What is Critical Pedagogy

1
What is Critical Pedagogy?

• A Summary of the Work of
• Paulo Freire His
• Contemporaries

(Winton, 2006)
2
Paulo Freire - Background

• Freire was born in Recife, Brazil.
• He was born into a middle class household.
• His family was impacted by the Great Depression.
  
• Freire soon knew what it was like to go hungry.
• (Stevens, 2002)

Av Rio Branco on Recife Island, with a bit of
Ponte Buarque de Macedo in the distance, c.
1920s. (Morrison, 2006)
3
Characteristics of the Great Depression

• We have studied the Great Depression at length
  this year.
• Jot down some social economic repercussions of
  the Great Depression across the globe.
• How do the points youve indicated tie into
  Freires hunger both literally and
  metaphorically?

Billboard in a town telling men who have been
riding the train carts across the country in
search of work not to stop in this town, since
they cant even employ their own locals (San
Diego State University, 2006)
4
Paulo Freire on his Poverty

• Freire stated that poverty and hunger severely
  affected his ability to learn.
• This influenced his decision to dedicate his life
  to improving the lives of the poor
• I didn't understand anything because of my
  hunger. I wasn't dumb. It wasn't lack of
  interest. My social condition didn't allow me to
  have an education. Experience showed me once
  again the relationship between social class and
  knowledge" (Freire).
• (Stevens, 2002)

Child collecting garbage in Brazil for
income (Flickr, 2008)
5
Freires Career

• Freire's financial situation eventually improved.
• He enrolled at the University of Recife, where he
  earned a law degree.
• He soon left the legal profession choosing to
  teach Portuguese in Brazils high schools.
• He later switched from teaching high school to a
  career in adult education.
• (Stevens, 2002)

Faculty of Law, University of Recife (Cabral de
Moura, 2007)
6
Freires Career (Contd)

• Freire completed his PhD and worked in several
  university and government agencies in Brazil
  throughout the 1960s.
• He worked towards bringing literacy programs to
  Brazils poor.
• In April of 1964, a military coup brought all
  progressive movements in Brazil to a halt.
• Freire was imprisoned for 70 days and then exiled
  for his "subversive" activities.
• (Stevens, 2002)

c. 1960s (Reason Foundation, 2008)
7
Jailed for being Progressive?

• Weve studied many people throughout the course
  of the year who were jailed for being
  progressive for wanting change in their
  societies.
• Write down the names of a few people who were
  incarcerated for being subversive.
• What connections can you make about being
  progressive (i.e. wanting change) and
  governmental status quo?
• Why do governments feel the need to silence
  people who want change?

Jail Cell (IntLawGrrls, 2007)
8
Freires Career (Contd)

• In 1968 Freire published his most famous book,
  Pedagogy of the Oppressed, where he outlined the
  characteristics of what he called Critical
  Pedagogy.
• Critical Pedagogy called for people living under
  conditions of oppression to develop a new
  foundation for learning. (Stevens,
  2002)

Book cover of Pedagogy of the Oppressed, 30th
Anniversary Ed. (Amazon, 2008)
9
What is Oppression?

• We use this word a great deal in our study of
  20th Century history.
• What does oppression really mean? Write down
  your own definition.
• Research definitions of oppression on the
  Internet. How do these definitions compare or
  contrast with your own?
• Name groups of people whom we have studied that
  you feel were oppressed?
• What oppressed these people? Who oppressed them?

10
Critical Pedagogy

• Critical Pedagogy was embraced by the academic
  community and university scholars.
• There has been a lot written about critical
  pedagogy since Freires first text.
• Important names in the field include
• Kincheloe
• Macedo
• Wexler
• McLaren
• Shor
• Darder
• Giroux
• hooks (Kincheloe, 2007)
• (Duncan-Andrade Morrell, 2008)

Kincheloe (The Paulo Nita Freire Project for
Critical Pedagogy, 2008)
Giroux (University of Western Ontario, 2005)
11
What is Critical Pedagogy?

• Critical pedagogy is a teaching approach which
  attempts to help students question and challenge
  domination, and the beliefs and practices that
  dominate them.
• It tries to help students become critically
  conscious.
• (Wikpedia, 2008)

12
How to be Critically Conscious?

• According to Ira Shor (1992) a student can be
  critically conscious by
• Thinking, reading, writing, and speaking while
  going beneath the surface meaning
• A student must go beyond
• Myths, clichés, received wisdom, and mere
  opinions

Amazon, 2008
13
How to be Critically Conscious? (Contd)

• Most importantly students must understand the
  deep meaning, root causes, social context,and
  personal consequences of
• any action,
• event,
• object,
• process,
• organization,
• experience,
• text,
• subject matter,
• policy,
• mass media,
• or discourse.
• (Shor, 1992)

Ira Shor Paulo Freire (Columbia University,
2008)
14
Characteristics of Critical Pedagogy

• The following is a list of the goals and methods
  that critical pedagogy tries to bring to
  education.
• The objective of this pedagogy (method of
  education) is to empower students and help them
  help themselves.
• The aim is to liberate students from oppression.

15
1. Anti-Colonial Education

• Native populations need to have their own
  education systems.
• They need to develop their own culture.
• Their education should not simply be an extension
  of the culture of their colonizer.
• (Freire, 1968)
• CLASS EXAMPLE

Map of Brazil issued by the Portuguese explorers
in 1519. (Wikipedia, 2008)
16
2. The Role of Indigenous Knowledge

• The knowledge of indigenous and subjugated
  peoples (people forced to submit to the will of
  another group) is very important.
• When oppressed people learn about their own
  culture, history, medicinal practices, religion,
  heritage, etc., this can have a transformative
  effect on their lives and lead to their own
  empowerment.
• Indigenous knowledge is equally important for
  people in the West who have ignored it in favour
  of Western knowledge.
• There is much to be learnt from the knowledge of
  indigenous peoples across the globe.
• (Kincheloe, 2007)
• CLASS EXAMPLE

Indigenous medical practitioners known as sesayas
in Myanmar cure diseases using natural elements
throughout the country (AllMyanmar, 2008).
17
3. Identifying Sources of Power

• Students must be able to analyze competing power
  interests between groups and individuals within a
  society.
• They must be able to identify who gains and who
  loses in specific situations.
• They must be made aware that privileged groups
  often have an interest in supporting the status
  quo to protect their advantages.
• (Kincheloe, 2007)
• CLASS EXAMPLE

18
4. Political Nature of Education

• All education is political.
• Teachers and students must be made aware of the
  politics that surround education.
• The way students are taught and what they are
  taught serves a political agenda.
• Teachers, themselves, have political notions,
  they bring into the classroom.
• (Kincheloe, 2008)
• CLASS EXAMPLE

President Bush visiting the Emma E. Booker
Elementary School in Sarasota on the morning of
9/11 promoting his Reading First educational
program (Lexidiem, 2006)
19
5. Understanding the Politics of Knowledge

• Students must understand that knowledge itself is
  political.
• Understanding the power of knowlegde is
  crucial.
• Many educational instiutions use their power to
  keep the privileged on top and the
  underprivileged on the bottom.
• What we learn in schools/universities is usually
  validated" scientific knowledge.
• The problem?
• Often the people who produced this scientific
  knowledge are the people in positions of power
  who dominate over oppressed peoples!
• How much of the knowledge thay you have learnt in
  school is Western and written by dead, white
  males?
• (Kincheloe, 2008)
• CLASS EXAMPLE

20
6. Justice Equality in Education

• A social and educational vision of justice and
  equality should be the basis of all education
• (Kincheloe, 2008)
• CLASS EXAMPLE

School children in Soweto, South Africa (1976)
rioting against governments plans to introduce
Afrikaans as the official language of instruction
(NPR, 2008).
21
7. The Rejection of Economic Determinism

• Critical Pedagogy understands that economic
  factors alone do not predetermine who has power
  and who does not.
• Students must be made to realize that people are
  also oppressed because of issues of
• race,
• class,
• gender,
• sexuality,
• religion,
• and physical ability (Kincheloe,
  2008)
• CLASS EXAMPLE

A rally in protest of the desegregation of Little
Rock Central High at the state capitol, August
20, 1959 (McElrath, 2008).
22
8. Goal of Schooling is to Lessen Human Suffering

• The alleviation of oppression and human suffering
  is a key aspect of the purpose of education
• (Kincheloe, 2008)
• CLASS EXAMPLE

A group of women who have just completed 3 months
at a brand-new literacy program one hour outside
of Kano. The program was started by local
pastors, who also serve as the teachers. The NGO
Hands at Work is now partnering with them to
assist in any way possible (Hardie, 2007).
23
9. End of Banking System of Education

• Students should not be viewed as an empty
  account to be filled in by the teacher.
• Teachers should know that students have life
  experiences and their own knowledge that is key
  in shaping their education and learning.
• Good schools do not blame students for their
  failures or strip students of the knowledges they
  bring to the classroom.
• (Freire, 1968) (Kincheloe, 2008)
• CLASS EXAMPLE

A traditional classroom scene from 1935 (Biz/Ed,
2008)
24
10. Change in Relationship between Student and
Teacher

• A deep respect shoud exist between teacher and
  student.
• We should think in terms of teacher-student and
  student-teacher - that is
• a teacher who learns and
• a learner who teaches
• (Freire, 1968)
• CLASS EXAMPLE

Teacher Student in Louisiana (LSU College of
Education, 2006)
25
11. Teachers as Researchers

• The professionalism of teachers must be
  respected.
• Part of the role of any educator involves
  becoming a scholar and a researcher.
• It is vital to know your students i.e. their
  culture, knowledge base, language, etc.
• Teachers must become warrior intellectuals,
  people who know their students and their
  backgrounds and who are willing to fight for them
• (Kincheloe, 2008)
• CLASS EXAMPLE

A CEP teacher and a group of 8th grade students
perform at their year-end poetry slam in June
2006 (The Arts Spirituality Centre, 2006).
26
12. Education Must Promote Emancipation
Intellectual Growth

• Education must both promote freedom
  (emancipation) and the changes that come with it.
• Education must also allow knowledge, reasoning
  and understanding (i.e. intellect) to grow.
• These two goals should never be in conflict, they
  should always be in sync.
• Those who seek freedom (emancipation) attempt to
  gain the power to control their own lives in
  unity with a community that seeks justice.
• Critical pedagogys role is to expose the forces
  that prevent individuals and groups from making
  the decisions that will affect their lives.
• (Kincheloe, 2008)

The Journal of Urban Mathematics Education (JUME)
is a peer-reviewed, open-access, academic journal
published twice a year. The mission of JUME is to
foster a transformative global academic space in
mathematics that embraces critical research,
emancipatory pedagogy, and scholarship of
engagement in urban communities (JUME, 2008).
CLASS EXAMPLE
27
13. Education Meeting the Needs of New Colonialism

• Education often reflects the interests and needs
  of new modes of colonialism and empire, i.e.
  Globalization, TNCs, U.S. foreign domination.
• Such dynamics must be exposed, understood, and
  acted upon.
• (Kincheloe, 2008)
• CLASS EXAMPLE

(Koulopoulos, 2006)
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homework to India! Read this link
http//www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/artic
le/2006/05/14/AR2006051401139.html
28
14. A Cycle of Critical Praxis Must be Established

• Praxis is a problem-solving method.

(Duncan-Andrade Morrell, 2008)
CLASS EXAMPLE
29
15. The Idea of Hegemony

• Hegemony is a complex notion.
• Groups/people who have dominant power do not
  always get this power through physical force.
• They gain this power through social and
  psychological attempts to win peoples consent.
• This is often done by dominating culture, i.e.
  influencing media, schools, family, the Church.
• This is hegemony. (Kincheloe, 2007)
• Example Hitler slowly won over the consent of
  the German people he did not take over power by
  force. He created organizations that improved
  working conditions in factories, he developed
  loan programs for families who wanted to go on
  vacation, he established youth groups to
  indoctrinate the young, etc. As we learnt his
  manipulation of the German people won them over,
  i.e. hegemony.

Hitler posing with a member of the Hitler Youth
(Zigfeld, 2007).
30
Critical Pedagogy Final Thoughts

• One of the key objectives of critical pedagogy is
  to allow students to gain the necessary social
  skills to allow them to actively participate in a
  transformed inclusive democratic community.
• When you can identify the sources of power,
  recognize your own position in relation to power
  and understand the political nature of what you
  learn you can develop your own social actions.
• Critical pedagogy seeks to give those who have
  been excluded from power the right and ability to
  have an input into civic life.
  (Kincheloe, 2007)

31
Works Cited

• AllMyanmar. (2008). Traditional Medicine Myanmar.
  Retrieved July 22, 2008, from http//www.allmyanma
  r.com/new20allmyanmar.com/
• Traditional20Indigenous20Medicine20Myanmar20Bu
  rma.htm
• Amazon. (2008). Empowering Education Book
  Cover. Retrieved July 18, 2008, from
  http//www.amazon.com/Empowering-Education-Critica
  l-Teaching-Social/dp/0226753573
• Amazon. (2008). Pedagogy of the Oppressed Book
  Cover. Retrieved July 18, 2008, from
  www.amazon.com/.../dp/book-citations/0826412769
• Biz/Ed. (2008). A traditional classroom scene
  from 1935. Retrieved July 21, 2008, from
  http//www.bized.co.uk/current/pbl/educator.htm

32
Works Cited (Contd)

• Columbia University. (2008). Photo of Paulo
  Freire Ira Shor. Retrieved July 21, 2008, from
  http//www.columbia.edu/itc/tc/parker/adlearnville
  /
• transformativelearning/freire.html
• Duncan-Andrade, Jeffrey M.R. Morrell, Ernest.
  (2008). The Art of Critical Pedagogy
  Possibilities for Moving from Theory to Practice
  in Urban Schools. New York Peter Lang.
• Flickr. (2008). The Rubbish Tip IX Hazardous
  Child Labour in Brazil (Set). Retrieved July 21,
  2008, from http//flickr.com/photos/beija-flor/382
  8815/
• JUME. (2008). Journal of Urban Mathematics
  Education. Retrieved July 21, 2008, from
  http//ed-osprey.gsu.edu/ojs/index.php/JUME/index

33
Works Cited (Contd)

• Hardie, Ginna. (2007). Nigeria Dreamin'... Photos
  of Literacy School, Kano. Retrieved July 21,
  2008, from http//ginnahelen.blogspot.com/2007/06/
  nigeria-dreamin-photos-of-literacy.html
• IntLawGrrls Voices on International Law,
  Policy, Practice. (2007). Photo of a Prison.
  Retrieved July 21, 2008, from http//intlawgrrls.b
  logspot.
• com/2007_08_01_archive.html
• Kincheloe, Joe L. (2007). Critical Pedagogy in
  the Twenty-First Century Evolution for Survival.
  In Peter McLaren Joe L. Kincheloe (Eds.),
  Critical Pedagogy Where Are We Now? (pp. 9-42).
  New York Peter Lang.
• Kincheloe, Joe. (2008). Critical Pedagogy
  Primer, 2nd Ed. New York Peter Lang.

34
Works Cited (Contd)

• Koulopoulos, Tom. (2006). Outsourcing Education
  Cartoon. Retrieved July 21, 2008, from
  http//www.theinnovationzone.com/page/2/.
• Lexidiem. (2006). President Bush visiting the
  Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota.
  Retrieved July 21, 2008, from http//lexidiem.blog
  spot.com/2006/09/bush-administration-f-for-reading
  .html
• LSU College of Education. (2006). Photo of
  Student Teacher. Retrieved July 21, 2008, from
  http//coe.ednet.lsu.edu/coe/highlights/spring_200
  7/
• highland_elementary.html
• Marcio, Cabral de Moura. (2007). Faculdade de
  Direito do Recife / Recife Law School. Retrieved
  July 18, 2008, from http//flickr.com/photos/mcdem
  oura/
• 466733184/

35
Works Cited (Contd)

• McElrath, Jessica. (2008). School Desegregation -
  Central High. Retrieved July 21, 2008, from
  http//afroamhistory.about.com/od/schoolintegratio
  n
• /ig/School-Integration/Central-High.--47.htm
• Morrison, Allen. (2006). The Tramways ofRecife,
  Pernambuco State, Brazil. Retrieved July 18,
  2008, from www.
• tramz.com/br/re/re22n.jpg
• NPR. (2008). School Children Rioting in Soweto.
  Retrieved July 21, 2008, from http//www.npr.org/t
  emplates/story/story.php?storyId5489490
• Reason Foundation. (2008). A Favela in Rio de
  Janeiro. Retrieved July 18, 2008, from
  http//www.faculty.fairfield.edu/faculty/hodgson/
• Courses/so11/population/RioFavela.jpg

36
Works Cited (Contd)

• San Diego State University. (2006). Photo of
  Jobless Men During Great Depression. Retrieved
  July 21, 2008, from http//theatre.sdsu.edu/html/e
  vents/
• 2006-2007Season/grapes_of_wrath/dramaturg-grapes.h
  tml
• Shor, Ira. (1992). Empowering Education. Chicago
  University of Chicago Press.
• Stevens, Christy. (2002). Critical Pedagogy on
  the Web. Retrieved July 18, 2008, from
  http//mingo.info-science.uiowa.edu/stevens/critp
  ed/page1.htm
• The Arts Spirituality Center. (2006). Arts
  Spirituality Center Helps Teens at Community
  Education Partners to Make Connections Between
  Rap and Poetry. Retrieved July 18, 2008, from
  http//news.artsandspirituality.org/
• index.php?id78

37
Works Cited (Contd)

• The Paulo Nita Freire Project for Critical
  Pedagogy. (2008). Photo of Joe Kincheloe.
  Retrieved July 21, 2008, from http//freire.educat
  ion.mcgill.ca/
• users/joe-kincheloe
• University of Western Ontario. (2005). Photo of
  Henry Giroux. Retrieved July 21, 2008 from,
  http//www.fedcan.ca/congress2005/programs/5_29.ht
  m
• Paley, Amit R. (2006). Homework Help, From a
  World Away. Retrieved July 21, 2008 from,
  http//www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/
• article/2006/05/14/AR2006051401139.html
• Wikipedia. (2008). Map of Brazil. Retrieved July
  18, 2008, from http//en.
• wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil

38
Works Cited (Contd)

• Winton, Ezra. (2006). Photograph of Paulo
  Freire. Retrieved July 18, 2008, from
  http//www.ezrawinton.com/
• Zigfeld, Kim. (2007). Photograph of Hitler
  Youth. Retrieved July 22, 2008, from
  http//www.publiuspundit.com/2007/08/russias_nashi
  _youth_cult
• _on_th.php