EMPOWERING EDUCATORS: INTEGRATING PEDAGOGY OF THE OPPRESSED INTO TEACHER EDUCATION

This article discusses Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed and how it can be meaningfully integrated into teacher preparation programs. Freire’s ideas challenge traditional top-down forms of teaching thinking through dialogue, critical awareness, and a form of social consciousness that we believe, can offer new prospects for teacher education programs. The article outlines and describes several key aspects of Freirean pedagogy including the teacher-student relationship, conscientization, and reflection to provide in depth ideas about how Freirean pedagogy can transform teacher preparation so educators are prepared for equity-oriented and transformative practices in their classrooms. Furthermore, we provide a literature review, discuss common challenges, and provide examples from different contexts globally that illustrate Freire's ideas influence in teacher education. Lastly, we provide general recommendations for enacting and integrating critical pedagogy into educator puppy in order to make an argument of why educator preparation must change to better serve the constantly changing dynamic, and diverse learning communities with which we interact.