Beyond the Classroom: Reconsidering the Role of Learner-Centered Teaching using Paulo Freire’s Philosophy of Education

Abstract

Employing a textual analysis of the concepts of learner-centered teaching (LCT) and Freire's philosophy, this paper reconsiders the role of LCT beyond the classroom setting by infusing the principles of Paolo Freire's Philosophy of Education in his Pedagogy of the Oppressed. LCT is a promising pedagogical approach utilized in different educational levels among different academic disciplines. It incorporates psychological principles allowing meaningful learning through different teaching-learning activities. Studies on LCT showed an increase in student motivation to learn, involvement in the learning process, and understanding of content via meaning-making activities formulated specifically to suit the students' needs. Paolo Freire, a Brazilian philosopher and revolutionary, criticized the traditional educational practices which cause "narration sickness" among learners. Freire argued that a "banking method" of teaching alienates both educators and students as they are being treated as objects instead of human beings in the learning process. As such, Freire proposed a problem-posing method based on a dialogic paradigm between educators and students to liberate them from the alienation of traditional narrative teaching. This dialogic or problem-posing approach incorporates an anthropological, political, and spiritual paradigm shift which ultimately allows educators and learners to attain authentic meaning.