Critical Theory in Education: Philosophical, Research, Sociobehavioral, and Organizational Assumptions.

Critical theory focuses on the oppression of the individual, the group, and society by self-imposed or externally imposed influences. To emancipate people on all three levels of oppression, individuals must engage in a critique of the personal, situational, and historical forces which cause oppression. By the exposure of these forces and their juxtaposition against an ideal view of how these forces could be lessened, people become less oppressed and move toward emancipation. Critical theory is a personal responsibility and not just the responsibility of researchers who stand above the crowd and inform nonresearchers about how and what reality is. Under the critical perspective, people use their own insights as well as the work of researchers to understand and, ultimately, change reality. This paper presents a survey of critical theory. Contains 38 references. (BT)