Pedagogy in Process: The Letters to Guinea-Bissau

by Paulo Freire

Pedagogy in Process presents a first-hand account of the most comprehensive attempt yet to put into practice Paulo Freire's theory of education within a real societal setting. When Guinea Bissau on the West African coast declared independence in 1973 the rate of illiteracy in its adult population was ninety percent. The new government faced the enormous task of educating its citizens. With Freire as collaborator and advisor the government launched a huge grass-roots literacy campaign and this book is Freire's memoir of that campaign. Those familiar with Freire's work will identify his ongoing insistence on the unity between theory and practice, mental and manual work, and past and present experience. This is essential reading for anyone interested Freire's revolutionary ideas on education and the transformative power they hold when applied to society and the classroom. This edition includes a substantive introduction by Michael Apple who is Professor Emeritus of Curriculum and Instruction and Educational Policy Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, USA.

Genres: Education, Nonfiction, Africa, Guinea Bissau, Theory

176 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

The Brazilian educator Paulo Freire is among most the influential educational thinkers of the late 20th century. Born in Recife, Brazil, on September 19, 1921, Freire died of heart failure in Sao Paulo, Brazil on May 2, 1997. After a brief career as a lawyer, he taught Portuguese in secondary schools from 1941-1947. He subsequently became active in adult education and workers' training, and became the first Director of the Department of Cultural Extension of the University of Recife (1961-1964).

Freire quickly gained international recognition for his experiences in literacy training in Northeastern Brazil. Following the military coup d'etat of 1964, he was jailed by the new government and eventually forced into a political exile that lasted fifteen-years.

In 1969 he was a visiting scholar at Harvard University and then moved to Geneva, Switzerland where he assumed the role of special educational adviser to the World Congress of Churches. He returned to Brazil in 1979.

Freire's most well known work is Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970). Throughout this and subsequent books, he argues for system of education that emphasizes learning as an act of culture and freedom. He is most well known for concepts such as "Banking" Education, in which passive learners have pre-selected knowledge deposited in their minds; "Conscientization", a process by which the learner advances towards critical consciousness; the "Culture of Silence", in which dominated individuals lose the means by which to critically respond to the culture that is forced on them by a dominant culture. Other important concepts developed by Freire include: "Dialectic", "Empowerment", "Generative Themes/Words", "Humanization", "Liberatory Education", "Mystification", "Praxis", " Problematization", and "Transformation of the World".

http://www.education.miami.edu/ep/con...

Reviews

[Rolf]

An excellent extension of the literacy model and theoretical ideas Freire first articulated in Education for Critical Consciousness and Pedagogy of the Oppressed. This book is one part report of how these ideas were incorporated into the efforts of the postwar revolutionary government of Guinea-Bissau to build a new education system, and one part collection of letters between Freire and his colleagues that digs deep into his thinking and theory in a more accessible, less academic prose.

[feux d'artifice]

Having read learning to question first, I do think the two books go hand in hand together, the missing letter not included in this collection you can find in learning to question if you wanted to read more in letter format of Paulo Freire's thoughts re: language

Based on the notes I took I got the most out of letter 11, I also liked the PostScript where they talked about the notebook for learners

[Inem]

Raw and honest, Paulo Freire offers up a real challenge to anyone who is serious about the building of revolution especially in zones emerging from colonialism. His call to action and clarity around class suicide for us here is not easy, not for those on the fence or the feint of heart. I'll be thinking about this one for a long time.

[Laura]

A solid archive of Freire's early rhetorical voice and lots of practical examples of his theory.

[wdbo]

Absolutely essential follow-up to Pedagogy of the Oppressed. This text clears up many misconceptions about his political ideas and his working style that you usually encounter.