Australian Journal of Adult Learning - Volume 61 - Issue 3 - November 2021 - Becoming an activist-scholar through Pedagogy of the Oppressed

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Aran

Autoethnographic reflection on how Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed shapes understandings of education, social change, and social research. Drawing connections between anthropology and education, the author traces a transition from teacher to researcher, foregrounding learning through discomfort as a guiding principle for critical pedagogy. The paper develops activist-scholarship through autoethnography, linking discomfort and praxis across school-based teaching, higher education, and community research in global South contexts.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages23

Reading Time58 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Anthropology and Pedagogy of the Oppressed

Australian Journal of Adult Learning Volume 61, Number 3, November 2021 Becoming an activist-scholar through Pedagogy of the Oppressed: An autoethnographic account of engaging with Freire as a teacher and researcher Helen Underhill This paper contributes an autoethnographic account of how Paulo Freire’s work shapes understandings of education, social change and the possibilities and practices of social research. Drawing on connections between anthropology and education (Schultz, 2014) that underpin Pedagogy of the Oppressed (McKenna, 2013), Iexplore spaces and practices through which Freire’s seminal text provided me with the critical consciousness to interrogate the human experience of education and learning, and to question my practice as I transitioned from teacher to researcher, paying particular attention to learning through discomfort (Boler, 1999). The paper therefore contributes an applied contemporary reading of Pedagogy of the Oppressed to demonstrate its continued significance for theory and practice informal and nonformal education, and its relevance for reimagining research practice. As a form of critically engaged reflective scholarship, the autoethnographic enquiry asks educatorsand researchers to question their own conceptualisations and practices of knowledge and research to consider a significant and urgent proposition: how we do the work to understand education and our imaginations of what and how it might become. Becoming an activist-scholar through Pedagogy of the Oppressed: 399 An autoethnographic account of engaging with Freire as a teacher and researcher Keywords: autoethnography, Freire, discomfort, activism, research practice, education Introduction Paulo Freire’s analyses and insights of working with marginalised communities places the human at the heart of our understandings of learning and education. As a teacher, academic and researcher, engaging with Freire as philosophical anthropology (Gadotti, 2017) for educators reframed Pedagogy of the Oppressed as the foundation for a manifesto of critically conscious pedagogy within all forms and spaces of education and research. When I realised Freire’s critiques about education and imaginations ofits possibilities evolved through work with communities rather than school-based teaching but that his arguments were integral to our thinking and practice in both contexts, my journey became a pursuit for reimaginations of education and the creation, construction and production of knowledge. In short, Pedagogy of the Oppressed transformed my understanding of education into a politicised human experience and living pedagogy that necessarily reaches far beyond schools and schooling. In this paper, I contribute an autoethnographic reflection of developing as an educator and researcher through Freire’s pedagogy, drawing on my work in three different contexts: school-based teaching and higher education in England and research in low income communities in the global South. I argue that autoethnography enables us to reimagine and engage with Freire as a living pedagogy of discomfort, a process that is a necessary guiding principle for continuing to reimagine how we educate and research. The connections drawn between discomfort and praxis in different educational contexts present an original contribution to the study of Freire’s work, particularly relevant to educators engaging in educational and community-based research and/or teacher education. The paper begins with a brief introduction to the theoretical thread Freire built between anthropology and education to situate the contribution within studies of adult learning and education, and to begin the conceptualisation of activist-scholarship. The connection between anthropology and education is further developed in the next section as I reflect on autoethnography as a method of enquiry through which 400 Helen Underhill researchers reflect critically on their own practice and understandings of educ

FAQs

What is the main purpose of the paper?

To provide an autoethnographic account of how Freire’s work shapes the author’s understandings of education, social change, and social research, particularly through learning via discomfort.

How does autoethnography function in the author’s argument?

Autoethnography enables the author to reimagine and engage with Freire as a living pedagogy of discomfort while prompting educators and researchers to question their own knowledge practices.

Which contexts does the paper draw on to develop activist-scholarship?

School-based teaching and teacher education, social action and activism, and community-based research in low- and middle-income countries.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Aran