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Principales aportes de Freire a la enseanza-aprendizaje. Documento de tres pginas

mnimo, doble espacio. Comentario personal.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-7660.2009.01606.x/full

http://infed.org/mobi/paulo-freire-dialogue-praxis-and-education/
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Paulo Freire: aportes principales

Las primeras dcadas del siglo pasado marcaron una poca de grandes transiciones a

nivel sociopoltico en Latinoamrica, especialmente Brasil. El trabajo de Paulo Freire, uno de los

filsofos y pedagogos ms reconocidos y revolucionarios en el campo de la educacin, emergi

y se difundi durante estos aos. Nacido en 1921 experiment la crisis de la Gran Depresin de

1929 lo cual contribuy a que este tomara ciertas perspectivas con respecto a la educacin, estas

le seran tiles luego en la dcada de 1970 cuando se da una serie de dictaduras, ciclos de

autoritarismo y falta de democracia en la regin (Torres, 2004 citado en Gadotti y Torres, 2009).

A pesar de presentar cierta dificultad a la hora de adaptarse al ambiente de la educacin

formal, Freire mostr gran inters por la enseanza y la educacin. Es por esto que empieza a

ensear muy joven durante sus aos como estudiante de colegio (Gadotti, 1994).

Sin embargo, su praxis tuvo ciertos obstculos entre ellos el exilio de su pas por lo que

recurri a vivir y trabajar en Chile como investigador en el proceso de una reforma agraria. Si

bien este exilio puede tomarse como inoportuno, es durante esta poca y en este pas donde

Freire desarrolla dos de sus obras ms influyentes: La educacin como prctica de libertad

(1967) y Pedagoga del oprimido (1968) (Gadotti y Torres, 2009). Estas dos obras son las ms

destacadas y las que permiten integrar la re-conceptualizacin de la educacin y de los modelos

educativos que Freire propone.

Su trabajo se caracteriza por hacer una ruptura del modelo tradicional de aprendizaje,

parte de un vnculo entre la educacin, el desarrollo y la construccin social dentro de un

contexto determinado. Es decir, para l la educacin debe tener como objetivo la transformacin

social por medio del dilogo, el poder conversar y discutir sobre los problemas de quienes estn

implicados en el proceso educativo (Gadotti y Torres, 2009). Segn (Beckett, 2013), este
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elemento del dilogo es precisamente lo que hace que su concepcin de la educacin sea

interesante, porque se diferencia de otras concepciones; desafiante, porque parece ser tanto

acertada como equivocada; y transformadora, porque ayuda a comprender aspectos de la

educacin que no son generalmente contemplados. Son las visiones de los estudiantes los que

constituyen la educacin.

Para Freire, el aprendizaje verdadero no se da sin la accin y esta a su vez no se da

significativamente sin reflexin (Mies, 1973). Fenstermacher y Soltis (2009) consideran que

Freire es tal vez el articulador temprano ms conocido del rol del profesor emancipador (p. 52

citado en Beckett, 2013, p.52). La educacin se presenta como una prctica de liberacin que no

se da solamente con el hecho de que los y las estudiantes aprendan a leer y escribir con

vocabulario que no concierne al contexto en el que se encuentran, sino darles herramientas,

lxico que se adapte a las situaciones que le rodean y as expresarse con el fin de la

transformacin (Mies, 1973).

El contexto es otro de los elementos que este pedagogo trata de enfatizar. La colonizacin

de Brasil, donde se utiliz la esclavitud y el poder excesivo por parte de la lite dominante,

repercute en la manera en que los y las brasileas se expresan, en su incapacidad para hablar por

ellos(as) mismos. Un caso similar es el de Guinea-Bissau donde invitaron a Freire en 1975 a

colaborar con la reconstruccin del pas despus de ser colonizado (Gadotti y Torres, 2009).

Dentro de los conceptos ms importantes est el de Banking education el cual tiene como

caractersticas: ser monolgico, la resolucin de problemas y es constituido por las visiones que

los y las profesoras tienen del mundo. La educacin liberadora que Freire plantea es, como ya

hemos dicho anteriormente, basada en el dilogo. Asimismo, esta busca no solo que se resuelvan

problemas, sino que se planteen problemas desde la visin de las y los estudiantes. Freire (1970)
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expone que a travs del dilogo, la relacin profesor-del-estudiante y estudiante-del-profesor

deja de existir y se reemplaza por estudiante-profesor con estudiantes-profesores (...) Se vuelven

conjuntamente responsables por un proceso en el que todos crecen (p. 80 citado en Beckett,

2013, p. 50).

Es por esto que durante sus diversos proyectos de alfabetismo se le solicit a los(as)

sujetos participar activamente en todas las etapas del proyecto (Mies, 1973). Es importante

recalcar que, para Freire, el corregir falsedades puede ser menos importante que construir

verdades dado a que muchos y muchas estudiantes, gracias a la ignorancia, pueden llegar a creer

que lo que no existe para ellos simplemente no existe (Beckett, 2013, p. 55).

Adems, Freire hace nfasis en como la ecologa debe ser parte de cualquier prctica

liberadora, es una contradiccin realizar un discurso progresivo y prcticas que nieguen la vida,

contaminen los ocanos, las aguas, los campos, devasten los bosques y amenacen a los animales

y pjaros (Freire, 2000, citado en Gadotti y Torres, 2009).

Ahora bien, qu aporta Freire a la educacin y el aprendizaje actual? Sus mtodos han

revolucionado el aprendizaje en adultos de manera que varias iniciativas, programas y

documentos se basan en sus trabajos sobre el alfabetismo. Varias organizaciones como la

UNESCO tambin han utilizado estos aportes para crear el Reporte Global sobre Aprendizaje

Adulto y Educacin presentado en la VI CONFINTEA. Este se considera, adems, el originador

de la pedagoga crtica cuya influencia ha traspasado los pases latinoamericanos siendo utilizada

tambin en Estados Unidos y otros pases industrializados (Gadotti y Torres, 2009).

Caractersticas como su utilidad en el estudio de las relaciones entre clases, etnicidad,

gnero y la educacin; y su rol en la vinculacin de poltica y educacin a travs del paradigma

de la educacin popular contribuyeron a que sus teoras se extrapolaran a los cambios de la

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salud, de pedagoga a poltica, sociologa, trabajo social, entre otros. Por esta razn, tuvo gran

expansin a nivel global desde pequeos lugares de Latinoamrica a comunidades burakinin en

Japn (Gadotti y Torres, 2009). Sin duda sus prcticas de la educacin por la libertad marcaron

un hito en la conceptualizacin de la educacin y el aprendizaje que se reflejan en la realidad

pedaggica y psicoeducativa actual.

Comentario personal

Considero interesante que se busquen alternativas a los mtodos tradicionales externos

que no siempre parecen ser los adecuados para el pas, en el caso de Brasil por su pasado

vinculado con la colonizacin. Pienso que es sumamente valioso el considerar el contexto de un

pas para tratar de determinar cul modelo de educacin parece ser el que permita la mayor

transformacin social.

Habra que cuestionarse hasta qu punto el modelo que plantea Freire es lo

suficientemente amplio para extrapolarse a culturas en las que la educacin y el aprendizaje

mismo se conceptualiza (y se realiza) de manera distinta.

Me parece que es destacable que plantee un modelo que sea con el fin de liberar y de dar

instrumentos, as como el de una relacin ms horizontal entre estudiante-profesor pues hay

pocos espacios dentro del marco educativo tradicional que permiten que esto se d.

Especialmente cuando se ha utilizado e interiorizado la concepcin del profesor como el

poseedor de conocimiento y el estudiante nicamente como receptor de este conocimiento que se

supone no tener. Se deja de lado la idea de que los y las estudiantes pueden aportar con sus

propios conocimientos y experiencias.

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Referencias
Beckett, K. S. (2013). Paulo Freire and the Concept of Education. Educational Philosophy and

Theory, 45(1), 49-62. doi:10.1080/00131857.2012.715385

Gadotti, M. (1994). Reading Paulo Freire : His Life and Work Teacher. Albany, Nueva York:

State University of New York Press.

Gadotti, M., & Torres, C. A. (2009). Paulo Freire: Education for Development. Development and

change, 40(6), 1255-1267.

Mies, M. (1973). Paulo Freire's Method of Education: Conscientisation in Latin America.

Economic and Political Weekly, 8(39), 1764-1767.

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His theories spilled over into different fields of knowledge, from education to health, from pedagogy to politics, from socio logy to social work. His work took roots in many places, from the
shanty-towns of Latin America to the burakinin communities of Japan.
Freire's critique of banking education; the idea of education for freedom; the fact that his theoretical framework can be used to study the relations between class, race/ethnicity,

gender and the state in education; and its role in illuminating the intricate relationship between politics and education through the paradigm of popular education

Que aporta a la educacin actual?

However, Freire's pedagogical approach has been taken up well beyond Brazil or Latin America. His method and theories were introduced into the world as a revolution of adult learning. His
impact on literacy training, in particular, has stood the test of time, and is reflected in a multitude of initiatives, programmes and documents. Most recently, his contributions to adult learning
have been highlighted as an inspiration by UNESCO (2009) in the Global Report of Adult Learning and Education (GRALE), used as a resource document in the VI CONFINTEA (May 2009,
Belem, Brazil) the most important decennial conference on adult education,

At a more generic level, Paulo Freire is considered the originator of the theoretical model of Critical Pedagogy that has influenced the educational training of teachers, particularly in the United
States, but also in several other advanced industrial societies. The work of Paulo Freire, and especially his Pedagogy of the Oppressed, reflects the quintessential nature of comparative and
international education.
Freire's critique of banking education; the idea of education for freedom; the fact that his theoretical framework can be used to study the relations between class, race/ethnicity, gender and the
state in education; and its role in illuminating the intricate relationship between politics and education through the paradigm of popular education

After the crisis of neoliberalism, with the failure of the different models of structural adjustment in Latin America, and in light of the current global financial situation, these models of popular
education have acquired renewed energy in the context of counteracting the crisis of capitalism, and are being used by social movements in new and original ways.

Paulo Freire's pedagogy of the oppressed, his notion of constructivist pedagogy and his interdisciplinary approach have impacted on many disciplines and practices across the world. While his
theories have crossed the borders of disciplines and sciences, his reflections have deepened the theme that he pursued his whole life: education as the practice of freedom. His contributions to the
field of education could be compared to the efforts of those working on AIDS prevention, or to therapists working on ways to liberate human consciousness from early childhood traumas or
personality disorders. There is no question that Paulo Freire's border-crossing perspective in the 1960s resulted in a transdisciplinary approach that has gained even more recognition in the new
century.

It is urgent that we assume the duty to fight for the ethical principles of respect of life of human beings, life of other animals, the life of birds, the life of the rivers and the life of the forest. I do
not believe in the love [amorosidade] between human beings if we cannot become capable of loving the world. Ecology is gaining a fundamental importance at the end of the century. Ecology
has to be present in every radical practice, be that critical or libertarian . In this sense it seems a regrettable contradiction to make a radical progressive discourse, a revolutionary discourse and
to have a practice that negates life the practices of polluting the oceans, the waters, the fields, the devastation of the forest, and those which threaten the animals and birds. (Freire, 2000: 667)

The issue for

Freires students is not just that they have to learn something new, as it is for Deweys
students, or that what they are learning might be wrong and they do not know why,
as it is for Peters and Schefflers students. The problem is that their entire view of
the world might be wrong and the task they have before them is to develop a completely
new view. Students, regardless of age, come to teachers full of truths and falsehoods
(see, for example, Souto-Mannings, 2010, work with first graders), and
correcting the latter is just as important as building on the former. It might be even
more important, because ignorance, which is what students, like the rest of us, mostly
have, is also misunderstanding, students believing, at least at first, that what does not
exist for them simply does not exist.
Freire is clear about the basic objectives that an education for development should attempt to achieve. It should provide students with the necessary instruments to resist the
deracinating powers of an industrial civilization (ibid.: 82). Here Freire pauses in his reflection, apparently to examine the meaning of work, of the social organization of work and the risks that
exist in an industrial society. Education for development should be an education that makes it possible for people to fearlessly discuss their problems (ibid.: 84), that is situated in dialogue
(ibid.: 85) and that makes it susceptible to a kind of rebelliousness (ibid.).
I think, because his underlying
conception of education is interesting, challenging, even transforming: interesting
because it is different from other conceptions; challenging because it seems both right
and wrong; and transforming because it helps us understand important aspects of
education which other conceptions neglect.

What makes his conception interesting, challenging

and transforming is that central to it are important aspects of education which
other philosophers marginalized. Thus, while dialogue for Peters and Scheffler comes
at the end of the educational process (Beckett, 2011a), for Freire education is dialogue;
and while education for Dewey begins with students views of the world, for
Freire students views constitute education.

His original work in the 1950s and early 1960s was deeply connected with the question of education for development, and particularly how to link education and citizenship building.
Education, understood in this manner, is not only theoretical. The old order that one first has to learn and, then to act is given up. According to Freire, there is no true learning without acting and
no meaningful acting without reflection. Education, in this sense, is a 'Practice of Liberation'. But this liberation does not begin after the people have learned reading and writing. Freire
discovered that the critical reflection about the concrete situation in which people live must be part of the process of learning, reading, and writing. This knowledge is no longer dead book-
knowledge but a source of 'enlightenment' - to use the word which in the 18th century German Philosophers like Kant used to describe the process of becoming aware. It is not enough that people
learn to read and write - - many have this faci- lity but what use do they make of it? Thev shouild read the necessary words and sentences. Instead of teaching them irrelevant phrases, like 'the ap-
ple hangs on a tree', they themselves used this newly-acquired medium to form sentences which expressed the basic contradiction in which they live and also their hopes to change the situatio
They also say that Freire is perhaps the best-known early articulator of the role
of the emancipationist teacher (Fenstermacher & Soltis, p. 52), emancipatory teaching
being a variant of the liberationist approach, with a strong political and social orientation (Fenstermacher & Soltis, p. 51).

In Pedagogy of the oppressed, Freire (1970b) contrasts his liberatory conception of education
with what he calls the banking concept. Banking education is monological,
problem-solving and constituted by teachers views of the world. Liberatory education,
on the other hand, is dialogical, problem-posing and constituted by students
views of the world. In banking education, according to Freire, knowledge is seen as
the property of the teacher rather than a medium evoking the critical reflection of
both teacher and students (Freire, p. 80); and education is seen as a transaction in
which teachers deposit knowledge in their students. In liberatory education, through
dialogue, the teacher-of-the-students and the students-of-the-teacher cease to exist
and a new term emerges: teacherstudent with studentsteachers They become
jointly responsible for a process in which all grow (Freire, p. 80).
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Because Freire considers the break- up of the object status of man the key to any kind of learning and change, he insists that, in all stages of the literacy work, the teacher-student relationship
which is a subject-object relationship has to be abolished and replaced by a student-student or subject-subject relationship. This meant, in concrete terms, that the people were asked to participate
in all stages of the work.

The underlying thesis of his historical analysis is that the roots of Brazilian democratic inexperience are found in the type of colonization that it suffered. It was this predatory colonization,
involving the use of slave labour and the excessive utilization of power on the part of the dominant elite, that engendered the muteness of the Brazilian people, their seeming incapacity to speak
for themselves.

In 1975, the Minister of Education of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, Mrio Cabral, invited Freire and the IDAC team to collaborate in the reconstruction of the country after the end of colonial
control. This raised the question of what language to use to teach literacy after all, Portuguese was the language of the colonizer and how to organize a process of literacy training in a
country devastated by a war of liberation.

It is urgent that we assume the duty to fight for the ethical principles of respect of life of human beings, life of other animals, the life of birds, the life of the rivers and the life of the forest. I do
not believe in the love [amorosidade] between human beings if we cannot become capable of loving the world. Ecology is gaining a fundamental importance at the end of the century. Ecology
has to be present in every radical practice, be that critical or libertarian . In this sense it seems a regrettable contradiction to make a radical progressive discourse, a revolutionary discourse and
to have a practice that negates life the practices of polluting the oceans, the waters, the fields, the devastation of the forest, and those which threaten the animals and birds. (Freire, 2000: 667)

The second important aspect of education that Freire made central to his conception
of education was its problem-posing method.

Brazilian philosopher and pedagogue Paulo Reglus Neves Freire (19211997) came of age in the turbulent years of transition from
authoritarian conservative government to authoritarian populist government in Latin America. This historical transition was
interrupted in the 1970s by a series of dictatorships, resulting in a perverse cycle of authoritarianism and lack of democracy in the
region (Torres, 2004). Freire was born into a middle-class family in Recife, capital of the Brazilian State of Pernambuco, on 19
September 1921. The experiences of his family during the Great Depression, which started in 1929, set the tone for his later
concern for the poor, and influenced his perspective on education. (Moacir Gadotti, Carlos Alberto Torres)

Freire was accused of being a communist and a subversive; he was jailed for seventy days and then offered exile instead of
continued imprisonment.

In this period he earned his living by working as a researcher on the process of agrarian reform in Chile, leading to his criticism of
the notions of extensionism.2 It was also in Chile that he wrote Education, the Practice of Freedom (first published 1967) and his
most influential work, Pedagogy of the Oppressed (published in Portuguese in 1968).