Pedagogy of the Oppressed

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. Who is Paulo Freire, and what is his philosophy concerning education?

Teaching Suggestion: It may be helpful to define the term “pedagogy” for students as this term is included in the book’s title and is also mentioned often in discussions of Freire and his work.

• “Who Was Paulo Freire?” – This short article from The Freire Institute summarizes Freire’s educational and pedagogical philosophies. The page contains an 8-minute video for additional context of his beliefs around curiosity and critical thinking.
• “A Brief Biography of Paulo Freire” – This article from The Pedagogy and Theater of the Oppressed summarizes Freire’s early life, his pedagogy, his exile from and return to Brazil, and his lasting legacy.

2. What does the term “conscientization” mean, and how does it have its roots in Freire’s philosophy?

Teaching Suggestion: It may be helpful to present this term as one of the unit’s main themes, and you might consider introducing it as a theme that can, in many ways, encompass the other two themes of the unit.

• “Paolo Freire and Conscientization” – This short article from the website History of Social Work explains Freire’s educational philosophy and the concept of conscientization.
• “What is Critical Consciousness?” – This blog post from Peers and Pedagogy expands on the concept of conscientization as a form of critical consciousness and explains the importance of contemporary education as a way of fostering critical consciousness.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the text.

Reflect on the purpose and role of education. What is the function of education in a person’s life? What makes an education meaningful? Consider the times in your life when you have felt you’ve learned the most. Where did these lessons take place? Who or what was helpful in guiding you to this understanding?

Teaching Suggestion: Consider having students reflect individually in writing before participating in a partner or full-group discussion. This prompt may work best if introduced first, before the above Short Answer questions/activities, because so much of Freire’s work explores the function of education.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students might who benefit from chunking writing prompts into more manageable pieces, consider providing a template in which guiding questions are listed with space beneath each for a response.