Critical pedagogy: Henry A. Giroux and problems of the school in the United States. “Rekindling the imagination” in the era of testing and accountability

Abstract

In this contribution, after having introduced the main ways in which we can
consider the relation between “critics” and pedagogy, we will present the basic
features of the U.S. pedagogical movement known as Critical Pedagogy,
focusing in particular on the work of one of its most important representatives:
Henry A. Giroux. In this issue, we propose also the translation of an article
written by the same author about contemporary American schools, afflicted
by the obsession with measurements, high-stake testing, decreasing
funding, in which he claims for the necessity to reconsider education as a favorite
place for the reevaluation of imagination, civic engagement and hope.