John Dale

Emery J. Hyslop-Margison

The primary mission of this text is clarifying many of the misconceptions about Paulo Freire’s theories, concepts and his implications for education. It revisits his ideas and explains more fully the philosophical influences that shaped concepts such as problem posing, conscientization and praxis. The fundamental thesis, then, is that the present absence of in-depth philosophical analysis leaves an unacceptable void in the literature addressing Freire’s work, while also promoting frequent misconceptions and superficial understandings about his relationship to contemporary education. Indeed, the philosophical assumptions contributing to Freire’s critical pedagogy require identification, unravelling and ultimately evaluation on the basis of their epistemic and moral tenability. Most existing applications of Freire’s pedagogy are unfortunately superficial because they simply sloganize terms such as banking education, conscientization, praxis, and humanization. A slogan in education popularizes a concept or idea in a positive way, but offers very little in terms of critical reflection or analysis. In order to understand these terms and their origin and apply them as Freire intended, a far richer and more in depth examination of Freire is desperately needed. This text will provide precisely that type of examination.

The Philosophical Influences on the Work of Paulo Freire

Paulo Freire: Teaching for Freedom and Transformation

Alan M. Sears

With a highly accessible and lucid text this book reviews the political shift toward neo-liberal ideology and explores its tremendous impact on education. It maps out in careful detail the theoretical foundations of democratic citizenship by asking the question: What does it mean to learn and live in a democracy and what responsibilities, capacities and knowledge does a citizen need to fulfill these requirements?

Reclaiming Education for Democratic Citizenship

Neo-Liberalism, Globalization and Human Capital Learning

James Thayer

This book eloquently argues that the citizenship mission of schools ought to teach students what is possible rather than simply objectifying them as human capital being prepared for the inevitable impact of the policies determined by others.

Emery J. Hyslop-Margison

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