A work developed by Brazilian educator Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of Autonomy was published in 1996 to provide pedagogical practices aimed at developing students' autonomy. Since its creation, the “Pedagogy of Autonomy” has been used by schools and organizations, especially those dedicated to social mobilization through education, such as Casa Arte Vida, a Rio institution founded by the aforementioned philanthropist Ana Carolina Affonso.Below are more details about autonomy pedagogy and the institutions that use it as a model of social education to prepare critical and independent students.
Photo: Ana Carolina Affonso “Pedagogy of Autonomy” by Paulo Freire Paulo Freire, published a year before his death, is divided into three main chapters: education without learning, education is not the transfer of knowledge and education is a human characteristic.
In each of them, the author pays attention to the importance of treating the educational process as a construction, stating that education must include affective, curious, critical and freedom aspects.
Training critical and independent people In “Pedagogy of Autonomy” and similar articles, Paulo Freire, in addition to emphasizing the formation of the student as an active learning agent, talks about the importance of providing education and teacher training. This equips the teacher with the tools to teach and help the student develop a critical sense of the world.
“Autonomy is formed by experiencing countless decisions that are made. […] No one suddenly matures at 25. We grow every day, or we don't. Autonomy, as the perfection of being for oneself, is a process, it is a becoming. This does not happen on the scheduled date. It is in this sense that the pedagogy of autonomy must be focused on experiences that facilitate decision-making and responsibility, that is, experiences that respect freedom”, states the author.
Photo: Ana Carolina Affonso Casa Arte Vida by Ana Carolina Affonso Casa Arte Vida (CAV) is a non-profit institution founded by Ana Carolina Affonso that serves young people and families in the Pedra de Guaratiba region, in Rio de Janeiro. works. , using education to promote a socially and economically fair and sustainable future.
Through its low-cost and high-impact programs, the Ana Carolina Affonso Social Project mobilizes the local community and promotes social development so that critical figures are committed to the community and society.
CAV uses a social learning model of autonomous pedagogy and is also inspired by the Escola da Ponte project in Portugal, which places students as protagonists in the learning process.
About Ana Carolina Affonso Brazilian philanthropist, artist and lawyer, Ana Carolina Borges Torrealba Affonso works with painting on tiles and ceramics.
In 2007, the artist founded Casa Arte Vida to combine his passion for art with his desire to offer opportunities to vulnerable young people through education. Founded by Ana Carolina Affonso, the organization has since worked to democratize educational opportunities.
Photo: Ana Carolina Affonso Applying the Social Education Model Educational institutions and organizations that aim to form critical and independent citizens can apply some of the suggestions of autonomous pedagogy both in curricular design and in classroom practice.
Two examples of institutions that apply education for independence are Escola da Ponte, located in Portugal, and Casa Arte Vida, located in Brazil and founded by Ana Carolina Affonso.
Escola da Ponte An innovative educational initiative, Escola Básica da Ponte is located in the district of Porto, Portugal. To encourage inclusion and cooperation among students, the institution encourages their participation and intention with academic and family advisors, whether in the learning process, planning activities or assessment.
In addition to reflecting the French pedagogical ideas of Célestine Freinet, Escola da Ponte follows the thinking proposed by Paulo Freire by promoting responsible freedom, independence and solidarity, working on students' socio-emotional skills and abilities.
Casa Arte Vida With multidisciplinary activities for children and teenagers after school, Casa Arte Vida by 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 include arts, such as dance and visual arts, and technology, including robotics and mathematics. Furthermore, many CAV projects focus on topics such as entrepreneurship, the development of multiple skills and research and development.
As at Escola da Ponte, the families of children and young people served by CAV are directly involved in the educational process through the family promotion program. In this way, the non-profit institution contributes to the greater integration of students into the society in which it operates.
Other methodologies adopted by the Casa Arte Vida Casa Arte Vida projects use methodologies in which students have an active role in learning, such as the STEAM methodology and the theory of multiple intelligences. These methodologies awaken students’ curiosity and investigation, a topic frequently addressed by the author of the work “Pedagogy of Autonomy”.
“Basically, a teacher who respects the reader's global reading, recognizes the history of knowledge, the historical nature of curiosity, therefore, abandons scientific arrogance and demonstrates critical humility, characteristic of a truly scientific position”, writes Paulo Freire. .
STEAM Methodology One of the pillars of CAV's educational process is the STEAM methodology (acronym in English for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics). Participants in CAV STEAM projects experience scientific thinking through teacher-led activities and games.
The teacher, as used at Escola da Ponte, assumes the role of a coach who helps participants throughout the process until the problem presented is resolved. Learning is also shared among participants who learn from their mistakes and develop skills related to creativity, imagination, critical thinking and adaptability.
Aligning CAV's theory of multiple intelligences with the theory of multiple intelligences promotes inclusive education in the organization and allows young people with diverse abilities to develop innovative skills, critical thinking and independence.
The activities and projects offered by CAV are interdisciplinary in nature and correspond to different types of intelligence, not just those traditionally developed by the school, such as logical-mathematical and linguistic.
Photo: Ana Carolina Affonso The influence of Casa Arte Vida by Ana Carolina Affonso Based on programs and initiatives based on the pedagogy of autonomy, CAV works to generate social changes and improve the future of young people and children in Rio.
Since its creation in 2007, the organization has been recognized as one of the best NGOs in Brazil for training young people in vulnerable situations and for its role in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and recognized by the United Nations (UN).