Thomistic reading of Freirean pedagogy

The re-evaluation of education has been one of the vital concerns of the previous century, owing to the events therein that defined subsequent history. Various educational systems are said to have influenced the prevalence of colonial mindset alongside structures that hinder the autonomy of students vis-à-vis their freedom in learning. It is in this context that Paulo Freire develops his acclaimed pedagogy which promotes a humanising education that affirms persons as human beings. Over the manifold forms of oppression that threaten personal freedom, Freire’s pedagogy forwards dialogic education through which students consciously take part in personal and societal transformation. Although Freirean thought is associated with Marxism, the Thomistic tradition affirms its core which seeks ‘the vocation of becoming more fully human.’ Jacques Maritain clarifies that education’s primary aim is to ‘form a man,’ integrating into a person the cultural, social, and intellectual aspects of human life. Parallel to the Freirean emphasis on the complementarity of reflection and action in dialogic education is the Thomistic valuation for contemplation brought to completion by human action.