Engaging Critical Pedagogy in the Classroom: A Student-Centered Approach to Advertising Education

Abstract

In this article, we explore the ways in which diversity education in advertising can be transformed through a critical pedagogical approach. Critical pedagogy is a student-centered learning approach, rooted in critical self-reflexivity and an understanding of how one's social location is a source of knowledge. This article refocuses attention to the classroom as a space for fostering students' critical consciousness about issues of identity and cultural difference. Approaching the classroom as a microcosm of society, we incorporate critical pedagogy as a means to educate future advertising professionals in an increasingly diverse society. We argue that recruiting and retaining students from underrepresented groups involve not only setting up a so-called “pipeline for success,” but also fostering a classroom environment that accounts for their lived experiences.