Abstract
This book has been almost seven years in the making. Though the work has certainly not been continuous for all those years, it was a major focus of the three of us for most of them. It is a tribute to Paulo Freire, his courage, his humanity, and the timelessness and relevancy of his ideas that our work on this manuscript was never tedious, never dull, and never a burden, but rather a constant source of joy, inspiration, and discovery. Although the book was always intended to be a critical but friendly description and analysis of Freire's efforts as Secretary of Education, the need to disseminate information about this radical educational reform became even more urgent after the sad news of Paulo Freire's death in May 1997. Thus, while this text is the result of the scholarly efforts of three researchers, it is also a celebration of a revolutionary thinker who had the unique opportunity to make his ideas concrete and therefore affect the lives of countless young children in his native country. We dedicate our efforts on this volume to Paulo Freire and to the hundreds of educators in Sao Paulo whom he inspired to work tirelessly in creating a happy, democratic school dedicated to serving poor and working class children and their communities. It has been our pleasure and privilege to have worked with Paulo Freire and the many educators involved in educational reform in Sao Paulo. Their commitment, courage, political clarity and struggle for social justice and equality are a constant source of motivation and inspiration for us to renew and reinvigorate our own efforts in the fight for equal rights, decency and justice.
This book examines critically the ideas and performance of Paulo Freire as secretary of education in Brazil in the early 1990s, during the socialist democratic administration of the Workers Party in So Paulo. With an emphasis on theory, the authors discuss the relationships between the state and social movements as well as the relationships between teachers and curriculum reform. In so doing, they thoroughly examine the intersection of politics and education in educational reform in one of the major urban centers of Latin America. This book examines critically the ideas and performance of Paulo Freire as secretary of education in Brazil in the early 1990s, during the socialist democratic administration of the Workers Party in So Paulo. With an emphasis on theory, the authors discuss the relationships between the state and social movements as well as the relationships between teachers and curriculum reform. In so doing, they thoroughly examine the intersection of politics and education in educational reform in one of the major urban centers of Latin America.A central focus of the book is the project of interdisciplinarity in teachers trainingan essential principle of the Freirean proposal. By concentrating on classrooms, schools, and teachers and by use of a detailed empirical analysis, this book constitutes an assessment of an original, far-reaching, and radical process of educational reform. The foundations and methodologies of the So Paulo experience can be implemented in different international contexts. The authors show how students and teachers were engaged in the process of curriculum and governance reform and what kind of political awareness emerged in schools and communities experiencing radical educational reform.