Critical Pedagogy
Introduction:
What does it mean to free oneself from an oppressive
situation? How does an illiterate and powerless individual begin
to liberate himself or herself from a dominating social order? These
questions have encouraged twentieth century thinkers to delve into the
nature of socio- political oppression to examine its root causes.
For many modern thinkers oppression is not simply a physical state imposed
upon one group by another, but a mindset as well, shaped by the system
created by the dominating class or political group. It is argued
that the mechanisms for perpetuating oppressive situations are inherently
present in the structure of an oppressive system; or rather, the structure
itself operates to domesticate those who would oppose the established order.
An educational framework loosely termed "critical pedagogy" has emerged
as a possible response to these questions, and has developed rather quickly
into one of the leading educational theories to take hold in situations
characterized by highly unbalanced social authority structures. Critical
pedagogy is best understood not as a single theory, but rather as a system
of educational guidelines designed to enable a student to gain a broader
understanding of the world he or she lives in. By engaging in the
process of a liberatory
education, students are encouraged to examine their surroundings, interpret
them, and formulate their own definitions for things that hold significance
to their lives. One of the first and foremost proponents of this
educational system in the Latin American context was the late Paulo Freire
(pictured below), a Brazilian educator whose life's work was devoted to
the implementation of this pedagogical framework in literacy programs in
South America. Although limited attention will be given to other
manifestations of critical pedagogy, this study will focus primarily on
the South American variety.
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Paulo Freire (1921-1997)
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