Critical Pedagogy as an Emancipatory Education and Existentialism

Critical pedagogy as a philosophy of emancipatory education has been inspiring many educators and researchers in different fields of study for nearly half a century now. The philosophy that greatly influenced Paulo Freire, the known father of critical pedagogy, and his conceptualisation of an emancipatory education is Sartre’s existentialism which supports the belief in absolute human freedom. The key concepts of critical pedagogy namely conscientisation and praxis are rooted in existentialist conceptualisation of authenticity and freedom. This article is an effort to critically scrutinize the existentialist aspect of critical pedagogy. This would help educators to deepen their understanding of critical pedagogy and improve their teaching method and practice applying this approach in their educational settings.

Keywords:

critical pedagogy , existentialism , conscientisation , praxis , authenticity