A-Infos (en) France, Alternative Libertaire AL October - Education: Towards a liberating critical pedagogy (fr, it, pt) [machine translation]

Libertarian pedagogies have designated a set of concepts and teaching practices aimed at 
the individual and collective emancipation. Yet it is now probably necessary to give new 
life to this project. ---- The effectiveness of a technique is neither right nor left ... 
In the field of education as elsewhere, history shows. Thus, from the late nineteenth 
century, activists of the anarchist movement worker embarked on the project of renewing 
education. Among these include Paul Robin and Sébastien Faure. This is out of the vertical 
knowledge inherited from the Church. Instead, we must learn from the scientific 
experimental method to promote sound pedagogy. Freinet set up after the First World War, a 
councilist inspired pedagogy that would allow the common people to acquire the capacity to 
self-manage the factories.

common enemy

But this progressive project is not only shared by actors of the labor movement, but also 
by supporters of the liberal economy. So at the end of the nineteenth century, Herbert 
Spencer or Edmond Demolins example, embody this trend. But it is for them to form the 
corporate elite of tomorrow. The common enemy is a traditional and conservative education. 
Instead, we must promote autonomy and initiative. The revival of education is also 
promoted by currents that value above all the personal development of the individual-e. 
Examples are the educational experiences of Neil Alexander or Carl Rogers.

Thus, ambiguities settling permanently, perdurant until today. The new spirit of 
capitalism uses as part of the entrepreneurial teaching methods Freinet, or close methods 
to develop new managerial skills. The difficulty is that capitalism recovers everything 
that is effective in stripping the intentions that led to their development. But it does 
seem that new pedagogies are deemed highly effective for learning teamwork or autonomy. 
What falls under the managerial discourse of "soft skills".

The new education methods traditionally opposed by conservative forces: the 
"reactionary-publicans' as the name Gregory Chambat. They are defended by modernizing 
forces, attached to individual autonomy can be liberal or libertarian.

In the 1960s, Pierre Bourdieu emphasizes that traditional education reproduces social 
inequalities based on implicit that can not be mastered by the children of the ruling 
classes. Under the effect of mass education, practices begin to change. After Jospin Act 
1989, the IUFM (university institutes of teacher education) develop a favorable speech to 
active methods and constructivist school. These remain relatively limited in practice, but 
they have more impact in primary school. Several currents of sociology of educational 
inequality are interested in these put into practice. They observe that the new methods 
are unfavorable students working classes. Enhancing research independently, they favor the 
middle classes of students who have already built these skills in their family environment.

It should nevertheless be noted that a study by Yves Reuter in a Freinet school class 
district shows that it performs well. But the pain experience to expand because it relies 
on an entirely of Freinet school teachers. The GFEN (French Group of New Education) under 
the leadership of Jacques Bernardin tries for its part to take account of the criticisms 
raised in particular by the team of sociologists Escol.

Thus, if we sum up the comments, it is possible to emphasize two points: the risk of 
reproduction of social inequalities and the risk of recovery by capitalism. However, this 
situation is hopeless?

Evaluation by competencies

When comparing the field of education in the Francophone world, to other spaces - 
Anglo-Saxon or Latin American "- it is possible to see that does not show up in the same 
way. It does not exist in France, it is called abroad "critical pedagogy". The critical 
educator Henry Giroux US citizen are three currents: Conservative (Traditional), liberal 
and critical. Critical pedagogy differs from the liberal pedagogy (education or new) in 
that it not only advocates a revolution in teaching practices, but a political 
transformation of society by taking teaching as a starting point.

Which is quite specific to France, is that the controversy over the teaching methods focus 
the debate at the expense of purpose. This leads to that self-es who have yet 
ideologically different positions find themselves defending the same methods. For example, 
economic liberals and progressive educationalists could defend the introduction of 
competency assessment.

It was in the 1980s that are formed around the figure of Paulo Freire, the currents of 
critical pedagogy. What characterizes this approach is the idea that education should be 
facing a challenge of social inequalities of class, gender and race. Teaching methods 
should therefore not be fetishized for themselves, but subordinated to that purpose. This 
means there can be no dogmatism of learning, but it is using the most appropriate means to 
achieve that end.

What characterizes critical pedagogy, it is not primarily teaching methods, but the report 
that it is trying to foster in learners, ie a critical report. Therefore, there can be no 
question be limited to vertical transmission of knowledge. The teacher and the teacher 
must create the conditions for the critical appropriation of this knowledge by teaching 
that values inquiry, dialogue and reflexivity.

The school is a class struggle space

Critical pedagogues, as Giroux, admit that the school is an instrument of social 
reproduction, but they did not reduce it: the school is a space for the class struggle. 
Therefore, students are not passive and can also withstand the school culture. Teachers 
can subvert the school order leading a struggle against hegemonic in their class. Critics 
are particularly interested teachers is to reveal to learners hidden curricula. These are 
implicit rules is learned by school pupils to master the middle class or gender 
stereotypes that are conveyed within the school. These are also for example the 
ideologically oriented presentations in school curricula.

Irène (girlfriend AL)

http://www.alternativelibertaire.org/?Education-Vers-une-pedagogie
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