Disciplinary pressures within academia often produce specialised and one-sided accounts of complex social processes. Convincing accounts of popular education regularly acknowledge the importance of social movements but without theorising them adequately -- and vice versa. This one-sidedness is compounded by a widespread tendency to generalise from…

Fifty years after he wrote "Pedagogy of the Oppressed" (1970), Brazilian educator Paulo Freire's work is as relevant as ever. But while many of Freire's ideas are well known in the United States, there is limited research on their application in social movement settings, a practice commonly known as "popular education". This…

The historical process of consolidation of a Latin American and Caribbean critical social theory is framed, to a great extent, in interpreting our socio-historical formation, identifying the axes that structure the great regional and national problems, with the intention of constructing analytical categories destined to contribute to social…

In the 1970s and 1980s, the social and professional imaginaries of education, sociopolitical conceptions of it, and educational practices in Spain, began to be influenced by certain elements specific to critical popular education, which had developed in Latin America during the "long 1960s." Paulo Freire's work was particularly prominent…

This paper discusses insights from a larger study of popular educators' deployment of Freire's pedagogical principles during facilitator training. The paper focuses on data from two facilitators and attempts to examine how popular education principles are applied in two different socio-economic and political contexts, Canada and South Africa.…

In contribution to a body of scholarship that examines teaching as a form of learning, the paper addresses a central question: What can be learnt from organised mobilisation to educate in communities eager to strengthen their unique biocultural heritage? The question is explored through an examination of two grassroots education projects in Latin…

A key aspect of teaching 'development' is understanding the conundrums and tensions between balance and imbalance with constructs of global (all humans, all societies, all populations) and planetary (all of Earth, including humans) spheres. This article deconstructs some key tenets of populist post-truth frameworks (termed as…

The strengthening of the European migration policies, the increase of hate speech from ultra-conservative social groups, and the partial victory of the extreme right in the recent elections generate a scenario of constant threats to the human rights of immigrant people. In this context, this study supports the hypothesis that popular education…

Since its inception, intersectional theory and practice have instigated new forms of analysis and activity that offer to renew and reassert the relevance of Marxist inspired educational praxes. Taking inspiration from intersectional theory and a broad range of disciplines and contexts including Geography and Ethnic Studies, this entry will explore…

The United States is at a turning point in its history. Insurrection has become a dominant motif describing a country torn between the promises and ideals of democracy and an emergent authoritarianism that trades in lies, lawlessness, and a rebranded fascist politics. In this article, I analyze the contrasting visions, politics, and role of…

How far does the neoliberal system pervade social and educational fields in its attempt to colonise the world of life? Neoliberalism is increasingly penetrating every aspect of human existence. From this context, this paper presents a set of alternative socio-educational experiences which are subtly constructing new latent revolutionary…

The global Occupy! actions gave some pause for thought. At first, some thought that this was a global movement that could change the way politics was conducted and maybe see the end of capitalism as we knew it. The hopes for Occupy! were high, but the highest hopes for the movement were short lived. This paper examines Occupy!'s legacy; what…

This paper explores how incorporating localized historical acts of racial injustice into Sociology courses can have a variety of pedagogical and social impacts. The use of one such event, the 1918 lynching of 13 people in South Georgia, led to the formation of the Mary Turner Project (MTP). We document the organization's work as well as its impact…

Participatory Action Research (PAR) is increasingly recognized within academic research and pedagogy. What are the benefits of including feminism within participatory action research and teaching? In responding to this question, we discuss the similarities and salient differences between PAR and feminist informed PAR (FPAR). There are eight themes…

This article discusses one social movement in Buenos Aires--"Frente Popular Darío Fernández" (FPDF)--whose goal was to assist public school teachers in becoming leaders of their communities by providing them an opportunity to learn about social mobilizing and popular education through a series of Freirean-based workshops. Guided by…