19 Facts About Paulo Freire

Paulo Reglus Neves Freire was a Brazilian educator and philosopher who was a leading advocate of critical pedagogy.

Paulo Freire became familiar with poverty and hunger from an early age as a result of the Great Depression.

Paulo Freire stated that poverty and hunger severely affected his ability to learn.

Paulo Freire enrolled in law school at the University of Recife in 1943.

Paulo Freire studied philosophy, more specifically phenomenology, and the psychology of language.

In 1946, Paulo Freire was appointed director of the Pernambuco Department of Education and Culture.

Paulo Freire was imprisoned as a traitor for 70 days.

In 1967, Paulo Freire published his first book, Education as the Practice of Freedom.

Paulo Freire followed it up with his most famous work, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, which was first published in 1968.

Freire joined the Workers' Party in Sao Paulo and acted as a supervisor for its adult literacy project from 1980 to 1986.

Paulo Freire contributed a philosophy of education which blended classical approaches stemming from Plato and modern Marxist, post-Marxist, and anti-colonialist thinkers.

Paulo Freire believed education could not be divorced from politics; the act of teaching and learning are considered political acts in and of themselves.

Paulo Freire defined this connection as a main tenet of critical pedagogy.

In terms of pedagogy, Paulo Freire is best known for his attack on what he called the "banking" concept of education, in which students are viewed as empty accounts to be filled by teachers.

Paulo Freire's work revived this view and placed it in context with contemporary theories and practices of education, laying the foundation for what would later be termed critical pedagogy.

In 1977, the Adult Learning Project, based on Paulo Freire's work, was established in the Gorgie-Dalry neighborhood of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Paulo Freire's work influenced the radical math movement in the United States, which emphasizes social justice issues and critical pedagogy as components of mathematical curricula.

In 1991, the Paulo Freire Institute was established in Sao Paulo to extend and elaborate upon his theories of popular education.

Paulo Freire wrote and co-wrote over 20 books on education, pedagogy and related themes.