Echoes from Freire for a Critically Engaged Pedagogy

Description

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.

Peter Mayo is Professor of Education at the University of Malta. He is the co-editor of the series Postcolonial Studies in Education.

...Mayo's book offers encouragement for those engaged in critical, emancipatory work. Despite evidence of increasing militarism and corporate encroachment on daily life, the reader finds sustaining encouragement in growing global movements for social transformation. We are encouraged by robust manifestations of Freire's influence that extend from Brazil around the world, in places including: Malta, Italy, California, Nottingham, England, Rhode Island, and Tanzania. Mayo illustrates local educators/actors confronting corporate globalization while at the same time weaving together transnational networks of support. -- Kathleen D. McCallie, Phillips Theological Seminary * Reflective Teaching * Echoes from Freire for a Critically Engaged Pedagogy is an accessible, engaging book. It should be welcomed by critical educationists working in a range of different settings, and readers will find much that is fresh, stimulating and worthwhile in its pages. -- Peter Roberts, University of Canterbury, New Zealand * Educational Philosophy and Theory: Incorporating ACCESS * "Journeying with the reader through Freirean concepts, interpretations, affinities and associated inspirations, Echoes from Freire for a Critically Engaged Pedagogy is itself an expression and educational embodiment of praxis-that is '...reflection upon action for transformative action' (Mayo, 2012)." - Cynthia Lee A. Pemberton, Interim Dean, Graduate School/Professor Educational Leadership, Idaho State University, USA. "Peter Mayo is to be congratulated on this fascinating and wide-ranging book. It analyses the inspirational power of Paulo Freire's thought and practice, relating this to scholars who carry out education and research in a manner that echoes the transformative goals and methods of Freire. The book skilfully explores how Freire's pedagogy influences social movements, teaching and scholarship across the world. Students of the discourse and praxis of emancipatory education will find it of great value." - Anne Hickling-Hudson, Cultural and Language Studies in Education, Queensland University of Technology, Australia.