PEDAGOGY OF THE OPPRESSED: WHAT POSTCOLONIAL SOCIETIES CAN LEARN FROM FREIRE?
Keywords:
Freirean pedagogy, postcolonial societiesAbstract
This paper highlights the importance of Freirean pedagogy in the context of postcolonial societies.
The essay begins by dwelling on the Freire’s liberation philosophy of education and its critical
concepts. The second part contextualizes the education system in the postcolonial societies and
problematize it in the light of critical pedagogy, while the final section focuses on Freire’s concern
about the first stage of liberation, where the oppressed are warned to resist the temptation of
adopting the views of the oppressors, hence becoming oppressors themselves. The paper argues that
this has actually happed in many postcolonial societies, where the oppressed have assumed the role
of oppressor after formal independence. Thus, it is important to revisit the Freirean pedagogy of
the oppressed and learn from its critical concepts in the postcolonial context.