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Activism, reflection and Paulo Freire – an embodied pedagogy
Abstract
This paper explores the critical pedagogy of activists as they participate in activism on some of the most important human rights issues of our time. I argue the pedagogy of activism is critically cognitive and embodied in a practice that is inherently social. The paper commences with some writing on what I claim is Freire’s own activism, always working towards a struggle for social justice and social change. His educational practices were never removed from sites and movements of struggle and resistance and he encouraged teachers to be political, that their teaching should never be disassociated from a critique of the political and social realities that impact on and create impediments to a democratic education.The paper then outlines empirical research on the learning dimensions of activists conducted in Australia and draws on some of the personal narratives of activists. I explore the reflexivity of activists as they work within and against the state, on issues of indigenous self-determination, racism, religion, homophobia, urban development, climate change, civil liberties, economic inequality and others. I argue for a critically reflexive pedagogy, as Paulo Freire reminds us, activism without purposeful reflection has the potential to become what he termed “naïve activism’’. That is, a focus on the theory and philosophical underpinnings of activism, and the tactics and strategies necessary to instigate social change, can create a pedagogy that is wanting in praxis. Yet the urgency of activism and the desire for significant social change often prevents a critical space for reflection to occur.The paper concludes with some suggestions for how Freire’s writing on praxis, can improve activists important practice.
... However, the focus on students and young people in formal settings leaves critical education for local adult groups in diverse communities largely understudied. Specifically, there is a gap in the literature regarding the educational processes and the pedagogy of community activism (Ollis, 2015). The goal of the current study is to address this gap by developing a better understanding of the motivation, experiences, and perceived outcomes of community activists and professionals who organized to promote inclusive urban development in a diverse community in Israel. ...
... Community organizing that promotes social justice must strive to cross traditional barriers that reflect inequality (Lesniewski & Doussard, 2017;Sites et al., 2007). However, the pedagogy of community activism is still in its infancy worldwide (Ollis, 2015). Alinsky's approach, which is often applied for community organizing, brings people together by intentionally enhancing similarities to unite people in strategic conflict against those who oppose social change (Reitzes & Reitzes, 1987). ...
... Critical thinking and social action have an age-old connection, articulated in one of Marx's best-known quotes: "The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways; the point, however, is to change it" (Marx, 1845). The concept of praxis, which refers to the relationship between theory and practice, implies that critical ideas without social intervention are insufficient, and vice versa (Freire, 2006;Ollis, 2015). ...
Community organizing is an effective approach to face social, economic, and racial injustice at the local level. However, since the 1970s, neoliberal policies, growing social divisions, and political disengagement have challenged community organizing. This study explores the use of critical adult education to address local organizing challenges with diverse and socially excluded communities in Israel. Building on a case of a local partnership to promote inclusive urban development, we analyzed data from interviews, focus groups, and participant observations conducted with activists and paid professionals. The findings suggest that critical education was instrumental in organizing across diversities through three processes: transposing knowledge, disrupting power hierarchies, and negotiating diversity. Critical education was perceived as empowering for activists at the individual‐family level and promote change at the local level. However, at the national policy level, limited changes were achieved. The advantages and limitations of critical education for local organizing are discussed.
... As such, educational, social and community intervention involves a commitment to social justice and to the well-being of communities, in general, and of oppressed and vulnerable individuals and groups, in particular (Prilleltensky & Fox, 1997;Prilleltensky & Nelson, 2002). Contrary to a "naive activism"-where action is devoid of reflection and purpose-critical perspectives imply a reflexive praxis that would support an engaged and critically conscious professional activism (Freire, 1975;hooks, 1994;Ollis, 2012b). This interrelation between theory, reflection, and action enables activists to develop, adapt and recreate their practices, constituting the basis for an evolving pedagogy of activism (Ollis, 2012b). ...
... Contrary to a "naive activism"-where action is devoid of reflection and purpose-critical perspectives imply a reflexive praxis that would support an engaged and critically conscious professional activism (Freire, 1975;hooks, 1994;Ollis, 2012b). This interrelation between theory, reflection, and action enables activists to develop, adapt and recreate their practices, constituting the basis for an evolving pedagogy of activism (Ollis, 2012b). ...
... The vision of professional activism as a reflexive, engaged and critically conscious praxis, which enables activists to develop, adapt and recreate their practices (Freire, 1975;Ollis, 2012b), and of professional activism learning as a mind-body-emotion process (Drew, 2015;hooks, 1994;Lave & Wenger, 1991;Ollis, 2008Ollis, , 2010, essentially informal and situated in practice (Foley, 2001;Lave & Wenger, 1991;Ollis, 2010Ollis, , 2011, expansive and transformative (Curnow et al., 2019;Kluttz & Walter, 2018), is consistent with the findings of this study, which reveal that, as professionals politicize and learn how to become activists, they also construct this praxis, and even construct themselves as professionals, giving meaning to, and (re)defining, their activist craft and professional role, through a dynamic learning-creative process, bounded to each personal/professional experience, the influence of others involved (professionals, people with whom they work), and the particular geographical, historical, social and political context in and for which it happens. We hope this article also creates space for further discussions, reflections and (re)creations on the "pedagogy to change the world" (Ollis, 2010), contributing to its dissemination, acknowledgement and prominence in professional, academic and research discourse and practice. ...
Work as a place of activism is a vast field to be explored in adult education research, particularly within educational, social, and community intervention with people in situations of vulnerability. This qualitative study aims to unveil the richness of activists’ learning processes and outcomes by reflecting on the pedagogy of professional activism, with professionals working in Portugal. Their sharing reveals a thematic influence and interdependence between the dimensions “How?” and “What?” of professional activism learning and the themes composing them—respectively, “political socialization” and “work experience”; and “critical, social and political consciousness,” “sense of (in)justice and empathy,” and “know-how to speak out.” As professionals learn how to become activists, they also construct this praxis, and themselves as professionals, giving meaning and (re)defining their activist craft, through a learning-creative process.
... In the same vein, participatory action research (PAR) can be viewed as action and reflection that take place at the same time, mutually igniting one another. Through praxis, a critical consciousness developsleading to transformative action central to PAR (Ollis, 2015). ...
This article presents a trend analysis of the directions, nuances, and theoretical developments in community engagement (CE) practices in higher education and training (HET) environments in South Africa since 1994. It focuses on the nexus of research, teaching and learning, and community engagement. The article identifies specific associations of CE with core HET activities, illustrating how this integrated approach has brought about positive change. The research was conducted in three phases. In Phase I, purposeful sampling was used to identify the published work of leading scholars in South Africa who had engaged with the call for adopting a more transformative and collaborative approach to research such that the very act of academically engaging with(in) community became an educationally visionary act. In Phase II, the scope of the sampling was broadened to include research in multiple disciplines. In the third phase, the sampling was broadened chronologically to include research since the 1990s, and limited to the social sciences in order to conduct a trend analysis that considered historical context and growth directions in CE in the social sciences. The discussion presents an analysis of trends that emanated from research responses to CE by HET.
... 51). Because, as Freire argued, education cannot be separated from sociopolitical realities (Ollis, 2014), NCTE can support its teacher and teacher educator members by directly engaging these realities, combating the de-professionalization of its members, and creating multiple and powerful spaces for them to participate in not only everyday advocacy but also exceptional activism. ...
This article raises questions about the role of NCTE in an era of widespread education reform that often runs counter to a wide body of scholarship and members’ understandings of ways to build strong, equitable educational systems. The authors call on NCTE to reinvent itself primarily as a space from which to take action toward equity and justice. This provocateur piece offers a loving critique of NCTE’s notion of advocacy at a time when neoliberal education reforms limit educators’ capacity to carry out our collective responsibilities to marginalized and vulnerable youth.
Historically "Red States" in the United States offer an example of the complex intersections of public education, race, conservative politics, language, and power/resistance which teachers live and work amongst. This article considers these intersections by focusing on the experiences and reflections of a former red state teacher and organizer. Following this, the article situates these reflections within border thinking and borderlands work, attempting to theorize the work of red state teachers. In doing so, the theoretical framework of Border Thinking Reflexivity is offered as a potential way of approaching such experiences and developing deeper understandings of the work of teaching in historically red states.
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