Freire's Theory Research Articles

Advocacy-Professional School Counselors Closing the Achievement Gap Through Empowerment: A Response to Hipolito-Delgado and Lee

The article by Hipolito-Delgado and Lee, Empowerment Theory for the Professional School Counselor: A Manifesto for What Really Matters, addresses a timely topic and highlights the critical need for a comprehensive, multicultural school guidance program. More important, it calls attention to the need for 21st-century professional school counselors to engage in effective practice with students who are marginalized and oppressed, including those who are gay/lesbian, students with disabilities, and students of color. The notion of applying empowerment theory to the role of professional school counselors and a comprehensive, multicultural school guidance program offers hope for better serving some of our country's most marginalized and oppressed students. It is important to call attention to the needs of these students because it is easy for students who are often on the periphery to be forgotten and, accordingly, underserved or inappropriately served. In an era of supposed increased accountability, including the Education Trust's Transforming the School Counselor Initiative and the federal No Child Left Behind Act, widening achievement gaps, and ambiguity regarding the professional school counselor role, Hipolito-Delgado and Lee's article presents a compelling case for a paradigm shift. In their article, the authors employ Paulo Freire's theoretical framework of humanizing pedagogy to develop a theoretical framework they refer to as empowerment theory. Hipolito-Delgado and Lee offer a unique way for professional school counselors to frame the empowerment of marginalized individuals. Using the pedagogy of the oppressed and applying it to the discipline of school counseling allows professional school counselors to view empowerment multidimensionally--for individuals, groups/parents, and the community. The nontraditional application of empowerment theory to the role and work of school counselors is useful and liberating. Several authors (Bemak & Chung, 2005; Bryan, 2005; Holcomb-McCoy, 2004; Lee, 2005) have contributed to the current literature that examines the professional school counselor's role of advocate, champion of social justice, social change agent, and urban school counselor. In order to empower marginalized students to increase achievement and be successful, these advocacy roles have been identified by the Education Trust, the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), and the American Counseling Association. With that said, professional school counselors' perspectives can potentially be shaped or influenced by applying Freire's empowerment theory to their roles. If professional school counselors share these empowerment values, their perception and thinking of marginalized students, followed by their actions, may result in a systemic effect. This includes the school, individual students, parents, and the community and would foster a school climate that values empowerment and promotes access and equity for all students. Hipolito-Delgado and Lee in their article speak to several key issues surrounding the achievement gap as it relates to underrepresented or marginalized groups. First, they explore various obstacles to academic achievement that many students from ethnic backgrounds and other marginalized groups encounter. These include a history of oppression, racism, and marginalization in the American school system and society, which must be understood before applying the empowerment theory. The reality is that many professional school counselors are of the majority race and presumably have been socialized in the same American, ethnocentric curricula and school system that disserves marginalized students. What would motivate professional school counselors to want to change their behavior? Where does the empowerment theory allow for or recognize that it seems to put too much emphasis on the ability of the marginalized individual student to transcend the impact of classism, racism, oppression, White privilege, and homophobia? …

A Reaction to Hipolito-Delgado and Lee

In their article in this issue, Hipolito-Delgado and Lee contend that empowering students from marginalized communities is a fundamental role of school counselors and consistent with both the Education Trust's (2003) and the American School Counselor Association's (ASCA, 2004) emphasis on social justice. To help school counselors further this role, the authors make use of empowerment theory, the roots of which are found in Paulo Freire's educational theory. Hipolito-Delgado and Lee do an impressive job of integrating empowerment theory with the role of the school counselor and generating practical suggestions as to how the school counselor might begin to effectuate a process of personal empowerment for students with internalized oppression. The authors are to be congratulated on helping school counselors to understand in very real and pragmatic terms the implications of the commitment to social justice. Empowerment through counseling, as the authors rightly point out, has been a longstanding emphasis of the profession. Equally longstanding has been the debate around how to empower clients and the emphases accorded to the different dimensions of an individual's existence--for example, intrapsychic, interpersonal, and sociopolitical. In a very convincing fashion, Hipolito-Delgado and Lee describe how school counselors can aid in a process of personal empowerment for students from marginalized communities by fostering critical consciousness, facilitating the development of a positive identity, and encouraging social action. These are designed to effectuate systemic changes in schools so they are no longer instruments of internalized oppression but rather help students to understand their victimization by sociopolitical forces and eventually take action to combat those forces. By the very nature of their existence, schools are designed to help students achieve an education--always seen in the country as a means toward achieving greater economic and political power. Hipolito-Delgado and Lee argue that when schools are culturally monolithic and insensitive to cultural differences, they do not help students from nondominant cultural backgrounds advance in educational attainment and achievement. While the authors do not explicitly state such, one has to believe that their use of empowerment theory is ultimately designed to help students from marginalized communities succeed academically with the recognition that this may require certain structural changes that the authors imply will result from a process of personal empowerment. Throughout the reading of this important article, we kept being reminded of current research informing us about the importance of course-taking variables in determining success in education beyond high school (see, e.g., Adelman, 1999; Trusty, 2002; Trusty & Niles, 2003). Based on the Adelman study, the Education Trust (2005) has called the high school curriculum the biggest predictor of college success. While Hippolito-Delgado and Lee make mention at the beginning of their article of how schools perpetuate oppression of students from marginalized communities because these students are less likely, among other things, to receive college preparation classes, the authors seem to lose this connection when discussing empowerment theory as it relates to professional school counseling. In writing about how school counselors can help disempowered students to build a positive identity, develop critical consciousness, and take social action, they fail to relate such laudable tasks to the promotion of educational achievement and attainment--the ultimate goal of all school counseling activity. By helping students become aware of how schools are and can be instruments of oppression and by encouraging students to participate in ethnic student groups and social action groups, school counselors may be indirectly promoting higher achievement and attainment. When a disempowered student refrains from taking more advanced college preparation courses, what is the response of the school counselor? …

HIV/AIDS counseling: analysis based on Paulo Freire

The study aimed to investigate the strategies health professionals use in HIV/AIDS counseling. This study is a qualitative research, based on Paulo Freire's theory and practice. Bardin's content analysis was used as the analysis technique. For the studied group, the counseling is focused on cognition, although new concepts permeating this subject are emerging. The main difficulties in counseling are related to the clients and the institution. The main facility is related to the team, which according to the group has a good relationship. Counseling represents a moment of distress, especially because it brings up existential questions to the counselor. It can be inferred that counseling is a special moment, but it does not constitute an educational moment yet. To obtain this goal, a counseling methodology is proposed, based on Paulo Freire's principles and concepts.

Fostering Critical Consciousness in Young People: Encouraging the Doves to Find Their Voices

This paper examines how youth participation in different community settings can foster critical consciousness. A group of 22 teens and pre-teens chose to participate in one of two groups. One group learned to play chess at a local community center and a second group participated in a community service project. Drawing upon Freire's (1970) theory of consciousness-raising, we developed a critical thinking and consciousness-raising checklist that includes the exploration of personal behaviors, self-efficacy, group efficacy and stereotypes. Open-ended critical thinking focus groups were administered at the start and at the end of the five week period to assess the level of critical thinking of each group. The discussions were analyzed according to four themes: personal behavior, self efficacy, group efficacy, and challenging stereotypes. In general, participants in both groups showed evidence of increased critical thinking skills and an increased sense of community over the five week period.

A critique of Freire’s perspective on critical social theory in nursing education

Nursing has been perceived as oppressed by virtue of among other things gender, occupation and class. It has been suggested that historically, nursing education perpetuated the rituals of tradition and was oppressive in terms of what was taught and how it was taught. Developments in nurse education have resulted in nurse educators seeking alternative means of educating, with the aim of emancipating nurses. Paulo Freire (1921-1997) promoted liberation through reflection and action, directed at transforming the conditions which lead to oppression. The fundamental basis of this approach is critical social theory, which is underpinned by the philosophy that social phenomena must be understood in terms of their context and history. From a critical social theory perspective, fruitful nursing education will only be possible if the history and structure of nursing are clearly understood by those involved in the educational process. We contend that the adoption of Freire's theory in nursing education may contribute towards the development of nurses who will be competent to meet the demands of contemporary healthcare practice. However, the application of this theory to nursing education can be challenging because of constraints imposed by the system in which nurse education takes place. It is therefore important that the application of critical social theory in nurse education be evaluated.

The Persistent Life of Oppression: The Unconscious, Power, and Subjectivity

The rise of standardization signals that Paulo Freire's critique of the banking concept of education continues to be relevant today. But Freire's theory of critical pedagogy has not gone without its critiques. On the one hand, the fact that these criticisms exist should not blind us to the fact that Freire's intention was to formulate an emancipatory pedagogy because of oppressive systems of education. On the other hand, we cannot continue Freire's project without heeding the warnings issued by these criticisms. In this paper, we address pressing issues concerning Freire's libratory pedagogy and the way it has been taken up by recent Marxist theorizing in education while at the same time maintaining the importance for thinking through an emancipatory pedagogy. We are clear: the real culprit in this situation is the persistent life of oppression itself. We utilize psychoanalysis and the theories of Michel Foucault in order to pinpoint and work through a specific problematic concerning Freire's theories – namely: oppression has an existence in the unconscious such that those who are oppressed form passionate attachments to the forms of power that oppress them. Indeed, such a problematic is not flattering for all who are concerned with forms of social oppression, but, we contend, that unless this problem is recognized and worked through, no real liberation is possible

Students as Agents of Classroom Change: The Power of Cultivating Positive Expectations

As a long-term advocate for, and practitioner of, both Paulo Freire's theory of “liberatory education” and bell hooks's “engaged pedagogy,” the author subscribes to their principles of encouraging freedom of thought through active dialogue and the dialogic in an attempt to empower students by making the classroom a space that opens up to radical possibilities. Although these tenets are ideal in theory, they are not necessarily idealized in practice. The article is about a teachable moment that might have gone unnoticed and sour, when high school students came ill prepared for class one day, had it not been for two young men in the class. This article details the critical incident, illuminates the teacher's reaction and action, and discusses how students responded and then became agents of classroom change. This case study details how the incident transformed the students personally and collectively and details the teacher's growth, expanding humility, and transformation as an educator.

Using Theory to Design an Intervention for HIV/AIDS Prevention in Farm Workers in Rural Zimbabwe

A variety of primary prevention strategies are used in HIV prevention programs in Africa. However, these are often developed through intuition and the theoretical basis for many interventions is limited to the knowledge /attitude model. This Article illustrates how research findings from a base-line survey are combined with Paulo Freire's social change theory and the Ecological Model for Health Promotion to develop a participatory intervention for HIV/AIDS prevention in farm workers in Zimbabwe. The article addresses the need to focus attention on the process of change at the interpersonal level, organizational and policy levels of the community. Dialogue is central to the range of strategies proposed for the intervention. The effect will be measured through process and outcome evaluation.

Life project of a group of adolescents based on the theory of Paulo Freire

This study aims to get to know the life project of a group of adolescents at a Basic Health Unit in Marilia-SP. A qualitative research was carried out through semi-structured interviews and group meetings, using the educational group technique with participant observation from the focus of Paulo Freire's theory. Throughout group discussions, three questions arose: what is being an adolescent; what is being healthy and what is the adolescent's life project. These themes were analyzed from the focus of Minayo. The analysis indicated that the adolescents have a life project, in spite of the characteristic difficulties of the socioeconomic conditions they belong to, a fact they perceive. The practice of Freire's ideals enhanced dialogue between the researcher and the group, pointing out that this is one way for a true critical reflection of the identified problems, providing adolescents with a means for making others aware and fighting for their life project.

A conceptual model for empowerment of the female community health volunteers in Nepal.

The existing top-down approach of the training is not appropriate to empower the community health volunteers to produce a sustainable change in their performance. To propose a conceptual model that relies on Freire's theory of empowerment education and the participatory action research methodology to empower the female community health volunteers (FCHVs) to increase their consciousness, competence and confidence in performing their job responsibilities. The model explains the empowerment phenomenon as a process and outcome. As a process it occurs in the form of repeated reinforcement cycles with alternating activities of action and reflection and includes developing awareness, skills and confidence among FCHVs through small group activities. As an outcome, it results in the change in FCHVs' performance in increasing contraceptive acceptance among the rural women of reproductive age group. It is hoped that empowerment of FCHVs will bring sustainable change in their performance and will consequently produce notable improvement in the health of women and children in particular and in the community in general.

Welfare Reform and the Empowerment of Poor Women

ABSTRACT The following paper provides an analysis of the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) and the specific impact of this legislation on poor women and children. It is argued that the current political/policy climate demands that helping professionals need to rethink their intervention methods in working with poor women. Proposed is an innovative response to the needs of this constituency which utilizes Freire's (1971) theories of popular education and “conscientization” as a model. The proposed model is founded on the belief that in order to achieve lasting change and real self-sufficiency women welfare recipients will need to begin to recognize themselves as political beings with the potential for exercising both individual and collective power. Moreover, it is argued that social workers and other frontline professionals have a critical role to play in the promotion of social justice, and social action on behalf of the poor clients they serve.

Teaching Anti-Racism.

This paper is a discussion of the application of democraticand anti-racist educational principles in a college setting.The paper explores both the implications of pedagogical theoryfor anti-racism and the implications of anti-racism forpedagogy. After giving a brief description of the conditionsencountered in an economically and intellectually impoverishedregion of the country, the paper outlines an application ofJohn Dewey's educational theory to college instruction.Then, after an account of what racism is, the paper reappliesDewey's model to the teaching of anti-racism, and with thehelp of Paulo Freire's theory of educational praxis,readapts Deweyan principles to the task of reconstructingour classrooms as models of anti-racist communities.

Health education as education of the oppressed.

Paolo Freire's theory of critical thinking shows remarkable similarities to the principles supported by health education. In his capacity as Brazilian educationalist, Freire emphasized man's active participation in his own development. Without this active involvement, growth and development become quite impossible to attain. Freire's theory is therefore generally well suited for use by those supporters of the currently emphasised actions of community empowerment and community involvement. Health education, and more particularly successful health education, is nothing more than community empowerment. It enables each individual, within a community, to take control of his/her own life and well-being. The health care professional cannot assign power and control to the individual; it can only be assumed by each individual within the community. In this regard it becomes evident that passive conveyance of the health care message, albeit from health care professional to individual recipient (in this instance to the patient), is of no use to the community, whereas active involvement of the individual displays greater success. According to Paolo Freire, health education should focus on collective knowledge, the latter being the result of the group dynamics, produced by discussion on past experiences, and the analyses there-of. The professional guides these dynamic processes, not only to identify needs regarding health education, but also to assist in making decisions on health. Ultimately each individual will then experience the responsibility for his/her own health. A discussion of the use of the theory of critical thinking, as well as the implementation there-of in practice, is provided.

Paulo Freire and Pedagogy for Social Justice

This paper examines the work of Paulo Freire, until his recent death the most widely recognized educator in the world. Freire is addressed in theory and practice, analyzing his objective idealism and his efforts to build critical consciousness in literacy campaigns, especially in Grenada. The examination of Freire's theory and practice offers a window into his larger project: pedagogy for liberation. At issue is whether or not the promise of critical consciousness and liberation from oppression can be achieved by Freire's theoretical stance or his “see-judge-act” system of interactive education. Freire's emphasis on the pivotal role of ideas as a material force, his critical method of analysis, his determination to engage in concrete social practice, his democratic and ethical pedagogy, and his insistence that leaders become one with the mass of people, offer guides to understand how his lessons might be used to deepen questions about the form and content of citizenship education with social justice as a goal.

Paulo Freire in the Composition Classroom

The composition classroom in which students can relate and assess their attitudes and suppositions about sexuality and gender through building on the narrative of their lives, is vital to transforming homophobic attitudes and social structures. Paulo Freire's theories of transformative education and his concept ofpraxishelp to create this classroom. The author discusses how she createspraxisin her classrooms, which she believes is essential to social, legal, and political change: to consolidating and expanding increased equity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, indeed to all marginalized peoples.

Consciousness-raising groups as a multicultural awareness approach: An experience with counselor trainees.

This article discusses the usefulness of consciousness-raising (CR) groups in the training of multiculturally aware counselors, and provides a description of their use in a graduate course on multicultural and gender issues in counseling. The conceptual framework for this training experience is built on Young's (1992) analysis of oppression, Freire's (1971, 1973) theory of liberating pedagogy, and social constructionist philosophy. Course procedures and several CR activities are described; the training experience is evaluated in terms of student reactions to it and potential dilemmas an instructor might face in using this format for teaching.

A treatment model for women substance users.

This paper sets forth a multifaceted program which consists of drug user women-centered counseling plus ancillary services based on the five basic steps of Freire's empowerment theory. The program is designed to increase self-awareness, skills, and knowledge acquisition, to reduce feelings of isolation by broadening interpersonal networks, includes activities to enhance assertiveness and communication skills, and parenting education to counteract inappropriate mother-child interaction as well as to positively influence role modeling. Both transportation and child care are recommended ancillary services.

Using Theory to Design an Intervention for HIV/AIDS Prevention in Farm Workers in Rural Zimbabwe

A variety of primary prevention strategies are used in HIV prevention programs in Africa. However, these are often developed through intuition and the theoretical basis for many interventions is limited to the knowledge/attitude model. This article illustrates how research findings from a base-line survey are combined with Paulo Freire's social change theory and the Ecological Model for Health Promotion to develop a participatory intervention for HIV/AIDS prevention in farm workers in Zimbabwe. The article addresses the need to focus attention on the process of change at the interpersonal level, organizational and policy levels of the community. Dialogue is central to the range of strategies proposed for the intervention. The effect will be measured through process and outcome evaluation.

Freirian praxis in health education: research results from an adolescent prevention program.

This article illustrates how Paulo Freire's social change theory can be integrated with a cognitive and behavior change theory to develop a comprehensive health education program directed at both individual- and community-level change. Through discussion of ASAP, an alcohol and substance abuse prevention program for youth from high-risk communities in New Mexico, this article presents an interweaving of Freirian theory and protection-motivation cognitive change theory. Qualitative research data are provided on the processes of change, the interplay of personal and societal factors, and the potential outcomes as a result of using this integrated approach. Programmatic and evaluation implications for health education programs are discussed.

Striving for empowerment through nutrition education

The development of a nutrition education philosophy that includes empowerment goals and a family approach to intervention holds great potential for dietetic practitioners who work with populations at risk for malnutrition and hunger as a result of poverty. A substance abuse community health intervention program in New Mexico for empowerment of high-risk minority youth used Freire's theory and documented outcomes of healthier choices in life-styles. Many of the youth became health educators for peers in their schools and communities ( 1. Wallerstein N Bernstein E Empowerment education: Freire's ideas adapted to health education. Health Educ Q. 1988; 15: 379-394 Google Scholar ). A university course in family policy analysis recognized advocacy and empowerment as goals in family policy and adapted Freire's problem-posing method as a guide for critical thinking ( 2. Guoss B Teaching family policy through advocacy and empowerment. Family Relations. 1992; 41: 39-43 Google Scholar ). Finally, a clinic intervention program for hyperlipidemic individuals that targeted the entire family found the family approach to be most effective ( 3. McMurry MP Hopkins PN Gould R Engelbert-Fenton K Schumacher C Wu LL Williams RR Family-oriented nutrition intervention for a lipid clinic population. J Am Diet Assoc. 1991; 91: 57-65 Google Scholar ).