capitalist under-belly, rules the day, at least that is the way politics is presented in the current quest for democracy in the West and aroundthe world (Hoffman, 2006). McLaren (2007) defines this neo-liberal economicquagmire asa corporate domination of society that supports state enforcement of theunregulated market, (which) engages in the oppression of nonmarket forcesand antimarket policies, guts free public services, eliminates social subsidies,offers limitless concessions to transnational corporations, enthrones a neo-mercantilist public policy agenda, establishes the market as the patron of educational reform, and permits private interests to control most of social lifein the pursuit of profits for the few (i.e., through lowering taxes on thewealthy, scrapping environmental regulations, and dismantling public educationand social welfare programs). (p. 27)There is an implicit underlying residue to the neoliberal agenda stressing that thecollective is much less important than the individual, which poses an obvious andnot so delicate problem of how we are to consider social justice, especially withinthe educational context (Hill, 2003). If we are all individuals, can we then bear collective responsibility for such realities as racism, sexism, classism, homophobia,xenophobia, etc. (Dei, Karumanchery, & Karumanchery-Luik, 2004)? An important backdrop to this chapter is an obvious and viscerally entrenched socio-economicsystem that blends inequities, marginalization and vastly differential experiences(i.e., employment, housing, education, wealth accumulation, crime rates, travel,etc.) alongside a pervasive belief that there is hope, freedom and fairness in our society (see Smiley, 2006, and McLaren, 2007, for summaries of the numerousways that race and class, in particular, are important predictors of marginalization).Critical, political literacy can become an indispensable tool for citizens outside of elite circles to counter hegemonic oppression.

Il ya lieu de se pencher sur la notion d'équité en éducation dès lors qu'on s' intéresse à la situation académique et au devenir professionnel et social des individus de groupes considérés comme étant défavorisés dans le milieu scolaire. Ces groupes comprennent les femmes, les autochtones, les personnes présentant un handicap physique ou mental, et les personnes appartenant à diverses minorités qu'elles soient socioéconomiques, linguistiques, sexuelles, religieuses, ethnoculturelies ou raciales.

Much has been written about race and racism in education, but less is known about the relevance of the identities of those conducting this research. While discussion on research methodology, especially in relation to qualitative and ethnographic approaches, often refers to the personal and subjective implication of the researcher in the research process, few studies address the problem of the origins of diverse researchers working on racebased research.

Abstract Le sur-développement des pays du Nord fait planer sur le monde entier des menaces sans précédent. Les changements climatiques sont les signes avant-coureurs, à long, moyen ou court terme, de ces menaces. Aux prises directement avec les premiers impacts, les populations du Sud voient leurs multiples vulnérabilités s' accentuer.

La pensée d’Aimé Césaire (1913-2008), à la fois discours poétique, posture politique et conscience écologique bien avant l’heure, révèle un lieu de révolte symbolique où convergent une «communauté d’oppressions subies». Césaire exprime un rapport au monde en quête de sens, en quête de racines. Les mots-stylets du poète sont ciselés comme pour mieux façonner la conscience critique aiguë nécessaire pour transcender les barrières géographiques, raciales ou disciplinaires. La «Négritude» de Césaire prend l’allure d’un manifeste écopolitique qui s’adresse à tous les « damnés de la terre » pour les en joindre à une fougueuse reconquête de soi, en marche vers une « humanitude » partagée. On y retrouve les principes de l’écologisme et de la mouvance critique. Il y est question de dignité bafouée, du devoir d’indignation, d’imaginaires à reconquérir, d’engagement collectif, de vigilance subversive et d’identité-monde. Césaire, justement appelé le baobab de la poésie, porte haut et loin la quête de racines. Il les découvre dans la terre et le ciel, dans l’eau, l’air et le feu, les cinq éléments mythiques de la nature. Métissant culture et nature, Césaire a réalisé une ode au vivre ensemble qui vise à combattre tous les colonialismes. Nous explorons un site peu fréquenté de l’œuvre de Césaire: son rapport au monde selon une perspective écologique. Les dimensions poétique, politique, environnementale et éducative de son œuvre sont abordées dans trois de ses écrits: le poème La Négritude, le Discours sur le colonialisme et le Discours sur la Négritude. Cette exploration met en évidence la Négritude comme un humanisme qui prend racines dans l’identité-monde noire.
ABSTRACT
The baobab tree in search of roots: the “Negritude” of Aimé Césaire, or awakening to a humanism of identity and ecology in the Francophone space : The thinking of Aimé Césaire (1913-2008), a combination of poetic discourse, political stance and ecological awareness well ahead of its time, reveals a place of symbolic revolt where a “community of experienced oppressions” converge. Césaire expresses a relationship to a world in search of meaning, in search of roots. The poet’s stylus-words are chiselled as if to better create the sharp critical awareness required to transcend geographical, racial and disciplinary barriers. Césaire’s “Negritude” takes on the appearance of an eco-political manifesto addressed to all the “damned of the earth”, inviting them to a spirited winning back of self, a march towards a shared “humanitude”. In his writing, we find the principles of environmentalism and acritical shift. There is a question of scorned dignity, the duty of indignation, imaginary worlds to re-conquer, collective commitment, subversive vigilance and identity-world. Césaire, justly called the baobab tree of poetry, searches high and low in his quest to find his roots. He discovers them in the earth and sky, in the water, air and fire, the five mythical elements of nature. Intermingling culture and nature, Césaire created an ode to sharing the planet that aims to combat all forms of colonialism. We explore a little-known site of Césaire’s work: his relationship to the world from an ecological perspective. The poetic, political, environmental and educational dimensions of his work are explored in three of his poems: Negritude, Discourse on Colonialism and Discourse on Negritude. This inquiry shows Negritude as a humanism rooted in the black identity-world

Dans la francophonie, la recherche en éducation accorde, jusqu’à présent, peu d’attention aux problématiques raciales, ce qui constitute un obstacle à la compréhension des expériences socioéducatives des jeunes noires en contextes "racialisés". Comment la recherche peut-elle leur donner voix etc contribuer à transformer leurs réalités défavorables? La pédagogie critique et les théories postcoloniales proposent des cadres de références pour esquisser une recherche critique qui fait la (re)lecture des mots, du monde et des maux des jeunes noirs. Cet article propose une telle reconceptualisation qui pourrait fournir un cadre de recherche et d'action sensible aux réalités des jeunes noirs, en général, et dans le contexte francophone, en particulier.