Shades of Freire: Exorcising the spectre haunting pedagogy

Abstract

In the second part of this special issue on neoliberalism, pedagogy and curriculum, I explore the contributions of each author to confronting neo-liberal reforms of education, notably the spectre of neo-liberalism haunting aspects of pedagogy, teaching and curriculum. Exemplary of the scholarly work produced by many critical educators, the contributing authors share an understanding of the oppressive function of educational apparatuses and their complicity with the reproduction of dominant epistemes of knowledge/power. In this case, neo-liberalism is defined as a canonical narrative through which existing education relations, practices and discourses are structured and mediated. Against this neo-liberal imaginary, the authors argue in favour of models of knowing, learning and teaching that work to sustain practices of critical inquiry and self-discovery among learners as active, reflexive and engaged subjects. The result is a timely collection of papers critiquing the nuances pertaining to the global transmission of neo-liberal education and a much-needed reinvigoration of the Freirean demand for a liberating and critical pedagogy.