Education as the Project of Freedom: A Study of the Berkeley Experimental Schools Project, 1968–1975

• In Event: Then, Now, and Here: Possibilities, Freedom, and the Complexities of Citizenship

Abstract

This paper questions competing notions of social justice within critical pedagogy by examining the relationship between racial justice and the ideals of individual freedom. This is done through a historical study of the Berkeley Experimental Schools Project (BESP), which was influenced by both the Black Power Movement and the New Left. Since the Black Power Movement articulated a vision of liberatory education that centered racial justice, and the New Left a vision of liberatory education that centered individual freedom and participatory democracy, this paper examines their intersection to shed light on the tensions and contradictions within critical pedagogy. The experience of BESP has significant implications for critical educators seeking to create more liberatory and democratic classrooms today.

Author

• Joanne Tien, University of California - Berkeley