Activist Pedagogy – There Is Such a Thing! Training Program for Teachers, Agents of Socio-Political Change

Activist pedagogy is a present need, in light of trends weakening democratic values, global warming, expanding social fractures, economic and technological gaps made even more forceful by distance learning. Nonetheless, apparently in Israel and other countries practical training for teacher to teach according to an activist socio-political approach is lacking. To be able to teach with an activist approach benefitting learners, community and society and promote democratic liberal values, teachers must be provided with theories, knowledge, and practical tools. To empower and help them in their educational mission, they must discuss their perceptions and attitudes regarding this issue, get support and create possibilities for shared learning and cooperation. I will describe an innovative activist teaching training program intended for high school teacher in all subjects. I will focus on three stages: (1) processes leading to developing the program according to the activist pedagogy approach (2) its curriculum and (3) examples of performance tasks and participants’ reflections at the end of the program I instructed. The first courses took place in 2020, during which the COVID-19 pandemic broke out and changed the face of reality. This program's development is part of a wider scope study on the topic of activist pedagogy, and I hope next time I will present additional findings from my research relating to the effects of the training on everything connected to knowledge, attitudes, teaching and learning practices (strategies and skills) of teachers who participated in the program.