Educational Autobiographies Podcast

Radical Schools Podcast
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EDUCATIONAL AUTOBIOGRAPHIES PODCAST is a project devoted to the conceptual analysis of educational experiences we have had inside and outside school, reflecting on their varying formal and informal qualities, and examining how they interact with and mutually influence one another. The episodes draw on concrete examples from school and everyday life and interpret them through the conceptual lenses of the deficit perspective, the third space, and culturally sustaining pedagogy. This is a student-authored classroom project developed in the context of two university courses taught by Luis S. Villacañas-de-Castro, associate professor at the Faculty of Teacher Education at the Universitat de València.

Episodes

  1. Jun 2

    What School Taught Us

    This podcast explores how our educational experiences shaped us beyond textbooks and grades. Through personal stories and honest reflections, we discuss concepts such as deficit thinking, the hidden curriculum, translanguaging, Third Spaces, and culturally sustaining pedagogies. Instead of presenting an idealized version of school, we revisit the pressure, expectations, labels, and unwritten rules that influenced how we saw ourselves as students. Throughout the episode, we connect academic theory with lived experience, from feeling judged by performance to navigating language barriers and questioning traditional ideas of intelligence and success. The conversation is reflective and relatable, highlighting how education can both limit and empower. Ultimately, the podcast invites listeners to rethink what school teaches us, not only through formal lessons but also through the values and assumptions embedded within educational systems. More than a critique, it offers a hopeful perspective on education, imagining classrooms where students feel genuinely seen and where their languages, cultures, and experiences are valued.

  2. Jun 2

    Insights from Belgium into the Third Space

    In this episode we discuss the third space in culture and foreign languages. We have linked these lessons to our internship in Belgium. The first part covers: grade repetition, cultural capital and the hidden curriculum. In the second part, we discuss: school culture and classroom culture, and in the final part we cover culturally sustaining pedagogies, multilingualism, plurilingualism, translanguaging and project-based learning. Enjoy listening!

  3. Jun 2

    Educational Autobiographies Across Europe. Deficit Thinking and Third Space

    In this podcast episode, we reflect on our educational autobiographies as Erasmus students from Sweden, the Czech Republic and Germany. We connect personal school experiences and broader educational differences from our countries with key concepts from the course, especially deficit thinking and the Third Space. We discuss how students can be perceived through what they supposedly lack, but also how schools and learning environments can become spaces where different languages, cultures, identities and experiences are valued as resources. Through our different perspectives, we explore how education is shaped not only by classrooms and curricula, but also by social background, belonging, mobility and intercultural experiences.

  4. Jun 2

    The Classroom Spiral. Making Learning Real

    Welcome to our podcast episode! We are Nuria, María, and Lydia, three students of Primary Education and we are going to talk about the subject Culture of Foreign Language Teaching. During this 25-minute conversation, we discuss how to become better teachers by respecting students' backgrounds. We explore why teachers should move away from "Deficit Perspectives" and instead use the "Third Space" and "Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies" to keep students' cultures alive in the classroom. We also explain the importance of using all languages through "Translanguaging". Finally, we describe how "Project-Based Learning" is the best framework to connect these ideas with real life.

  5. Jun 2

    Beyond the Curriculum

    Throughout the episode, we cover various topics discussed in the course during the semester. From deficit perspectives to project-based learning and cultural sustainable pedagogies. We’ve tried to discuss the various topics we’ve covered this semester through our experiences in elementary school, high school, and our teaching practicums, with the goal of making the content more engaging and dynamic. In this way, we hope to help listeners gain a clearer understanding of the concepts explained.

  6. Jun 2

    Between Cultures and Classrooms. Educational Autobiographies Through a Third Space Lens

    This podcast episode explores educational experiences inside and outside school through the concepts of deficit perspectives, hidden curriculum, cultural capital, third space pedagogies, intercultural communicative competence, multilingualism, translanguaging, project-based learning, and culturally sustaining pedagogies. Through personal reflections and concrete examples, the episode examines how school cultures interact with students’ identities, languages, and lived experiences, while also reflecting on more inclusive and transformative approaches to education.

  7. May 25

    Beyond the lesson

    In this podcast episode Sanne, Sanne, Malou & Lieke take you through the different concepts regarding the culture of foreign language teaching. In the episode we cover translanguaging, classroom culture, multilingualism, identity texts, funds of identity, hidden curriculum, school culture, project-based learning & culturally sustaining pedagogies.

  8. May 25

    Life Lessons

    In this episode, we explore how culture, language, identity, and personal experiences influence education. We discuss concepts such as hidden curriculum, multilingualism, culturally sustaining pedagogies, and project-based learning, reflecting on the challenges and opportunities of education in today’s diverse society, including our experiences being students.

  9. May 25

    Language, Identity and Our School Experience

    In this episode, “Language, Identity and Our School Experience”, we reflect on our educational autobiographies based on our shared schooling at a public primary- and high-school in Oliva, although we experienced school very differently due to our identities, languages, and cultural backgrounds. We discuss cultural capital, deficit pedagogies and perspectives, funds of knowledge, and the hidden curriculum shaping what counts as a “good student”. We also reflect on multilingualism, plurilingualism, translanguaging, English linguistic imperialism, and how languages were separated and valued differently. Finally, we connect our experience to culturally sustaining pedagogies and project-based learning, arguing that education is never neutral and should value students’ identities and cultures.

  10. May 25

    Stories from Here and There

    In this episode, Stories from Here and There, we (Borja, Francesca, Nereida, Raquel and Lucia) talk about education through our personal experiences, cultural diversity, and our lives as university students and future teachers. Throughout the conversation, we discuss topics such as multicultural classrooms, project-based learning, translanguaging, inclusion, deficit perspectives, culturally sustaining pedagogies, and the concept of third space, connecting educational theory with real experiences, from school internships to Erasmus life in Valencia. To carry out the episode, one of us takes on the role of interviewer and guides the conversation by asking questions about the meaning of each concept. From there, we share our experiences, ask each other questions, and reflect together on how education goes far beyond the classroom and is deeply connected to identity, languages, and personal experiences.

  • 10 Episodes

About

EDUCATIONAL AUTOBIOGRAPHIES PODCAST is a project devoted to the conceptual analysis of educational experiences we have had inside and outside school, reflecting on their varying formal and informal qualities, and examining how they interact with and mutually influence one another. The episodes draw on concrete examples from school and everyday life and interpret them through the conceptual lenses of the deficit perspective, the third space, and culturally sustaining pedagogy. This is a student-authored classroom project developed in the context of two university courses taught by Luis S. Villacañas-de-Castro, associate professor at the Faculty of Teacher Education at the Universitat de València.

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