To develop a theoretical and pedagogical framework for meaningful social justice education within medical curricula, informed by an anti-discrimination pilot programme for undergraduate medical students, emphasizing the need for structural engagement in health education.
Approach:
Framework Development: The framework is informed by the works of John Dewey, Paulo Freire, and bell hooks, addressing challenges such as neoliberal pedagogies, technological determinism, and manufactured scarcity, and proposing specific strategies to counter these issues.
Community Engagement: Focus on relational community-building, conscientização, and vulnerability as responses to contemporary educational challenges, highlighting their roles in fostering a supportive learning environment.
Radical Constructivist Pedagogy: Utilizes radical constructivist pedagogy to create a counter-narrative in medical education, envisioning a curriculum that challenges hegemonic power and promotes critical engagement with social justice issues.
Key Findings:
Social justice in health encompasses more than biomedical conditions, requiring structural engagement from clinicians to address broader social determinants of health.
Neoliberal logics fragment education and health into commodities, impacting social justice education by prioritizing individual success over collective well-being.
Imaginative labor is essential for transformative action in medical curricula, enabling educators and students to envision and create more equitable educational practices.
Interpretation:
The article advocates for a reimagined medical education that integrates community engagement, critical consciousness, and vulnerability, moving beyond traditional competency frameworks to foster a more holistic approach to healthcare education.
Limitations:
The tools and conditions for implementing a community-grounded medical curriculum are not fully established, posing challenges for educators seeking to adopt this framework.
The design decisions made in the pilot programme may not be universally applicable, necessitating further exploration of context-specific adaptations.
Conclusion:
The piece emphasizes the need for imaginative approaches in medical education to address contemporary challenges, reiterating the importance of community engagement, critical consciousness, and vulnerability in fostering a more equitable and just healthcare system.
