PAULO FREIRE'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO EDUCATION: AWARENESS, INTERPRETING THE WORLD, AND AUTONOMY IN EDUCATIONAL PRACTICE

Abstract

This expanded abstract presents a reflection on Paulo Freire’s main contributions to education, with particular emphasis on the concepts of conscientization, reading the world, dialogue, autonomy, and human formation. Drawing on an approach grounded in his works, this study seeks to understand education as a social, political, and pedagogical practice committed to the formation of individuals capable of critically interpreting the reality in which they live and participating in its transformation. Freirean thought breaks with the conception of education as the mere transmission of content and proposes an educational practice based on dialogue, listening, valuing learners’ knowledge, and questioning reality. In this sense, the works Conscientization, The Importance of the Act of Reading, and Pedagogy of Autonomy help us understand that teaching does not mean transmitting knowledge, but rather creating possibilities for individuals to construct their own knowledge, develop their autonomy, and recognize their condition as historical and unfinished beings in the world. This reflection also highlights the relevance of Paulo Freire’s thought to teacher education and to the construction of a democratic, inclusive, and humanizing school.