Adultocentrisme et pédagogie noire: sur le fil du rasoir entre élever les enfants et les opprimer

With this contribution we propose a presentation of Adultcentrism (AD) and Black Pedagogy (BP) constructs as well as the structure and items of the measurement tools associated with these two constructs. Moreover, a disambiguation between the terms of adultcentrism, adultism, ageism, black pedagogy and misopedia will be advanced.
Adultcentrism is conceived as a paradigm of thought that pertains naturally to adults and which, if exacerbated and not recognized, risks leading to the adoption of a very coherent and systematic educational stance based on adults’ power abuse over children and adolescents, evoking authoritarianism and harsh parenting. Black Pedagogy seems to well gather all these values and practices under a unitarian label, since it refers to the systematic use of power to educate children (Brokate, 2005) for their own “good”, toughening them up for the “real life” that awaits them in the future. The polarization of power in favor of adults may be immediately reflected in the educational practices related to it, which consist of physical and psychological violence, control, oppression, and punishments (Kühn, 2014; Rutschky, 2015).
The constructs of Adultcentrism and Black Pedagogy are discussed in their possible applications to deepen our understanding of what affects children’s and adolescents’ well-being in the context of a society where a certain level of educational practices that are subtle and detrimental may be deemed as acceptable. Moreover, the negative implications of the lack of recognition of adultcentric bias and Black Pedagogy practices in all contexts where the adult-child relationship is fundamental (e.g., school, family, etc.) are considered.

Disclaimer: This is a pre-print translation made available in English solely to facilitate understanding for readers who do not read French. The official version of the article has been published in French, and that version must be used for citation and reference purposes. Minor differences may exist between this translation and the official publication. Official version available in the published volume.