Abstract

Critical pedagogy is a long-standing educational movement that has inspired the work of numerous authors and practitioners in recent decades. Its development throughout the years has resulted in a plethora of meanings and practices, and today there are several diverse perspectives that exist under the umbrella term of critical pedagogy. Taking this into account, this literature review aims to analyse how critical pedagogy has transitioned from Paulo Freire’s original work into contemporary practices. To accomplish this, the interpretation of critical pedagogy presented in 100 peer-reviewed papers published between 2007 and 2014 have been compared with writings by Paulo Freire, who is considered by many as the father of critical pedagogy. As a result, this critical review explores how the transformative aim of critical pedagogy, its associated student-centred approaches, and the concepts of conscientization and praxis have transitioned from Freire’s views into current theory and practice. Finally, by analysing experiences described throughout the articles surveyed, the presentation overviews some of the major possibilities and challenges that future implementations of critical pedagogy are likely to face. This presentation is part of an ongoing doctoral research developed within the School of Education at Trinity College Dublin.