The study is based on how critical analysis in reading and writing is interpreted among a number of adult students on a Teacher Education programme in a college in  the UK. The students all spent their formative years in education in different countries and emigrated to the UK as adults. Each is successful in their chosen fields of study and yet when they begin the Teacher Education programme, they initially seem to find aspects of the course that demands their own analysis on the pedagogy introduced during the programme somewhat 'challenging'. 

My questions include:

1. What are the previous educational experiences of teh international students?

2. What are the students' experiences of critical reading and writing? 

3. Are there cultural aspects in interpretations of criticality?

I am adopting a critcal race theory approach for this study and aim to use of the work of Freire (1972) critical theory as a beginning to compare with Habermas' (1987) theory of 'lifeworlds'. Welikala (2013) stresses that international students in British HEIs interpret criticality on their own terms, thus there may be varied interpretations to examine. The students in my study must reinterpret their own understanding in order to 'fit' into the western concept of criticality and so may feel disempowered (Fanon,1967). 

Pirbhai-Illich et al (2011) highlight the subtle tensions that exist within teacher educarion specifically; teachers and students ignore aspects of race, refusing to debate them due partly to the complexities and polarisation of views. This may be a 'safe' option, however the students in my study have to demonstrate their ability to reflect on and analyse the philosophies that may underpin their practices. Their previous educational experiences play a large part in how they do this and I aim to examine this in more depth through the work of Freire (1972). hooks' (1993) work clearly rationalises how Freire's approach to teaching literacy to poor farmers in Brazil enables her to reflect on her own identity as a black feminist. It may be that in my discussion with the international students, they perhaps voice similar views and surmise that there is a colonial history that plays a part in their own educational experiences that leads to a view of criticality from the west as being more ‘worthy’. 

Habermas’ (1987) research into lifeworlds, which he describes as the communicative actions that enable us to be a part of a specific group culture, includes aspects of morals and ethics of the group an individual is part of. McLean (2006) stresses the importance of an individual, if facing a new culture, adopting this new lifeworld by discarding the old lifeworld. It may be that hooks’ (1993) struggle to adapt to academic life and culture as outlined above is because she is unable to forget her previous lifeworld to adopt to the new one. The impact of Freire in formulating her own identity by aligning both lifeworlds is clearly powerful for her. Thus, it may be that for the international students, questioning them about their experiences of criticality may enable them to make links with the ‘new’ criticality as required of them on the teacher education course. 

Hammersley-Fletcher and Hanley (2016) state that a western interpretation of criticality includes 'being' and 'thinking'. Consequently, an awareness of self is essential to subsequent actions. The international students may need time and space to debate this because their identities are formulated from cultures which perhaps are considered to be not equal to western cultures. Maringe and Jenkins (2015) refer to this as 'academic imperialism', an aspect that is closley tied to notions of identity.  

Fanon, F. (1967) Black skin, white masks, New York: Grove Press Freire, P.(1972) Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd Habermas, J. (1987) The theory of Communicative Action, volume 2: the theory Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Hammersley-Fletcher, L. and Hanley, C.(2016) The use of critical thinking in higher education in relation to the international student: shifting policy and practice British Educationals Reserach Journal, 42 (6), pp.978-992 hooks, b. (1993) bell hooks speaking about Paulo Freire - the man, his work in McLaren, P. and Leonard, P. (eds) Paulo Freire: a critical encounter, London: Routledge Maringe , F. and Jenkins, J. (2015) Stigma, tensions and apprehensions International Journal of Educational Management, 29 (50), pp. 609-626 McLean, M. (2006) Pedagogy and the University: critical theory and practice, London and New York: Continuum Pirbhai-Illich F., Austin, T., Paugh, P. and Farino, Y. (2011) Responding to ‘innocent’ racism: Educating teachers in politically reflexive and dialogic engagement in local communities, Journal of Urban Learning, Teaching and Research, 7, 27 - 40 Smith, J.A., Flowers, P., and Larking, M. (2012) Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis:theory, method and research, London: Sage Welikala, T. (2013) Inter-perspective pedagogy: rethinking culture and learning in multicultural higher education in the United Kingdom in Jin, J. and Cortazzi, M. (eds) Researching intercultural learning: investigations in language and education, Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan