International Journal of Language & Linguistics

Liberation, Imagination, and Emancipation within the Diverse Realm of Education: A Critical Analysis of Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of Freedom: Ethics, Democracy, and Civic Courage
Philip Ray Jones, Ph.D.

Abstract
This critical analysis essay highlights the primary ideas that educational philosopher Paulo Freire presents in his text Pedagogy of Freedom: Ethics, Democracy, and Civic Courage. One of Freire’s primary visions and ideas regarding community development in education is for people to exercise the art of individualized, creative learning in a manner that is compatible to their own unique culture and thinking process free from “oppressive” forces that ultimately smother educational imagination. Moreover, this essay illuminates Freire’s strong opposition to the “Banking Concept,” which is a suppressive system practiced by many educators in which they simply “fill” students with information, rather than encouraging them to be independent, creative, and individualized learners. Ultimately, this essay highlights Freire’s assertion of how we as educators must begin to exercise “collaborative dialogue” regarding the vast realm of education, as well as general worldly views as a whole with students, rather than practicing a “totalitarian” persona.

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