Australian Journal of Adult Learning - Volume 61 - Issue 3 - Our homeland is humanity: The Cuban School of Literacy and Pedagogy of the Oppressed

Oct 15, 2026

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The paper examines theoretical and practical connections between Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed and Cuba’s School of Literacy, emphasizing adult literacy work and participatory action research conducted with Cuban literacy specialists. It draws on experience from adult literacy campaigns in Timor-Leste and Australia that adopted the Yo, Sí Puedo model developed in Cuba, and it incorporates interview material from Cuba with leading academics and practitioners. It argues for considering how these campaigns, in theory and in practice, function as a contemporary pedagogy of the oppressed.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time53 min

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Our homeland is humanity: The Cuban School of Literacy and Pedagogy of the Oppressed

Timor-Leste’s National Literacy Campaign 2004-2012

Australian Journal of Adult Learning Volume 61, Number 3, November 2021 Our homeland is humanity: The Cuban School of Literacy and Pedagogy of the Oppressed Bob Boughton Deborah Durnan The ideas of the Cuban ‘School of Literacy’ are much less well-known in the west than Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed. This paper isan exploration of the theoretical and practical links between these two historic examples of popular education. The analysis is informed by our direct experience working and undertaking participatory action research alongside Cuban literacy specialists on adult literacy campaigns in Timor-Leste and Australia. These campaigns utilised a model known internationally by its Spanish name, Yo, Sí Puedo (Eng: Yes, I Can!). We also include material from interviews in Cuba with leading literacy academics and practitioners. Key words: Paulo Freire, popular education, adult literacy campaigns, Cuba, Yo, Sí Puedo, Timor-Leste, First Nations education Last year was the fiftieth anniversary of the publication in English of Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed. This year, 2021, marks the sixtieth anniversary of an equally significant landmark in the history of Latin American popular education, the Cuban national 356 Bob Boughton and Deborah Durnan literacy campaign of 1961 (Kozol 1978) . In this paper, we explore some theoretical and practical links between these two events, by reflecting on our experiences working and researching in two recent adult literacy campaigns in Timor-Leste and Australia, both of which utilised the Yo, Sí Puedo (Eng: Yes, I Can!) campaign model developed by the Institute of Pedagogy for LatinAmerica and the Caribbean (IPLAC) in Cuba. Over a sixteen-year period, from the initial planning of the Timor national literacy campaign in 2004-5, through to its completion in 2012; and in Australia from 2011 to 2020, we worked with Cuban literacy specialistson the design, delivery and evaluation of these campaigns. Bob was the chief investigator on two Australian Research Council projects, evaluating the conduct and impact of these campaigns. Deborah worked as a research associate on the study in Timor-Leste, and as campaign coordinator on the Australian campaign. Over the same period, we twice visited Cuba, to learn more about the ‘Cuban School of Literacy’ from adult literacy academics at IPLAC in Havana. In this paper, we invite readers to consider the extent to which these two campaigns, in theory, and in practice, constitute a contemporary Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Timor-Leste’s National Literacy Campaign 2004-2012 Our involvement with both Timor-Leste and Paulo Freire began in 1974. In that year the Carnation Revolution in Portugal ended decades of fascist rule, initiating a process of decolonisation in Portugal’s overseas territories, including what was then known as Portuguese Timor. Paulo Freire was visiting Australia when news of the revolution arrived (Freire 2006, p.156-8). From here, he went directly to meet with leaders of the national liberation movements of Guinea-Bissau and Angola, to begin his collaboration with them on mass literacy campaigns. Coincidentally, his ideas were simultaneously heading in the opposite direction, with a group of university students returning to Timor from Portugal, where they had learned of his work from their radical anti-colonial comrades in Lisbon. They brought with them a literacy manual, Timor is Our Country, written in a local language, Tetum. They then trained other students to go with them into the countryside, to mount a literacy campaign aimed at building support for the anti-colonial independence party, the Revolutionary Front for the Independence of Timor-Leste (FRETILIN). But within months, the Indonesian government began a destabilisation campaign to prevent a ‘little Cuba’ from emerging in the region, culminating in a Our homeland is humanity: The Cuban School of Literacy and Pedagogy of the Oppressed 357 full-scale militar

FAQs

What is the paper’s central focus regarding adult literacy education?

It explores links between Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed and Cuba’s literacy school, focusing on how those ideas connect in adult literacy campaigns.

Which adult literacy campaign model is highlighted in the paper?

The paper emphasizes the Yo, Sí Puedo campaign model, referenced by its Spanish name and English meaning, used in Timor-Leste and Australia.

How does the paper describe the origins of Timor-Leste’s national literacy campaign?

It traces involvement beginning in 1974, then outlines events leading to a national literacy effort supported through planning and collaboration involving both local and Cuban actors.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Franzy