Education has enormous effect in our lives; it does not only empower us financially, but also helps us by providing emotional, cultural, and social support. This book is an autoethnographic account of my experience as a transformative and transforming educator, while education has been guiding our societies on local as well as global issues, and contributing largely as a strong means of enculturation and adjustments among youths in the society. Specifically, my present work unfolds the ways I have used ethical dilemma story pedagogy as culturally-relevant pedagogy to explore interpretative and creative spaces for transformative learning, both personally and with a group of trainee (future) teachers who take the responsibility to facilitate students’ learning into a purposeful path. The ethical dilemma story pedagogy provides relatable scenarios to challenge and unsettle participants’ thought processes leading to acknowledgment of multiple viewpoints. Indeed, teachers can speak out with reasons on how everyday practices in a society could be improved. The study allowed us, myself and the trainee teachers participating in this research, to challenge some deeply embedded assumptions about teaching and learning for the purpose of revitalising our own professional judgements and practices.
Central to this work is the argument that the process of critically questioning one’s assumptions and decision making in regard to other people and social contexts provides a much stronger foundation for transformative pedagogy which is attentive to people, places and cultures in an era where ethical decision making appears to be receding in educational settings. In response, I have investigated, in depth, the use of ethical dilemma story pedagogy in English teaching in Nepal with an aim to promote ethical development in students via their independent thinking and logical decision making skills as well as to promote their written and spoken language expression. The practice of critical reflection has the potential to create a more socially just world that involves the realisation of mutual respect, collaboration, care, and trust. Such endeavours, I believe, can encourage educators to become more sensitive to the use of stories within the school curriculum while the education system is still struggling to effectively prepare the future generation worldwide. Ethical dilemma story pedagogy provides the context in which I/we engage in a transformative learning journey with the goal of prompting dialogue and educational change. Although this work incorporates many personal truths from my own life, the study findings will serve to inform other educators who wish to utilise sociocultural contexts connected to students’ lives as a transformative pedagogy.