At a time when extremist movements are gaining proportions on the world stage, it is relevant to reanalyse experiences that intended to establish democracy as a principle in school education. The School Republic was one of them, which was proposed by the Sampaio Dória Reform, in 1920, taking the New School as its context; the School Republic aimed…

This paper is a written dialogue among four activists from the Emancipa Popular Education Movement in Brazil, following the principles of Freirean pedagogy as a "circle of culture." It delves into how "popular knowledge can be experienced as popular power," narrating the history, struggles, and strategies employed by the…

In this paper we situate a discussion of the decolonial curriculum within the context of a Brazilian postgraduate programme (MPEJA) focused on adult and youth education (EJA). We draw on the work of Paulo Freire in our discussion of decolonial thinking and its pedagogical representation within EJA in Brazil. We suggest that engagement with the…

This paper presents an evaluation of the information literacies used by community representatives when engaging with participatory budgeting in São Paulo City, Brazil. Using questions established from context-setting interviews with stakeholders, a focus group was held in 2019 with eight participative councillors, with "in situ"…

This article addresses the "National Common Core Curriculum" in Brazil, focusing both on its "Introduction" and the sections dedicated to music teaching. The paper draws on contributions from broad critical curricular perspectives, arguing for the access to "powerful knowledge" as a means of achieving social justice…

Reducing education to pure technique is to anesthetize curiosity (Freire, 1997). Neo-liberal policies privilege private interests and promote a model of education based on competition and consumerism (Harvey, 2005). This model of education perpetuates and increases inequalities. It also affects education whose priority is not to deliver learners…

This article addresses key topics of academic freedom and critical pedagogy during a time of right-wing populist politics. The rise of the far-right politician Jair Bolsonaro to Brazil's presidency in 2019 was accompanied by a vow to eradicate any vestige of the ideas of Brazilian educator Paulo Freire from the country's schools. Bolsonaro's…

Reluctance to embrace change leaves societies vulnerable to the rise of authoritarian political ideologies, particularly during times of socioeconomic and political crises. Public schools have seen an increase in incidents where fundamentalist groups with differing agendas have attempted to pressure them into adopting curricula whose literacy…

Background/Context: Considered one of the most influential educators in Brazil's history, Anísio Teixeira is one of the renowned Latin American students who came to Teachers College (TC). Teixeira was a prominent reformer and educator known for advocating free, public, and secular education accessible to all children. His work as an educator and…

In this paper, we sought to analyze if the internet and social networks usage could be impacting the constitution of an assertive political culture among young people in South Brazil. We hypothesize that although these new socialized agents are widespread among the young, apathy and disinterest in politics remain. To test our hypothesis, we…

This paper discusses how the construction of citizenship and citizen identities takes place among young students in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Considering that education is responsible for fostering the sense of citizenship, this research asked 209 students from a public high school to write letters to a future Brazilian president and to answer an…

The debate around standardized assessments became a global agenda imposed by multilateral organizations. These tests, in the neoliberal context, impose an impoverishment of the curriculum and also strong control over the teaching work. On the other hand, it also causes resistance from social movements. This paper addresses this process of disputes…

Engendering well-being, peace and prosperity in a nation is a long-standing critical issue for possibly all countries worldwide. Many earlier hypotheses and formulas on how to generate 'wealth' have proven inadequate or failed. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the consensus was that the concepts of inclusive political institutions and…

"As the experiences of AfroLatinx groups continue to gain momentum in academic conversations, AfroBrazilians' identity and racialized experiences remain undertheorized. Anchored by the conceptual framework of AfroLatinidades and methodologically situated in the realm of qualitative research, this study draws from oral history interviews to…

This paper examines contemporary challenges for education and democracy in Brazil. In the past decade, conservative forces headed by the Escola sem Partido (ESP) movement have led a scaremongering campaign against teachers and public education, with Paulo Freire's critical educational philosophies as their main enemy. This study investigates the…