The work of Brazilian educator Paulo Freire, “Pedagogy of Eutonomy” was published in 1996, providing suggestions for pedagogical practices for building student autonomy. Since its creation, the “Pedagogy of Autonomy” has served as a reference for schools and organizations, especially those committed to social mobilization through education, such as Casa Arte Vida, a Rio company founded by philanthropist Ana Carolina Affonso.Below is more information about the pedagogy of autonomy and the institutions that use its community education model to train critical and autonomous students.
Photo: Ana Carolina Affonso “Pedagogy of Autonomy” by Paulo Freire Paulo Freire's book, published a year before his death, is divided into three major chapters: there is no education without learning, education is not the transmission of knowledge and education is specificity human.
For each of them, the author focuses on the importance of treating the learning process as a construct and how education should embrace emotion, curiosity, criticality and freedom.
Formation of Critical and Autonomous Individuals In addition to highlighting the formation of the student as an agent of active learning, Paulo Freire in “Pedagogy of the Self” and similar works discusses the importance of guaranteeing teacher training and development. This gives the teacher the tools to teach and help the student develop a critical sense of the world.
“Autonomy is built through the experience of many, countless decisions that are made. […] Nobody becomes an adult suddenly, at 25 years old. We grow every day or we don't. Autonomy, like becoming for yourself, is a process, it is growing. This does not happen on the scheduled date. It is in this sense that the pedagogy of autonomy must be centered on experiences that encourage decision-making and responsibility, that is, experiences that respect freedom”, argue the authors.
Photo: Ana Carolina Affonso What is Casa Arte Vida By Ana Carolina Affonso Casa Arte Vida (CAV) is a non-profit institution, founded by Ana Carolina Affonso, which serves young people and families in the Pedra de Guaratiba region, Rio de Janeiro. January, use education to socialize and promote an economically fair and sustainable future.
Through its low-cost, high-impact programs, Ana Carolina Affonso's social project mobilizes the local community, fostering social development to become critical and socially engaged citizens.
CAV uses a social learning model of autonomy pedagogy and at the same time is inspired by the Escola da Ponte project, in Portugal, which places students as protagonists of the learning process.
About Ana Carolina Affonso Brazilian philanthropist, artist and lawyer, Ana Carolina Borges Torrealba Affonso works with ceramic and ceramic paintings.
The artist founded Casa Arte Vida in 2007 to combine his passion for art with his desire to provide opportunities for disadvantaged young people through education. The organization founded by Ana Carolina Affonso has been working ever since to democratize access to education.
Photo: Ana Carolina Affonso Using the Social Education Model Educational institutions and organizations that aim to teach critical and autonomous citizens can use some of the suggestions from the pedagogy of autonomy, both in curriculum planning and in classroom practice.
Two examples of institutions that use education for autonomy are Escola da Ponte, located in Portugal, and Casa Arte Vida, located in Brazil and founded by Ana Carolina Affonso.
Escola da Ponte Innovative educational initiative, Escola Básica da Ponte is located in the Porto region, Portugal. With the aim of encouraging inclusion and collaboration among students, the institution encourages their participation and aspirations with advisors and family members, whether in the learning process, planning activities or assessments.
In addition to reflecting the pedagogical ideas of Frenchman Célestin Freinet, Escola da Ponte follows Paulo Freire's thinking by promoting responsible freedom, autonomy and solidarity, and works on students' socio-emotional skills and abilities.
Casa Arte Vida With several activities for children and young people after school, Casa Arte Vida Ana Carolina Affonso is another example of an institution that is inspired by the pedagogy of autonomy.
To encourage the independence of the young people it serves, CAV implements programs aimed at different age groups and interests. These programs cover both the arts, such as dance and fine arts, and technology, including robotics and mathematics. Furthermore, there are many CAV projects on topics such as entrepreneurship, development of multidisciplinary skills and research and development.
Similar to Escola da Ponte, CAV serves families of children and young people who participate directly in the learning process through the Family Development Program. In this way, the non-profit organization promotes greater integration of students into the community in which they operate.
Other methodologies adopted by the Casa Arte Vida Casa Arte Vida projects use methodologies in which students play an active role in learning, such as the STEAM methodology and the theory of multiple intelligences. These methods stimulate students’ curiosity and research, a topic frequently addressed by the author of “Pedagogy of Autonomy”.
“Fundamentally, the teacher who respects the student’s reading of the world, recognizes the historicity of knowledge, the historicity of observation, therefore, rejecting scientific arrogance, adopts a critical humility, typical of a serious scientific position”, writes Paulo Freire .
The STEAM Methodology One of the pillars of the CAV learning process is the STEAM methodology (an acronym for science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics). Participants in CAV's STEAM projects experience scientific thinking through teacher-led activities and games.
The teacher, as used at Escola da Ponte, assumes the role of mentor who assists participants during the process until the proposed problem is resolved. Learning is also shared among participants, who learn from their mistakes and develop skills related to creativity, imagination, critical thinking and adaptability.
Diversity Theory The combination of CAV with diversity theory promotes inclusive education in an organization, allowing young people with different abilities to develop skills such as innovation, critical thinking and autonomy.
The activities and projects offered by CAV are interdisciplinary in nature and cover different areas, not just those traditionally developed by the school, such as logic-mathematics and linguistics.
Photo: Ana Carolina Affonso Casa Arte Vida de Ana Carolina Affonso Impact Through programs and initiatives based on the pedagogy of autonomy, CAV works to enable social change and improve the future of young people and children in Rio.
Since its founding in 2007, the organization has received awards and recognition as one of the best NGOs in Brazil, for its education of underprivileged youth and for its role aligned with the organization's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the United Kingdom. Nations (UN).