A Freirean liberatory perspective of community colleges education: critical consciousness and social justice science issues in the biology curriculum

Abstract

This paper discusses the value of a Freirean liberatory perspective in community colleges, countering the traditional “second chance” or “social reproduction” viewpoints attributed by scholars to the education offered in these institutions, emphasizing its vital need in science and healthcare careers education. I explore the potential of this perspective by providing illustrative examples from a biology course incorporating social justice science issues in the curriculum to examine their relationship in cultivating students’ critical consciousness at a community college with a programmatic emphasis on healthcare professions.