Paulo Freire

Description

Paulo Freire is one of the most influential thinkers in education. This text is a thoughtful and thorough introduction to Freire's work, situating this in the context of his life, intellectual journey and the reception of his thinking around the world. Daniel Schugurensky's text offers a coherent and accessible account of Freire's educational thought, looking at its contribution to educational theory and practice and exploring the legacy of Freire for contemporary education and the relevance of his thought for today's students.

Daniel Schugurensky is Professor and Head of the Justice and Social Inquiry Unit at Arizona State University, USA, where he holds a joint appointment in the School of Public Affairs and the School of Social Transformation. His recent publications include Volunteer Work, Informal Learning and Social Action (edited, 2013) and Learning Citizenship by Practicing Democracy (edited, 2010).

An outstanding textbook and resource on the scope of Freire's life, work and reach. * International Review of Education * These two books continue, in a healthy and thought provoking manner, Freire's legacy of critical scholarship. They address questions of ongoing significance for educationists in the 21st century. They demonstrate the close link between theory and practice in Freirean pedagogy. They offer hope for the future while remaining sensitive to the political realities of the present. Close attention to these two volumes will prove rewarding for anyone who has a serious interest in Freire's work. * Educational Philosophy and Theory * This review of Freire's work and its international reception is one of the most accurate one can hope to come across. It is extremely impressive with regard to its breath of coverage and is very detailed. This should be a vademaecum for anyone concentrating on Freire's large oeuvre. It derives from an expert hand, the hand of a person who is well steeped in Latin American and critical pedagogical politics and who has studied Freire's works and that of other writers thoroughly. Bravo, Daniel! It will be a major source of reference. -- Peter Mayo, Head of the Department of Education Studies, University of Malta This book, in line with the author's curious and attentive attitude, provides an excellent panorama of the life and work of Paulo Freire. Daniel Schugurensky accomplishes the difficult task of balancing a general view of Freire with precious details about his biography, intellectual journey and reception around the world. It is a kind of an updated state of the art on the subject, and, in this sense, it will stand out among the books on Freire as a primary reference. -- Danilo R. Streck, Professor at the Graduate School of Education Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos (UNISINOS), Brazil Daniel Schugurensky has written the most comprehensive book on Freire's work in the English-speaking world. With a penchant for detail, analysis and comparison, Schugurensky's book will be an extraordinary resource in courses of social foundations of education, curriculum and instruction and the politics of education. Unlike other books on the subject, here the voice and experience of Freire comes loud and clear. Yet Schugurensky produces a framework for analysis that will be helpful to the novice reader, while challenging the expert on the topics. This is a must-to-read book in the subject. -- Carlos Alberto Torres, Professor and Head of the Division of Social Sciences and Comparative Education, and Director of Paulo Freire Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, USA Schugurensky's volume is part of the Bloomsbury Library of Educational Thought series that demonstrate an understanding of the thoughts and practices of the chosen subjects. Schugurensky succeeds admirably in this task, with an excellent intellectual biography and a comprehensive, systematic, balanced account of Freire's educational philosophy. Among the many books and articles that have been published on Freire, it is not difficult to find examples of fragmented, decontextualised readings of his work. Schugurensky's Paulo Freire offers a good antidote to such examples: his reading is holistic, and he places Freire's ideas in their appropriate intellectual, cultural and political contexts. Schugurensky summarises some of the key critiques of Freire's work and offers thoughtful responses to them. His book also includes a lengthy chapter on the relevance of Freire's thought for the contemporary world. -- Peter Roberts, Professor of Education, University of Canterbury, New Zealand, and author of Paulo Freire in the 21st Century: Education, Dialogue and Transformation