Freire: From Theory to Practice
Freire: From Theory to Practice
Aim
This week’s aim is to introduce the students to Paulo Freire and his Critical Pedagogy, presenting the most important aspects and discussing critically on the forum how it can be applied in community settings. Freire highlighted the importance of understanding the contexts in which we are working to achieve real transformation, he believed that without learning to ‘read the world’ people might end up reinforcing the things they are trying to change.
Comments
Paulo Freire (1921-1997) was a Brazilian educator recognized for his contribution to pedagogy in Brazil and Latin America, especially in relation to the processes of literacy and education of Youth and Adults. Freire defended an education concerned with the problems of our time and with the development of critical awareness.
Freire is known internationally for the adult literacy method that bears his name, where he developed a pedagogical thinking that was admittedly political. For Freire, the main goal of education is to make the students aware, to make them conscious. This means, in relation to the disadvantaged groups, to lead people to understand their situation of oppression and to act in favour of their own liberation.
For Paulo Freire, the key issues in education are not pedagogical issues; rather, they are political matters. Freire proposed the notion of critical consciousness as class knowledge and practice, a pedagogy of consciousness. His main book is entitled Pedagogy of the Oppressed and the concepts found in this piece are the basis of the work he developed from that point on. An overview of the concepts can be found in the video below:
Freire's proposal, in educational terms, is an anti-authoritarian proposal, where teachers and students both teach and learn together, engaged in a permanent dialogue. The educator while teaching also learns, having an exchange of knowledge between educator and learner.
In his work Pedagogy of Autonomy, Freire criticizes the Banking Model of teaching, he argues that the teacher should not only transmit content but also teach "to think right", to pose problems, criticize what is read, to research, to be curious and above all to respect the knowledge of the students. A comparison between the Banking Model and the Problem-Posing method is presented in the video below:
In the Banking Model the classroom is structured in a way that the students are expected to remember and accurately recall the information provided by the educator without being expected to participate in any other way than simply retaining information. Freire argued that this type of education is oppressive and leaves no room for independent or critical thinking.
Freire pointed out that the world inside the Banking Model is conceived as static and unchangeable and the students are supposed to fit into it as it is. In contrast, the problem-posing concept encourages students to engage in dialogue about the subject with the educator and other learners. The educator interrogates and problematizes issues within the community in a world that is no longer static but a work in progress, that the students are encouraged to interact with and change.
Freire’s approach promotes horizontality in the educator-learner relationship, based on the principles that the learners are the subjects of their own learning and come with previous 'knowledges'. Therefore, in Freire's view, education must be a continuous act of re-creation and meaning-reframing as a condition for an education that is able to bring conscientization and liberation. This can be achieved through a continuous dialogue and reflection on action with the aim of broadening the worldview and the active participation of the individual in all spheres of life in society.
The Freirean idea of Conscientization and Praxis (action-reflection) strongly influenced the sector of adult education and social change. REFLECT is one of the Freirean techniques that is applied widely to promote conscientization and praxis while working with the communities. In Nepal, the same tool was applied to literacy classes and community empowerment. Here's how the practitioners (including one of the facilitators, Saroj) worked with the community using an approach based on Freire's Conscientization and Praxis.
Study Materials
1. Dheirmann (2003). Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire- An Analysis. The Democracy and Governance Network A summary of the Pedagogy of the Oppressed (Freire, 1968).
2. Kidd, G. (n.d.). Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1968) by Paulo Freire. Review. Perdue University. A short review on the Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1968) by Gail Kidd from Perdue University.
3. McLaren, P. (2015). A Pedagogy of Possibility: Reflecting Upon Paulo Freire's Politics of Education. Educational Researcher, 28(2), 49-56. Peter McLaren's reflection on Freire's work. Extras 1. Kirkwood, G., Kirkwood, C. (2011). Living adult education: Freire in Scotland (2nd ed.). Rotterdam;Boston;: SensePublishers. Two chapters explaining how an Adult Education Project in Scotland applied critical pedagogy to their context.
2. Concepts used by Paulo Freire (n.d.) Paulo Freire Institute Definitions of key concepts
3. Castro, L., Dagar, P., Jia, S. (2017). Development of Adult Education Over Time. Talking Eds Radio Show. Campus FM, University of Malta Broadcasting A radio program about the Development of Adult Education Overtime where Paulo Freire's contribution is discussed
4. Paulo Freire's last public interview (1996) Literacy.org
Weekly assignment
As per your experience and learning this week, please post your thoughts on the forum considering the following question:
1. As a community worker, how do you see yourself in the role of an adult educator? Do you think Freirean perspective is relevant to your work? Please share your thoughts based on this week's learning.
