Critical Pedagogy Today – serie

In this concise and accessible text, Peter Mayo outlines some of the major concepts in Freire's praxis. In pursuit of a critically engaging pedagogy, Mayo compares Freire's work with a range of other thinkers and educators, including Lorenzo Milani, Antonia Darder, John Dewey, Margaret Ledwith, Antonio Gramsci, and Henry Giroux.Chapters in the book include discussions of the State's role in education - specifically higher education; a critical analysis of the dominant discourse in education centering on 'competences' and the type of slant this discourse takes; a study of adult education through a Freirean lens; an historical view of Nicaragua's Freire-inspired literacy and popular education campaigns of 1980; a fresh perspective on the role of social movements in the contexts of social transformation; a new analysis of the relevance of Freirean concepts for transformative research, and an exploration of educators as intellectuals and social actors.The result is a compelling study of how Paulo Freire's writings continue to resonate around the world, and of how we must continue to apply and interpret them anew.

In this concise and accessible text, Peter Mayo outlines some of the major concepts in Freire's praxis. In pursuit of a critically engaging pedagogy, Mayo compares Freire's work with a range of other thinkers and educators, including Lorenzo Milani, Antonia Darder, John Dewey, Margaret Ledwith, Antonio Gramsci, and Henry Giroux.Chapters in the book include discussions of the State's role in education - specifically higher education; a critical analysis of the dominant discourse in education centering on 'competences' and the type of slant this discourse takes; a study of adult education through a Freirean lens; an historical view of Nicaragua's Freire-inspired literacy and popular education campaigns of 1980; a fresh perspective on the role of social movements in the contexts of social transformation; a new analysis of the relevance of Freirean concepts for transformative research, and an exploration of educators as intellectuals and social actors.The result is a compelling study of how Paulo Freire's writings continue to resonate around the world, and of how we must continue to apply and interpret them anew.

This is an incisive analysis of how Critical Pedagogy can be a force for positive change in schools around the world, helping the most disadvantaged students. We live in a time when those who wield unrestrained power believe they have the inalienable right to determine the destiny, nature and shape of social institutions like schools. "Critical Pedagogy for Social Justice" challenges this arrogance by showing how teachers, students, parents, communities, and researchers can develop narratives that amount to working with and for those who are increasingly being silenced, marginalised and excluded. John Smyth sets out to revisit critical pedagogy from a number of key leverage points. The overarching aim of the book is to unmask the deforming and distorting way power operates, while at the same time revealing how a commitment to a more socially just world can exist in the everyday lives and narratives of people who have a passion for transformative possibilities.This clear, concise, and persuasive book is ideal for those who are dissatisfied with the current turn in education and who are seeking an alternative set of views that emerge from the grounded experiences and practices in schools struggling with the most disadvantaged circumstances. Series blurb: Commemorating the 40th anniversary of "Pedagogy of the Oppressed", the new series "Critical Pedagogy Today" provides a range of incisive overviews and applications of Critical Pedagogy across fields and disciplines. Building on the work of Paulo Freire, the series reinvigorates his legacy and provides educators with an array of tools for questioning contemporary practices and forging new pedagogical methods.

This is an incisive analysis of how Critical Pedagogy can be a force for positive change in schools around the world, helping the most disadvantaged students. We live in a time when those who wield unrestrained power believe they have the inalienable right to determine the destiny, nature and shape of social institutions like schools. "Critical Pedagogy for Social Justice" challenges this arrogance by showing how teachers, students, parents, communities, and researchers can develop narratives that amount to working with and for those who are increasingly being silenced, marginalised and excluded. John Smyth sets out to revisit critical pedagogy from a number of key leverage points. The overarching aim of the book is to unmask the deforming and distorting way power operates, while at the same time revealing how a commitment to a more socially just world can exist in the everyday lives and narratives of people who have a passion for transformative possibilities.This clear, concise, and persuasive book is ideal for those who are dissatisfied with the current turn in education and who are seeking an alternative set of views that emerge from the grounded experiences and practices in schools struggling with the most disadvantaged circumstances. Series blurb: Commemorating the 40th anniversary of "Pedagogy of the Oppressed", the new series "Critical Pedagogy Today" provides a range of incisive overviews and applications of Critical Pedagogy across fields and disciplines. Building on the work of Paulo Freire, the series reinvigorates his legacy and provides educators with an array of tools for questioning contemporary practices and forging new pedagogical methods.

Ivor Goodson and Scherto Gill analyse and discuss a series of trans-disciplinary case studies from diverse cultures and argue that narrative is not only a rich and profound way for humans to make sense of their lives, but also in itself a process of pedagogical encounter, learning and transformation. As pedagogic sites, life narratives allow the individual to critically examine their ‘scripts’ for learning which are encapsulated in their thought processes, discourses, beliefs and values. Goodson and Gill show how narratives can help educators and students shift from a disenfranchised tradition to one of empowerment. This unique book brings together case studies of life narratives as an approach to learning and meaning-making in different disciplines and cultural settings, including teacher education, adult learning, (auto)biographical writing, psychotherapy, intercultural learning and community development. Educators, researchers and practitioners from diverse disciplines will find the case studies collected in this book helpful in expanding their understanding of the potential of narrative as a phenomenon, as methodology, and as pedagogy.

Ivor Goodson and Scherto Gill analyse and discuss a series of trans-disciplinary case studies from diverse cultures and argue that narrative is not only a rich and profound way for humans to make sense of their lives, but also in itself a process of pedagogical encounter, learning and transformation. As pedagogic sites, life narratives allow the individual to critically examine their ‘scripts’ for learning which are encapsulated in their thought processes, discourses, beliefs and values. Goodson and Gill show how narratives can help educators and students shift from a disenfranchised tradition to one of empowerment. This unique book brings together case studies of life narratives as an approach to learning and meaning-making in different disciplines and cultural settings, including teacher education, adult learning, (auto)biographical writing, psychotherapy, intercultural learning and community development. Educators, researchers and practitioners from diverse disciplines will find the case studies collected in this book helpful in expanding their understanding of the potential of narrative as a phenomenon, as methodology, and as pedagogy.

In the spirit of Paulo Freire, this inspiring book deconstructs many of the 'gods' that define contemporary life, then offers hope through sources of traditional wisdom. It addresses important contemporary discourses in the political and social sciences in ways that are relevant to the personal and professional lives of teachers at all levels of educational practice. David G. Smith discusses the impacts on teachers' lives of neoconservativism, neoliberalism, the New Marxism, the emerging paradigm of Deep Politics, global Wisdom traditions, and more - and he reveals how teachers can creatively stand with or against these streams of influence. By clearly relating larger theoretical discussions in the social sciences to the policies and practices of teaching, Smith builds upon Freire's legacy. He also reaches beyond debates in Western scholarship, and accesses new theory from the global "South", from Buddhist and NeoConfucian traditions as well as the new African Renaissance stream known as Unhu/Ubuntu. This is a powerful work of educational theory and philosophy that contains useful advice for educators wishing to push back against conformity.