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The Role of Education in Humanization

Paulo Freire
This text is a summary of lectures given by Paulo Freire at a conference held in Santiago in May 1967, under the sponsorship of the Organization of American States, the government of Chile, and the University of Chile. Translated from the version published in the FAEEBA Journal – Education and Contemporary Studies, n°. 7, January/July 1997, this paper condenses the ontological and epistemological foundations of the Brazilian educator, as well as demonstrating his more direct relationship with phenomenology and existentialism through direct appropriation of Gabriel Marcel, Jean-Paul Sartre, Karl Jaspers and a vast phenomenological vocabulary.

Repress, Occupy, or Instruct? An Action-Research Study with Justice-Involved Youth in Brazil

Julio Cesar Francisco
This study aims to present, analyze, and discuss an action-research educational experience conducted in a detention center of the Juvenile Justice System in northeastern Brazil. Methodologically, the research was grounded in bibliographic, documentary, and field approaches, using the following research procedures: I. participant observations to closely examine the educational practices developed by educators (teachers and social educators) with male adolescents aged 12 to 17 years; II. establishment of agreements, dialogues, observations, collaborative actions, conflict mediations, and propositions to guide pedagogical activities in the socio-educational unit; III. preparation of a field diary to support the construction of a record of experiences; IV. production of pedagogical resources from the educational practices analyzed and experienced, employing theoretical tools of socialist pedagogical approaches. The research findings identified objectives, content, values, and methods that are aligned with three foundational pedagogical approaches: the Pedagogy of “learning to learn,” Competence Pedagogy, and Repressive Pedagogy. These approaches are eclectically combined in educational practices, proving to be minimally preventive and lacking in deliberate pedagogical character.

Pedagogies of Resistance: Reclaiming Student Autonomy through Student-Led Teaching in Higher Education

Daniela Lehner and Björn Weber
This article explores student-led teaching as a counter-hegemonic educational practice in response to the neoliberal restructuring of higher education. Drawing on critical pedagogy, we reflect on the co-development and facilitation of a student-led course at a university in Austria. Guided by a practice-based approach informed by reflexive thematic analysis, we used our field notes to reveal the many ways in which students co-created and shaped the course. The findings indicate that student-led teaching can foster meaningful engagement, a sense of ownership, and the development of critical political agency. At the same time, uneven participation revealed challenges, with more confident or experienced students at times dominating discussions. These dynamics underscore the need for attentiveness to power relations and inclusive facilitation. The most transformative moments emerged when classroom discussions connected with lived experience, especially when they involved collective social engagement beyond the university walls, affirming the value of linking higher education to collective action.

Surveillance, Tyranny, and Technocratic Colonialism: A Critical Interrogation of Gen-AI Solutionism in Higher Education Curriculum

Richard McInnes
The adoption of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI) in higher education curriculum design is often framed as an inevitable step toward efficiency and innovation. In this paper, I employ critical realism to interrogate the ideological and political dimensions of gen-AI adoption, arguing that it represents a form of technocratic colonialism that reinforces neoliberal and surveillance-driven imperatives. By interrogating who benefits from these technologies and whose interests are marginalised, I problematise gen-AI’s role in shaping knowledge production, academic labour, and epistemic hierarchies. Through a critical education lens, I highlight how universities, in their embrace of gen-AI, risk entrenching structures of control, eroding pedagogical autonomy, promoting epistemic dependence, marginalising educator expertise, and privileging dominant knowledge systems while excluding alternative epistemologies. Urging a shift from techno-solutionism to critical engagement, I advocate for resistance to gen-AI’s unchecked integration in curricula, ensuring that educational transformation remains grounded in equity, ethics, and intellectual agency.

The Threat to DEI Initiatives: How Ontario Teacher Hiring Policies Privilege Whiteness

Zuhra Abawi, Stephanie Tuters and Aurra Startup
Given the recent increase in attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusivity (DEI) policies in North America and beyond, we explore the context surrounding recent changes to hiring policies for teachers in Ontario, Canada. The pressures to revoke policies are not new, and have been present in Ontario for many years, resulting in a roller coaster of policy enactments and revocations such as with Regulation 274/12 and PPM 165. The initial enactment of Ontario Regulation 274/12 that was intended to tackle issues of racism and discrimination in hiring practices was widely misunderstood and misconstrued by those who do not support DEI policies causing regulating bodies to publish articles debunking myths surrounding the policy. However, misconception and lack of support remained, which encouraged the Ontario Government to inevitably revoke PPM 165. In this article, we explore the social and political context surrounding the policies and the policy changes to help the reader understand the true purpose and utility of policies such as Regulation 274/12. It is our hope that administrators and hiring committees will find this information helpful as they attempt to hire teachers for their schools. Given the current political climate, this type of exploration is more important than ever.

Anti-Wokeness, Hate Speech, and Rights Discourse Uphold the Status Quo: Current Realities in Education and Law

Safeera Jaffer, Ashna Hudani and Shaheen Shariff
The recent rise of anti-wokeness in Canada sustains and nourishes systemic oppression, while the radical roots of wokeness and legal rights discourse have been co-opted. Canada, a settler colonial state, relies on liberal values, including the rhetoric of multiculturalism and free speech, to uphold systems of power. Using critical race theory as a framework, we examine how rights discourse is not legally protected and contributes to the growth of hate speech and related hate crimes in Canada. As articulated by the Supreme Court of Canada in Canada (Human Rights Commission) v. Taylor, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms does not protect public dissemination of hate under the freedom of expression guarantee. Hateful discourse is not simply offensive; it has harmful material impacts, and this position is reaffirmed by the Supreme Court of Canada in the Saskatchewan (Human Rights Commission) v. Whatcott decision. Considering the role of anti-wokeness in the continued oppression of marginalized groups, we conclude by offering several recommendations for law and education to address this growing issue.

A Culture of Non-Judgment: Former Students’ Perspectives on the Sudbury Model Schools’ Justice System, Culture, and Relatedness

Christel A. Hartkamp-Bakker and Rob Martens
This qualitative study explores the experiences of 14 adults who attended Sudbury model schools in the Netherlands, Israel, and the U.S. These schools emphasize student autonomy, egalitarian relationships, and minimal hierarchy. Using thematic analysis and open-ended questions, the study examines how the justice system, school culture, and staff roles supported students’ psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, drawing on Self-Determination Theory (SDT: Deci & Ryan, 2000). Findings highlight how the justice system fostered inclusivity, mutual respect, and internalization of community norms, contributing to a culture that discouraged bullying and promoted belonging. Staff were viewed as trusted mentors rather than authority figures, reinforcing autonomy and competence. The study offers a nuanced counterpoint to critiques that SDE models reproduce neoliberal subjectivities, showing how autonomy embedded in relational safety can foster inclusion. These insights contribute to educational change debates by illustrating how non-hierarchical models can enhance student well-being and reimagine authority in schools.

Teachers as Intellectuals: Toward a Critical Pedagogy of Learning (Revised Ed.), by Henry A. Giroux, Bloomsbury Academic, 2025

Adrian M. Downey and Michael Campbell

Knowledge Under Siege: Charting a Future for Universities, Edited by Marc Spooner & James McNinch, University of Regina Press, 2026

Andrew Stevens