Educação e Democracia

by Maria Del Pilar O'Cadiz, Carlos Alberto Torres, Pia Lindquist Wong

This book examines critically the ideas and performance of Paulo Freire as secretary of education in Brazil in the early 1990s, during the socialist democratic administration of the Workers’ Party in São Paulo. With an emphasis on theory, the authors discuss the relationships between the state and social movements as well as the relationships between teachers and curriculum reform. In so doing, they thoroughly examine the intersection of politics and education in educational reform in one of the major urban centers of Latin America.A central focus of the book is the project of interdisciplinarity in teachers training—an essential principle of the Freirean proposal. By concentrating on classrooms, schools, and teachers and by use of a detailed empirical analysis, this book constitutes an assessment of an original, far-reaching, and radical process of educational reform. The foundations and methodologies of the São Paulo experience can be implemented in different international contexts. The authors show how students and teachers were engaged in the process of curriculum and governance reform and what kind of political awareness emerged in schools and communities experiencing radical educational reform.

Genres: Education, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published February 26, 1998

Reviews

[Rolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

An important corollary to Freire’s Pedagogy of the City--whereas Pedagogy of the City is Freire articulating the theoretical vision of his tenure as Education Secretary of Sao Paulo, this volume provides detailed analysis of the results and outcomes of that tenure. Some of the discussion is still rather general, but this is still an important contribution to the analysis of Freire’s concrete contribution as an administrator to Brazilian public education.