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From Lay Teachers to University Students: The Path for Empowerment through Culturally Based Pedagogical Action
Author(s) -
Lima Elvira Souza,
Gazzetta Marineusa
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
anthropology and education quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.531
H-Index - 46
eISSN - 1548-1492
pISSN - 0161-7761
DOI - 10.1525/aeq.1994.25.3.04x0142l
Subject(s) - empowerment , sociology , action (physics) , theme (computing) , pedagogy , autonomy , dictatorship , space (punctuation) , democracy , political science , politics , law , computer science , physics , quantum mechanics , operating system
Empowerment is becoming a fairly common theme of discussion in the education literature in many countries. In Brazil this theme has been relevant for over 30 years and has survived 20 years of dictatorship. From nonformal education to popular education to innovations within the formal system of education, our experience reveals that to provide situations to empower people through educational development is a complex activity. It demands more than giving people the time and space to express themselves as it was considered initially. Though expressing oneself is an important component of a process of empowerment, it cannot be accounted for as the main or only component. Empowerment depends greatly on oriented reflective action. In order to develop autonomy each individual must have knowledge about the instruments and processes through which one gains a voice in a given society. A successful example of empowerment through formal education is presented in order to illustrate the recent developments of culturally based pedagogy in Brazil.