Another Step Forward: Engaging the Political in Learning

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size

Notes

1 Myles Horton cofounded the Highlander Folk School (later renamed Highlander Education and Research Center; HERC) in his home state of Tennessee (USA) in 1932. Leading up to and through the US civil rights movement Highlander helped train and educate leaders of social movements for racial justice and labor rights, with an emphasis on literacy and citizenship. Today, HERC continues its commitment to integrate education and social change, by supporting education efforts to advance racial justice, labor rights, prison reform and immigration rights.

2 Paulo Freire, Brazilian educator and activist is best known for his writings on critical pedagogy. Focusing primarily on literacy education in impoverished communities, he articulated what would be known as a theory of liberatory education (drawing on John Dewey and others) that has since been interpreted, elaborated, and mobilized in communities around the globe, and credited with influencing movements for social justice through education.