Accepting Educational Responsibility: Reflecting With Freire

• In Event: Applying Freirean Praxis to Academic Responsibility

Abstract

This paper grapples with the question of what accepting responsibility might mean for the progressive educator from a Freirean perspective. Based on his ideas of becoming and conscientização, we argue that accepting educational responsibility entails creating opportunities within the classroom for educators and students to reflect on their actions in the world and with each other. We propose that such educational opportunities are a space of creative tension (authors, 2017; authors, 2017), which requires educators to care for the whole person. Additionally, Freire's ideas about the political nature of education and the need for positionality can help us acknowledge and navigate the unavoidable tensions in educating for critical consciousness.

Authors

• Monica Maciel Vahl, University of Canterbury

• Bernadette Farrell, University of Canterbury

• María Carolina Nieto Ángel