Discovering Voice: Freirean Transformations for Emancipatory Praxis

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 13
  In Roundtable Session: Freirean Perspectives on the Struggles for Social Justice

Abstract

Inspired by Freire’s Letters to those who Dare to Teach, we critically reflect on our practice to engage in “armed love,” authentically enacting dialogic teaching and learning. We perform conscientização as activists pursuing radical reimaginings of democratic, utopian, and empowered citizenry. We apply Freirean lessons by examining ourselves, our practice, our relationship to students, and our profession, drawing on our experiences in education to resist the impact of neoliberalism on praxis. The neoliberal ideology reduces teacher praxis to matters that are in the world, reducing the purpose of education to de-democratized training of labor, eroding teachers’ professional capacity, described by Freire as being with the world, and where we foster local, national and global communities of utopian hope.

Authors

• Jennifer L. Martin, University of Illinois at Springfield

• Craig Wood, Queensland Teachers' Union