Paulo Freire

How has the world changed since May 1997? It is difficult to know where to begin in answering this question, but some pivotal moments and developments that readily spring to mind include the World Trade Center attacks in September 2001, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the rise of China as a dominant world power, the global financial crisis, a growing awareness of the alarming consequences of climate change, the emergence of new forms of political populism with the election of leaders such as President Trump (in the United States) and President Bolsanaro (in Brazil), the ‘Me Too’ and ‘Black Lives Matter’ movements, the powerful role now being played by tech giants and social media in shaping patterns of thought and behavior, and the dramatic impact of the 2020/2021 Covid-19 pandemic on countries across the world. Paulo Freire would have had something worthwhile to say about many of these developments, and his ethical, political, and educational ideas offer helpful starting points in allowing others to comment on such changes. There are also important continuities in economic and social policy from the time of Freire’s death to the present day. The persistent influence of neoliberal ideas in shaping policy agendas is one obvious example. In the later part of his life, Freire was highly critical of the ethics of the market, and he would have found little from the last quarter of a century to alleviate his concerns. Educational trends already in evidence in Freire’s lifetime have also continued to leave a mark. Freire highlighted the dangers of technocratic thinking in education, and this has by no means disappeared. There is still, in many educational contexts, an obsession with methods and a focus on the ‘how’ rather than the ‘why’ of teaching and learning. Examples of banking education are likewise not difficult to find. Indeed, in some parts of the world they have become more prominent as governments push aggressively for higher rankings in international tests of educational performance. An ethos of competition, within and between countries, continues to prevail, against the emphasis on cooperation, dialogue, and unity in Freire’s theory and practice.

Freire’s approach to education was forged in contexts characterized by deep social divisions. His theory of oppression and liberation emerged from his experience in working with impoverished rural and urban communities, and the often brutal realities of daily Brazilian life left a permanent mark on him. As will be explained in the chapters that follow, Freire saw liberation as a difficult and often painful process of struggle. The idea of liberation from conditions of oppression is central to his work. At the same time, and from the beginning, Freire made it plain that struggles for liberation must not ride roughshod over our regard for individual human beings. Liberation is not just concerned with the transformation of oppressive social structures; it also entails the development of key virtues such as openness, humility, tolerance, commitment, and willingness to listen and learn. Freire expressed his solidarity with those who were oppressed and did not pretend to be ‘neutral’ in his educational endeavors. But in recognizing that his pedagogical efforts, like all others, were political, he also demonstrated a strong sense of fairness, rigor, and balance in addressing social and educational problems. Freire had an underlying faith in the ability of human beings to transform the world – through critical, dialogical reflection and action – and he placed considerable trust in those with whom he worked. Trust does not, in Freirean terms, provide a license to do as one pleases; it carries with it a concomitant sense of care and responsibility. Underpinning all other virtues for Freire was the notion of love: love for one’s subject area, for teaching and learning, and for one’s fellow human beings. Freire’s emphasis on the importance of these qualities is often forgotten, or pushed to one side. A pedagogy of the oppressed is not merely a revolutionary ‘movement’; it is also an amalgamation of myriad smaller revolutionary ‘moments’. Freire could see the value of collective action in bringing about change, but he also did not neglect the need for individual development.