Critical Pedagogy

  Critical Pedagogy

Critical Pedagogy is also known as 'conscientization' or education for critical thinking. The term "critical pedagogy" was introduced by the Brazilian educator Paulo Reglus Neves Freire in his book Pedagogy of the Oppressed. This book is dedicated to the poor and deprived people of the world and to those who identify with and fight for them.

Critical pedagogy refers to an educational theory and teaching-learning approach designed to raise learners' critical consciousness regarding oppressive social conditions and societal problems.

Aims/Objectives of Critical Pedagogy:

l Critical pedagogy facilitates the radical transformation of social structures by bringing changes to the existing societal framework and eliminating oppressive or suppressive conditions.

l It develops critical consciousness or conscientization in students. Critical pedagogy helps students question and challenge domination, as well as the beliefs and practices prevailing in society.

l It helps in discovering and implementing liberating alternatives through social interaction and transformation. Through critical pedagogy, students can find new ways to free their minds through continuous engagement with society.

l It fosters a deep awareness of the socio-cultural realities that shape life and equips individuals with the capacity to transform these realities.

Critical pedagogy demonstrates how education can provide individuals with tools to improve themselves, strengthen democracy, and create an egalitarian society where all have equal rights and opportunities. It teaches children that education is a powerful tool for progressive social change.

Paulo Freire strongly opposed the banking concept of education, where teachers merely deposit knowledge into passive students. According to him, "No one teaches another, nor is anyone self-taught." Instead, teachers and students should engage as critical co-investigators in the learning process through dialogue.

In critical pedagogy, students analyze social problems, investigate and critique societal issues through discussions with teachers, and critically reflect on problems to find solutions, thereby transforming society. Problem-posing, critical thinking, and dialogue are key features of critical pedagogy.

Educational Implications of Critical Pedagogy (CP) / Basic Ideas of CP

l CP and the Educational Process

The major goal of CP is to emancipate and educate all people regardless of gender, class, race, etc. Freire sought to change the structure of oppressive societies through pedagogy. Critical pedagogy rests on the belief that every citizen deserves an education that fosters an understanding of social structures.

Freire (1970) distinguishes between banking education and problem-posing education:

Banking Education: Teachers are seen as the sole authorities of knowledge, while students are passive recipients.Teachers deposit knowledge into students without encouraging critical thinking. Students are expected to memorize and repeat information without questioning its relevance to societal problems.

This model mirrors an oppressive social structure, dividing the oppressed and oppressors, and perpetuates political suppression rather than promoting liberation.

Problem-Posing Education: Encourages students to develop knowledge actively rather than passively receiving it. Focuses on real-world issues relevant to learners' lives, engaging them in meaningful dialogue. Enables students to critically analyze problems, take necessary actions to improve their conditions, and understand their rights to question and transform reality. Involves interactive discussions where teachers listen to students, bring relevant issues into the classroom, and facilitate problem-solving through inductive questioning.

The problem-posing model includes five key steps: describing the discussion content, defining the problem, personalizing the problem, discussing it, and exploring alternative solutions. This method ensures that students exercise freedom, collaborate with teachers, and actively control the educational process.

Education in CP is thus a liberatory process. It raises students' consciousness, prepares them for broader societal engagement, and empowers them to challenge oppressive conditions, fostering a more just society (Foley, 2007). The aim of education is not just learning but learning that leads to critical examination of the social order and action in service of social justice.

l CP, Curriculum, and Authentic Learning Materials

CP emphasizes that there is no single teaching methodology suitable for all students. The curriculum is developed based on students' needs, interests, and experiences, making it transformative. Authentic learning materials, such as newspapers, TV commercials, and films, help students critically reflect on culture and society. Content is co-created by teachers and students, ensuring relevance and meaningful engagement with real-world issues.

l CP and the Role of Teachers and Students

Teachers act as problem posers rather than authorities, empowering students to reflect on their experiences and question societal inequalities. They encourage student voices, facilitating a dialogical learning environment where knowledge is co-created. Teachers should self-reflect and reject oppressive educational practices, ensuring their classes remain student-centered.

Students actively participate in decision-making, contributing to curricular content and determining areas of study. Critical learners analyze societal structures, challenge assumptions, and work toward social transformation.

l CP and Marginalization

CP aims to restore voices and identities to marginalized groups, enabling them to challenge unjust societal structures. Freire emphasized that marginalized students must reflect on their realities to understand systemic inequalities and take action to change them.

Teachers should help marginalized students recognize the factors contributing to their social conditions and empower them to seek change.

l CP and Levels of Consciousness

Freire (1973) identified three levels of consciousness:

1. Intransitive Consciousness: Individuals accept their lives as they are, believing that changes occur through miracles rather than action.

2.Semi-Transitive Consciousness: Individuals recognize their problems but view them as isolated incidents rather than structural issues.

3.Critical Consciousness: Individuals understand that their problems are embedded in larger social structures. They analyze, interpret, and take action to transform their realities.

To achieve critical consciousness, learners must reject passivity, engage in dialogue, and participate in collective struggle and praxis.

l CP and Dialogism

Respecting linguistic diversity is essential in CP, ensuring that all student voices are heard. Language is a powerful tool that helps students construct their social realities and empowers them to transform society. Teachers should incorporate students' first languages and cultural backgrounds into learning to promote inclusivity and engagement.

Language is important in two ways; first, language needs and curriculum should be grounded in students' language in order to actively involve students in learning and second, to be able to understand the world and transform it, students need a form of discourse. Language is a practice that constructs and is constructed by how learners understand their social surroundings, histories, and their possibilities for the future. An individual's first language is part of his or her identity, so if the aim is to empower and respect people's voices, there should be respect for who they are and what values they represent. That is why for marginalized groups language is an important refuge. It is the power of language that enables students to enlarge their scope of understanding. The first step towards empowerment and positive transformation is for the teacher to establish a context in which more of the learners' first language is included in second language settings as a teaching aid. But there is a need for some sort of dialogue through which meaning, reality and experience is clear to students.

According to Freire (1998), dialogue is the foundation of critical education, as it actively involves students in their learning. The use and practice of dialogue limits teacher talk and encourages learner voice.  In dialogical classrooms, teachers should listen to students, understand community issues, and facilitate discussions that encourage political action. Freire (1970) stated, "Without dialogue, there is no communication, and without communication, there can be no true education."

l CP and Praxis:

Praxis is defined as "the self-creative activity through which we make the world". The requirements of praxis are theory both relevant to the world and nurtured by actions in it, and an action component in its own theorizing process that grows out of practical and political grounding. In education praxis aims at bridging the gap between theory and transformational action. Praxis for Freire is both reflection and action, both interpretation and change.

 "Critical consciousness is brought about not through intellectual effort alone but through praxis through the authentic union of action and reflection". Learners equipped with praxis are well prepared to participate in collective actions. Praxis is critical reflection and action, the purpose of which is to implement a range of educational practices and processes with the goal of creating not only a better learning environment but also a better world. Only through dialogical process, the practice of praxis is likely to happen.

Critical Pedagogy is a transformative approach to education that challenges traditional power dynamics in the classroom. It promotes critical consciousness, encourages students to question societal structures, and empowers them to become active agents of change. By fostering dialogue, reflection, and social action, CP equips learners with the tools to challenge oppression and work toward a just and equitable society.

Issue based Education or Problem Based Education:

Issue based education is an important aspect of critical pedagogy. Three pillars of Kerala curricular framework KCF 2007 are 1. Social constructivism 2. Critical pedagogy and 3.Issue based education.

The present curriculum of Kerala is based on the ideas of critical pedagogy. Curriculum is entered around 8 issues that are rooted in Kerala culture.

The eight issues are

l Absence of vision as a universal citizen.

l Lack of work competency development.

l Lack of understanding of cultural heritage and its independent development.

l Absence of considering agriculture as a culture.

l Lack of scientific attitude on health and public health.

l Lack of concern for the marginalised sections of the society.

l Lack of scientific land and water management.

l Lack of eco friendly industrial and urban development.

Classroom teaching is centred on any one of the 8 issues or problems. Each issue is broken down into sub issues or minor problems and learners are made conscious of these problems by using different strategies. Students critically analyse or reflect on these problems and make decisions or solutions to solve these problems. Issue based learning helps to develop a good democratic society.

Common features or relationship between constructivism and critical pedagogy

l Students are actively engaged in the learning process. No importance to rote memory and banking concept.

l Real life experience is or problems are used in class teaching.

l Close interaction and discussion among students and students and teachers.

l Knowledge depends upon previous knowledge of the learner.

l Both focus on critical reflection, i.e., finding out the truth and applying it to future situations.