Using popular culture in professional education to foster critical curiosity and learning

Abstract

Abstract This article presents findings from an inquiry at the nexus of three areas of adult education scholarship: critical pedagogy, university-based professional education, and popular culture. I am investigating how the incorporation of popular culture into professional education can foster students’ engagement with theory and thorny issues. Such engagement, I argue, promotes a critical form of learning and curiosity that furthers students’ development as ethical, responsible, reflective practitioners and adults. Data reported here is drawn from conversations with students in three courses that I delivered. In presenting my findings, I discuss three forms of learning that participants described: learning concepts, learning perspectives, and learning relevance. I close with a reflection on implications for my teaching practice and postsecondary professional education more broadly.