7. When power and empowerment gets difficult

6.2.2. Transforming potential energy into human power

30 Contemporary Pedagogies in Teacher Education and Development

6.3. Promoting equitable power dynamics

Ashcroft [8] portrays a useful analogy for teachers to assist in developing a conceptualization of empowerment. This analogy aligns human capability with potential energy while considering the Law of Conservation of Energy. According to the law of thermodynamics, energy can neither be created nor be destroyed, only transferred from one form to another. Therefore, it would infer that human capability, as potential energy, cannot be created or destroyed but it can be "transformed, changed, altered, and developed into countless forms of human power" ([8], p. 149). This analogy can inform the founding of empowerment philosophy of education for teachers, whereby the utmost purpose of their role in the life's of their students is to transform students' incredible and limitless potential energy into human power. Such human power will be different for each student. For some, it may manifest as the ignition of a passion or the development of new and enhanced confidence or sense of belonging. If the very premise of an empowerment process is "to give power to" ([17], p. 667), then, unleashing students' potential energy as human power is in essence, the act of student empowerment. Unleashing students' potential energy as human power is not necessarily restricted to learning that is characterized by the acquisition of new knowledge. As the saying goes, "Knowledge is Power", but learning to feel a sense of safety, security and belonging can also be a source of empowerment for students since "Most young people alone can exercise little power… A student's power springs from the

collective strength, talent, knowledge and dedication of all team members" ([14], p. 185).

efforts to promote the generation of empowering learning environments.

6.4. Empowering students to empower teachers

The equitable use of power by teachers implicates intrapersonal student empowerment [52]. Teachers should be conscious of how power dynamics establishes in their classrooms and how they can embrace such dynamics to empower, as opposed to oppress students' creativity, independent, and critical thinking. Providing a safe space for students to voice their thoughts, ideas and opinions as well as including them in decision making processes pertaining to everyday classroom issues such as subject topics, coursework and classroom logistics can promote students to develop their own sense of empowerment as their individuality is recognized, listened to and valued. Students should be encouraged to develop a sense of responsibility and connectedness that comes from the teacher trusting them to make such contributions. Teachers should seek to emphasize the importance of students' contribution to everyday classroom life as well as the importance of the teachers' role in the lives of their students, while it may be assumed that it is primarily the role of the teacher to see to the generation of empowering learning environments in the classroom, it should be noted that students also play a role in the generation of such environments. Since, student behavior can influence the experiences of teachers [53], teachers need to also be conscious of how such behavior may have inherent implications to the teachers'

Ken Macrorie's "Uptaught" changed how writing was taught in America in the 1970's. Macrorie envisioned writing as a fundamental pursuit of human empowerment that teachers should seek to facilitate. Macrorie encouraged teachers to "set up an arrangement which allows As nebulous and intricately complex concepts that have profound implications to the experiences of teachers and students, aspects and applications of power and empowerment can prove difficult for teachers. Contemplating the relinquishment of power, in any capacity, is a prospect that may be perceived as threatening to the status of an individual who has power. As aforementioned, it is desirable for teachers to embrace the banking model of education because in its fulfillment, teachers retain their power [16]. Teachers may hesitate to relinquish their power to empower students through the affordance of spaces for students to exercise creativity, independent thought and critical reflection of structures and norms that shapes their lives through a possible fear that their status or power may be undermined or questioned. Not only is the prospect of relinquishing power to students a potentially fearful prospect for teachers, but it also calls for those in power to be comfortable and flexible in a number of situations that deal with their expertise and authority [55]. For example, teachers need to be comfortable in appropriately addressing questions that students may ask them, responding to the development of students' critical thinking and dealing with students' developing understanding of how the wider society works to ultimately implicate every aspect of their lives. Within the context of the empowerment of teachers from a principal's point of view, principals may hesitate to promote the empowerment of teachers as it may threaten their status and power. However, Gonzales and Short [12] refutes that the empowerment of teachers may threaten the status of principals claiming that empowering teachers will further teachers' recognition of the principals' expertise when in the process of promoting effective change.

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Regardless of whether it is principals seeking to empower teachers or teachers seeking to empower students, the relinquishment of power demands critical thought, attention and time. However, it must be emphasized the full relinquishment of power might not always be possible. Certain hierarchies must be preserved within schools for their effective management. Principals must retain some power to make and enact on decisions made to see to the progress of the school. Similarly, teachers must retain some power to reward and prescribe behavior towards ensuring student growth. Achieving the establishment of equitable power dynamics that simultaneously negates oppression but nurtures the growth of every individual within schools is a vital component of teachers' professional knowledge. Principals and teachers must therefore be conscious of their power, to perceive how much power they could relinquish towards the empowerment of students but understand how much power they should retain in order to nurture growth.
