Pathways to counter narratives in the arts

The authors of this paper join forces to explore ‘unlearning’ as a means to develop affective counter-narratives within their teacher education practices in both Australia and Canada. As arts educators working with the next generation of teachers we seek to open cracks in hegemonic pedagogical practices that ‘unlearn’ and question western-dominant perspectives of education. For Burke and Ludecke this involves learning-to-learn-with- Australian Indigenous
knowledge to rethink, reimagine and unlearn standardized curriculum. For Boyd it is an engagement with arts-oriented practices that develop transformative concepts of self-identity and empathy that inform their work with in-and pre-service teachers in Montreal, Canada; with a focus on becoming attentive to the everyday world, to adopt an attitude of “wide awakeness” that slows down the process of looking and experiencing. The authors share three vignettes that
discuss pathways to develop and enact counter-narratives to standard curriculum approaches in visual art and drama education.