Reclaiming Social Capital Through Critical Teaching

In this article I argue that contemporary society is increasingly experiencing a dramatic loss of social connectedness or "social capital." This takes expression in schools in the increasing tendency, especially as reflected in school reforms and restructuring, of regarding teachers' work in technical terms. I argue that the way of turning this wider loss of social capital around is to regard teaching as a social practice in which there is greater emphasis on teaching for social responsibility, democracy, social justice, and civility. I give examples of how this might be possible through a critical approach to teaching.