Realizing the Theory of Generative Change using a Freirean Lens: Situating the Zone of Generativity within a Liberatory Framework

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article represents an ideological and methodological call to action that is over fifty years in the making. It seeks to articulate a new form of critical consciousness by combining the principles of a Freirean liberatory pedagogy with the methodological and ideological specificity of Ball‘s Model of Generative Change. We call this evolved model Generative Transformative Praxis in which educators and teacher educators are able to move from change by adaptation to generative transformation that seeks a true transition in the 21st century classrooms that our increasingly diverse students deserve. Generative Transformative Praxis is not a pre-prescribed tactical approach that is subject to standardization based on past data; instead, it attempts to constantly recreate the present in order to affect the future. Ultimately, the authors propose the model of Generative Transformative Praxis in order to prepare and develop educators who are capable of introducing diverse student populations to a world subject to change, reinvention, and transformation.