Popular education
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Popular education is a concept grounded in notions of class, political struggle,
critical theory Critical theory is a social, historical, and political school of thought and philosophical perspective which centers on analyzing and challenging systemic power relations in society, arguing that knowledge, truth, and social structures are ...
and social transformation. The term is a translation from the Spanish or the Portuguese . The term 'popular' in this case means 'of the people'. More specifically 'popular' refers to the 'popular classes', which include
peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasan ...
s, the unemployed, the working class and sometimes the lower middle class. The designation of 'popular' is meant most of all to exclude the upper class and upper middle class. Popular education is used to classify a wide array of educational endeavors and has been a strong tradition in Latin America since the end of the first half of the 20th century. These endeavors are either composed of or carried out in the interests of the popular classes. The diversity of projects and endeavors claiming or receiving the label of popular education makes the term difficult to precisely define. Generally, one can say that popular education is class-based in nature and rejects the notion of education as transmission or 'banking education'. It stresses a
dialectic Dialectic (; ), also known as the dialectical method, refers originally to dialogue between people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing to arrive at the truth through reasoned argument. Dialectic resembles debate, but the ...
or dialogical model between educator and educand. This model is explored in great detail in the works of one of the foremost popular educators Paulo Freire. Though sharing many similarities with other forms of alternative education, popular education is a distinct form in its own right. In the words of Liam Kane: "What distinguishes popular education from '
adult An adult is an animal that has reached full growth. The biological definition of the word means an animal reaching sexual maturity and thus capable of reproduction. In the human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social an ...
', ' non-formal', '
distance Distance is a numerical or occasionally qualitative measurement of how far apart objects, points, people, or ideas are. In physics or everyday usage, distance may refer to a physical length or an estimation based on other criteria (e.g. "two co ...
', or 'permanent education', for example, is that in the context of social injustice, education can never be politically neutral: if it does not side with the poorest and marginalised sectors- the 'oppressed' – in an attempt to transform society, then it necessarily sides with the 'oppressors' in maintaining the existing structures of oppression, even if by default."


Europe

Popular education began at the crossroads between politics and
pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...
, and strongly relies on the democratic ideal of the Enlightenment, which considered
public education A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...
as a main tool of individual and collective
emancipation Emancipation generally means to free a person from a previous restraint or legal disability. More broadly, it is also used for efforts to procure Economic, social and cultural rights, economic and social rights, civil and political rights, po ...
, and thus the necessary conditions of
autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be ...
, in accordance with
Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (born Emanuel Kant; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German Philosophy, philosopher and one of the central Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works ...
's '' Was Ist Aufklärung?'' (What is Enlightenment?), published five years before the 1789 French Revolution, during which the Condorcet report established public instruction in France.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Republic of Geneva, Genevan philosopher (''philosophes, philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment through ...
's '' L'Emile: Or, On Education'' (1762) was another obvious theoretical influence, as well as the works of N. F. S. Grundtvig (1783–1872), at the origins of the Nordic movement of
folk high school Folk high schools (also ''adult education center'') are institutions for adult education that generally do not grant academic degrees, though certain courses might exist leading to that goal. They are most commonly found in Nordic countries and i ...
s. During the 19th century, popular education movements were involved, in particular in
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, in the Republican and Socialist movements. A main component of the workers' movement, popular education was also strongly influenced by positivist, materialist and
laïcité (; 'secularism') is the constitutional principle of secularism in France. Article 1 of the French Constitution is commonly interpreted as the separation of civil society and religious society. It discourages religious involvement in governmen ...
, if not anti-clerical, ideas. Popular education may be defined as an educational technique designed to raise the
consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is awareness of a state or object, either internal to oneself or in one's external environment. However, its nature has led to millennia of analyses, explanations, and debate among philosophers, scientists, an ...
of its participants and allow them to become more aware of how an individual's personal experiences are connected to larger societal problems. Participants are empowered to act to effect change on the problems that affect them.


19th century

One of the roots of popular education was the Condorcet report during the 1789 French Revolution. These ideas became an important component of the Republican and Socialist movement. Following the split of the
First International The International Workingmen's Association (IWA; 1864–1876), often called the First International, was a political international which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, social democratic, communist, and anarchist ...
at the 1872 Hague Congress between the "anti-authoritarian socialists" (anarchists) and the
Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...
s, popular education remained an important part of the workers' movement, in particular in the anarcho-syndicalist movement, strong in
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
,
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
and
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. It was one of the important theme treated during the 1907 International Anarchist Congress of Amsterdam.


France

During the Second Empire, Jean Macé founded the '' Ligue de l'enseignement'' (Teaching League) in 1866; during the Lille Congress in 1885, Macé reaffirmed the masonic inspiration of this league devoted to popular instruction. Following the 1872 Hague Congress and the split between Marxists and anarchists, Fernand Pelloutier set up in France various ''
Bourses du travail The Bourse du Travail (French for "labour exchanges"), a French form of the labour council, were working class organizations that encouraged mutual aid (organization), mutual aid, education, and self-organization amongst their members in the ...
'' centres, where workers gathered and discussed politics and science. The
Jules Ferry laws The Jules Ferry laws are a set of French laws which established free education in 1881, then mandatory and ''laic'' (secular) education in 1882. Jules Ferry, a lawyer holding the office of Minister of Public Instruction in the 1880s, is widely c ...
in the 1880s, establishing free, laic (non-religious), mandatory and public education, were one of the founding stones of the Third Republic (1871–1940), set up in the aftermaths of the 1870
Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
and the
Paris Commune The Paris Commune (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard (France), Nation ...
. Furthermore, most of the teachers, who were throughout one of the main support of the Third Republic, so much that it has been called the ''République des instituteurs'' ("Republic of Teachers"), while the teachers themselves were called, because of their Republican anti-clericalism, the ''hussards noirs de la République'', supported Alfred Dreyfus against the conservatives during the Dreyfus Affair. One of its consequences was for them to set up free educational lectures of
humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humanism" ha ...
topics for adults in order to struggle against the spread of
antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
, which was not limited to the far-right but also affected the workers' movement. Paul Robin's work at the Prévost orphanage of Cempuis was the model for Francisco Ferrer's Escuela Moderna in Spain. Robin taught atheism and internationalism, and broke new ground with co-ed schooling, and teaching orphans with the same respect given to other children. He taught that the individual should develop in harmony with the world, on the physical, moral, and intellectual planes.


Scandinavia

In Denmark, the concept of ''
folk high school Folk high schools (also ''adult education center'') are institutions for adult education that generally do not grant academic degrees, though certain courses might exist leading to that goal. They are most commonly found in Nordic countries and i ...
'' was pioneered in 1844 by N. F. S. Grundtvig. By 1870, Denmark had 50 of these institutions. The first in Sweden, ''Folkhögskolan Hvilan,'' was established in 1868 outside of Lund. In 1882, liberal and socialist students at
Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...
in Sweden founded the association ''Verdandi'' for popular education. Between 1888 and 1954 it published 531 educational booklets on various topics (''Verdandis småskrifter''). Some Swedish proponents of ''folkbildning'' have adopted an anglicization of ''folkbuilding'' A Swedish bibliography on popular education with 25,000 references to books and articles between 1850 and 1950 is integrated in the Libris catalog of the Royal Library.


20th century

Popular education continued to be an important field of socialist politics, reemerging in particular during the Popular Front in 1936–38, while '' autogestion'' (self-management), a main tenet of the anarcho-syndicalist movement, became a popular slogan following the May '68 revolt.


Austria

During the Red Vienna period (1919–34) the Viennese
Volkshochschule Folk high schools (also ''adult education center'') are institutions for adult education that generally do not grant academic degrees, though certain courses might exist leading to that goal. They are most commonly found in Nordic countries and ...
played an important role in providing popular education attracting significant levels of participation from both factory and office workers. They also attracted significant participation from prominent people associated with the Vienna Circle: Otto Neurath, Edgar Zilsel,
Friedrich Waismann Friedrich Waismann (; ; 21 March 18964 November 1959) was an Austrian mathematician, physicist, and philosopher. He is best known for being a member of the Vienna Circle and one of the key theorists in logical positivism. Biography Born to a ...
and Viktor Kraft.


The ''Escuela Moderna'' (1901–1907)

The '' Escuela Moderna'' (Modern School) was founded in 1901 in
Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
by free-thinker Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia, and became a leading inspiration of many various movements.Geoffrey C. Fidler,
The Escuela Moderna Movement of Francisco Ferrer: "Por la Verdad y la Justicia"
' in ''
History of Education Quarterly ''History of Education Quarterly'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering the history of education. It is published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the History of Education Society and was established in 1949 as the ''H ...
'', vol.25, issue 1/2, Spring-Summer 1985, pages 103–132
Opposed to the "dogmas of conventional education Ferrer set a system based on reason, science, and observation." The school's stated goal was to "educate the working class in a rational, secular and non-coercive setting". In practice, high tuition fees restricted attendance at the school to wealthier middle class students. It was privately hoped that when the time was ripe for revolutionary action, these students would be motivated to lead the working classes. It closed in 1906. The ''Escuela Moderna'', and Ferrer's ideas generally, formed the inspiration for a series of '' Modern Schools'' in the United States,
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
, South America and London. The first of these was started in New York City in 1911. It also inspired the Italian newspaper '' Università popolare'', founded in 1901.


France

Following the 1981 presidential election that brought to power the Socialist Party (PS)'s candidate, François Mitterrand, his Minister of Education, Alain Savary, supported Jean Lévi's initiative to create a public high school, delivering the baccalauréat, but organized on the principles of '' autogestion'' (or self-management): this high school took the name of '' Lycée autogéré de Paris'' (LAP). The LAP explicitly modelled itself after the Oslo Experimental High School, opened in 1967 in Norway, as well as the
Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Oc ...
Experimental High School, opened six months before the LAP, and the secondary school Vitruve (opened in 1962 in the 20th arrondissement of Paris, still active). Theoretical references include Célestin Freinet and his comrades from the I.C.E.M., as well as Raymond Fonvieille, Fernand Oury, and others theoreticians of " institutional pedagogy", as well as those coming from the institutional analysis movement, in particular René Lourau, as well as members of the institutional psychotherapeutic movement, which were a main component in the 1970s of the anti-psychiatric movement (of which Félix Guattari was an important member). Since 2005, the LAP has maintained contact with self-managed firms, in the REPAS network ('' Réseau d'échanges de pratiques alternatives et solidaires'', Network of Exchange of Solidarity and Alternative Practices") A ''second generation'' for such ''folk high school'' meant to educate the people and the masses spread in the society (mainly for workers) just before the '' French Front populaire'' experience, as a reaction among teachers and intellectuals following the February 6, 1934 riots organized by far-right leagues. Issues devoted to '' free-thinking'' such as
workers' self-management Workers' self-management, also referred to as labor management and organizational self-management, is a form of organizational management based on self-directed work processes on the part of an organization's workforce. Self-managed economy, ...
were thought and taught during that time, since the majority of attendants were proletarians interested in politics. Hence, some received the name of ''Université prolétarienne'' (Proletarian University) instead of ''Université populaire'' (Popular University) in some cities around the country. The
reactionary In politics, a reactionary is a person who favors a return to a previous state of society which they believe possessed positive characteristics absent from contemporary.''The New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought'' Third Edition, (1999) p. 729. ...
Vichy regime Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the defeat against ...
put an end to such projects during World War II. The second generation continued in the post-war period, yet topical lectures turned to be more practical and focused on daily life matters. Nowadays, the largest remnant is located in the
Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin () is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its lower altitude among the two French Rhine departments: it is downstream of the Haut-Rhin (Upper Rhine) de ...
and
Haut-Rhin Haut-Rhin (); Alsatian: ''Owerelsàss'' or '; , . is a department in the Grand Est region, France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine; its name means Upper Rhine. Haut-Rhin is the smaller and less pop ...
''départements''. Following
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, popular teaching attempts were initiated mainly by the anarchist movement. Already in 1943, Joffre Dumazedier, Benigno Cacérès, Paul Lengrand, Joseph Rovan and others founded the ''Peuple et Culture'' (People and Culture) network, aimed at democratization of culture. Joffre Dumazedier conceptualized, at the Liberation, the concept of "cultural development" to oppose the concept of "
economic development In economics, economic development (or economic and social development) is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and object ...
", thus foreshadowing the current
Human Development Index The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistical composite index of life expectancy, Education Index, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income i ...
. Historian Jean Maitron, for example, was director of the Apremont school in
Vendée Vendée () is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.May '68 and of the following ''decenie'', leading in particular to the establishment of the University of Paris VIII: Vincennes—Saint-Denis in Paris, in 1969. The Vincennes University (now located in Saint-Denis) was first an "Experimental University Center," with an interest in reshaping relations between students and teachers (so-called "'' mandarins''", in reference to the bureaucrats of Imperial China, for their authority and classic, Third Republic
pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...
) as well as between the university itself and society. Thus, Vincennes was largely opened to those who did not have their ''
baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...
'' diploma, as well as to foreigners. Its courses were focused on Freudo-Marxism,
psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious mind, unconscious processes and their influence on conscious mind, conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on The Inte ...
, Marxist theory, cinema, theater, urbanism or
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
. Famous intellectuals such as
Gilles Deleuze Gilles Louis René Deleuze (18 January 1925 – 4 November 1995) was a French philosopher who, from the early 1950s until his death in 1995, wrote on philosophy, literature, film, and fine art. His most popular works were the two volumes o ...
,
Michel Foucault Paul-Michel Foucault ( , ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French History of ideas, historian of ideas and Philosophy, philosopher who was also an author, Literary criticism, literary critic, Activism, political activist, and teacher. Fo ...
,
Jacques Lacan Jacques Marie Émile Lacan (, ; ; 13 April 1901 – 9 September 1981) was a French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist. Described as "the most controversial psycho-analyst since Sigmund Freud, Freud", Lacan gave The Seminars of Jacques Lacan, year ...
and others held seminars there, in full classrooms where no seats could be found. The assistance was very heterogeneous. For instance, musicians such as
Richard Pinhas Heldon was a French electronic rock band originally active between 1974 and 1978, and led by guitarist Richard Pinhas. Other members included synthesizer player Patrick Gauthier and drummer François Auger. The name of the band was taken from th ...
assisted at Deleuze's courses, and after having written ''
Anti-Oedipus ''Anti-Oedipus: Capitalism and Schizophrenia'' () is a 1972 book by French authors Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, the former a philosopher and the latter a psychoanalyst. It is the first volume of their collaborative work ''Capitalism and Sch ...
'' (1972) with
Félix Guattari Pierre-Félix Guattari ( ; ; 30 March 1930 – 29 August 1992) was a French psychoanalyst, political philosopher, Semiotics, semiotician, social activist, and screenwriter. He co-founded schizoanalysis with Gilles Deleuze, and created ecosophy ...
, Deleuze used to say that non-specialists had best understood their work. Furthermore, Vincennes had no
amphitheatre An amphitheatre (American English, U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meani ...
s, representatives of the ''mandarin'' teacher facing and dominating several hundred students silently taking notes. It also enforced a strict equality between professors and teaching assistants. The student revolt continued throughout the 1970s in both Vincennes and the University of Paris X: Nanterre, created in 1964. In 1980, the Minister of Education Alice Saunier-Seité imposed the transfer of Vincennes' University to Saint-Denis. Although education was normalized in the 1980s, during the Mitterrand era, in both Saint-Denis and Vincennes, these universities have retained a less traditional outlook than the classic Sorbonne, where courses tend to be more conservative and sociological composition more middle-upper class. Another attempt in popular education, specifically targeted towards the question of philosophy (France being one of the rare country where this discipline is taught in ''terminale'', the last year of high school which culminate in the ''baccalauréat'' degree) was the creation, in 1983, of the open university named '' Collège international de philosophie'' (International Philosophy College, or Ciph), by
Jacques Derrida Jacques Derrida (; ; born Jackie Élie Derrida;Peeters (2013), pp. 12–13. See also 15 July 1930 – 9 October 2004) was a French Algerian philosopher. He developed the philosophy of deconstruction, which he utilized in a number of his texts, ...
, François Châtelet, Jean-Pierre Faye and Dominique Lecourt, in an attempt to re-think the teaching of philosophy in France, and to liberate it from any institutional authority (most of all from the university). As the ancient , created by Francis I, it is free and open to everyone. The Ciph was first directed by Derrida, then by Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe, and has had as teaching members
Giorgio Agamben Giorgio Agamben ( ; ; born 22 April 1942) is an Italian philosopher best known for his work investigating the concepts of the state of exception, form-of-life (borrowed from Ludwig Wittgenstein) and '' homo sacer''. The concept of biopolitic ...
,
Alain Badiou Alain Badiou (; ; born 17 January 1937) is a French philosopher, formerly chair of Philosophy at the École normale supérieure (ENS) and founder of the faculty of Philosophy of the Université de Paris VIII with Gilles Deleuze, Michel Foucault ...
, Sidi Mohamed Barkat, Geoffrey Bennington, François Châtelet, José Gil, Olivier LeCour Grandmaison,
Antonio Negri Antonio Negri (; ; 1 August 1933 – 16 December 2023) was an Italian political philosopher known as one of the most prominent theorists of autonomism, as well as for his co-authorship of ''Empire (Hardt and Negri book), Empire'' with Michae ...
, and others. The Ciph is still active. In 2002 philosopher Michel Onfray initiated Université populaire de Caen in his hometown and starting a long seminar dealing with ''hedonistic philosophy'' from ancient times to May'68 events in French society, for at least ten years. His very topical subject in this seminar keeps going with a ''free-thinking'' spirit, since people are invited on the whole to rethink the history of ideas to eliminate any Christian influence. Despite the same name of ''Université populaire'', it is not linked to the European federation of associations inherited from the second generation. In 2004, Onfray expanded the experience to other cities such as Arras, Lyon, Narbonne, Avignon, and Mons (in
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
); each with various lectures and teachers joining his idea. The ''Universités populaires'' in Argentan is meant to deliver a culture of culinary
taste The gustatory system or sense of taste is the sensory system that is partially responsible for the perception of taste. Taste is the perception stimulated when a substance in the mouth biochemistry, reacts chemically with taste receptor cells l ...
s to nonworking people, through lectures and practises of famous chefs.The first lecture at Argentan was delivered by the main chef of Crillon motel; Onfray commented on radio he liked to enable such extravagant encounters.


Latin America

Popular education is most commonly understood as an approach to education that emerged in Latin America during the 1930s. Closely linked with
Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...
and particularly liberation theology. Best known amongst popular educators is the Brazilian Paulo Freire. Freire, and consequently the popular education movement in Latin America, draws heavily upon the work of
John Dewey John Dewey (; October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and Education reform, educational reformer. He was one of the most prominent American scholars in the first half of the twentieth century. The overridi ...
and
Antonio Gramsci Antonio Francesco Gramsci ( , ; ; 22 January 1891 – 27 April 1937) was an Italian Marxist philosophy, Marxist philosopher, Linguistics, linguist, journalist, writer, and politician. He wrote on philosophy, Political philosophy, political the ...
. One of the features of popular education in Latin America has been participatory action research (PAR).


1940s–1960s


1970s–1980s


1990s–present


Africa


Portuguese colonies


Anglophone colonies

Anne Hope and Sally Timmel were Christian development workers and educators who used popular education in their work in East Africa. They documented their work between 1973 and 1984 in four handbooks designed to aid practitioners titled "Training for Transformation."


North America

In the United States and Canada popular education influenced
social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...
education and critical pedagogy, though there are differences. At the same time, however, there are examples of popular education in the U.S. and Canada that grew up alongside and independently of popular education in Latin America.


United States


Canada


See also

* Adult literacy * Community education * Experiential education * Place-based education * Rouge Forum *
Special education Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual di ...
and inclusive classrooms


References


Further reading

*


External links


The Popular Education News

Trapese, popular education collective

Catalyst Centre

Swedish Council of Adult Education
{{DEFAULTSORT:Popular Education Pedagogy Critical pedagogy