15/05/2025
"Using Self as a Teaching Tool: Exploring Inequality, Power, and Anti-Oppressive Practice"
I’m excited to share the release of a new book chapter I’ve co-authored with Beverley Burke. The chapter explores how personal experience can be a powerful tool in teaching about inequality, power, and anti-oppressive practice.
In this chapter, we critically reflect on moments when we’ve shared our own experiences of oppression and inequality with students, evaluating the impact of this approach through heuristic inquiry. We identify key themes and pedagogical principles that support the use of self in teaching – a rich but often underutilised resource in higher education.
While grounded in the context of counselling and social work education in the UK, we believe the insights shared have relevance across disciplines. We also explore how to create safer educational spaces that foster meaningful, experiential learning when both educators and students bring their lived experiences into the classroom.
I hope this chapter contributes to ongoing conversations about how we can challenge inequality in our teaching practices and build more inclusive learning environments.
📖 https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-030-68127-2_637-1
I have some author copies of the chapter if you dont have access via an institution - p.j.blundell@ljmu.ac.uk
