Paulo Freire: Education as Reciprocal Giving

To cultivate conscientização in the classroom setting, Freire proposes an innovative teaching model based on an equal, collaborative exchange between instructor and student. Rooted in principles of cooperation, solidarity and reciprocity, Freire’s radical methods aimed to foster a spirit of pluralism and tolerance in the learning experience, while encouraging students to liberate themselves from the repressive influence of their colonial past.

Overcame Early Hardship

Paulo Freire was born into a working class family in Recife, Brazil, in 1921. His father died when Freire was in his early teens, forcing him to drop out of school to support his family. Through the generous intervention of his high school principal, Freire was able to resume his education, teaching Portuguese language classes to help defray his tuition costs. 

Freire eventually enrolled at the University of Recife, where he studied law and philosophy. Important influences included the writings of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831) and Karl Marx (1818-1883), as well as the work of Anísio Teixeira (1900-1971), a Brazilian educator and reformer whose pioneering advocacy on behalf of universal education significantly shaped Freire’s pedagogical ideals.

In 1947 Freire began working for the Serviço Social da Indústria (SESI), a government agency dedicated to providing health, education and other services for working class Brazilians. Freire later joined the Division of Research and Planning, where he conducted studies on adult education, an experience that inspired his concept of socially-engaged learning models. 

Conceived of a New Teacher-Student Relationship

While teaching literacy classes during the early 1960s, Freire began to experiment with his notion of the classroom as a “cultural circle” wherein teacher and students engage in a dialogue, opening up avenues for mutual learning and understanding. Rather than representing an authority figure, the teacher assumes the role of coordinator, while students actively drive the discussion. 

In his subsequent writings, Freire presents the cultural circle as an alternative to the traditional “banking model” of education – in which the student is treated like a “vault” that receives information uncritically, without questioning its veracity, relevance or value. For Freire, this top-down approach was an inheritance of the colonial era, when the ruling Portuguese regime imposed its cultural values onto the Brazilian population.

Freire taught these techniques at the University of Recife until 1964. As part of his vision of educational reform, he hoped to establish 20,000 cultural circles throughout Brazil, with the aim of teaching five million adults how to read within two years. His ambitions were abruptly cut short, however, when a military coup overthrew the progressive government of President João Goulart (1919-1976). After a brief stint in prison – where he began writing his first book, Educação como Practica da Liberdade (Education as the Practice of Freedom; 1967) – Freire fled to Chile, where he organized literacy classes for farmers. 

Achieved International Acclaim

Freire’s experiences engaging with Chilean farmers provided the basis for Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Written in Portuguese but first published in Spanish, the work appeared during a period of intense social justice activism across the world, and quickly resonated with groups agitating for civil rights, gender equality and other causes. In its embrace of grassroots liberation struggles, the work echoed the thought of political philosopher Frantz Fanon (1925-1961), in particular the idea that oppressed populations must play a direct role in winning their own freedom. Soon after its initial publication, Pedagogy of the Oppressed appeared in English, French and other translations, before being released in a Portuguese edition in 1972. 

After spending a decade in Switzerland, Freire returned to Brazil in 1980, where he became active with the newly-formed Partido dos Trabalhadores (Workers’ Party). He served for two years as Secretary of Education for the state of São Paulo and held teaching positions at the University of Recife, continuing to write and publish until his death in 1997.

Freire’s ideas have continued to shape education policy in post-colonial governments across the world. Democratic, nonhierarchical and egalitarian, Freire’s concept of pedagogy as a reciprocal exchange between instructor and pupil – a relationship founded on dignity and mutual respect – points to a model of generosity that opens fresh paths for all individuals to experience self-realization, empowerment and liberation.

Contributor: Stephen Meyer