Terms of engagement: Reframing Freirean-based assessment in institutional education

Sandro R. Barros

Authors

Sandro R. Barros Department of Modern Languages, DePauw University, Greencastle, IN, 46135, USA

Keywords:

assessment, critical pedagogy, Paulo Freire, neoliberalism

Abstract

Since its publication in 1970, Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed has generated significant discussions on the nature and purpose of schooling. Freire’s theorization of the “banking system” of education, a symbolic relationship in which teachers and students reproduce and perpetuate homogenizing values sustaining antidemocratic initiatives, constitutes one of the major contributions to the field of Educational Studies. In spite of the many critical reformulations and adaptations of Freire’s work beyond its original adult literacy context, those who remain favorable to Freire’s vision of education still struggle to place in motion a pedagogical praxis that is akin to those models envisioned by the Brazilian educator. The understanding of assessment within dominant institutional frameworks favors a positivist and Cartesian logic that quantifies knowledge by devaluing individual variances in learning experiences. This paper analyzes the tensions that arise in the development and application of Freirean-based approaches to assessment within a test-driven educational culture that selectively values information. Accordingly, this paper will also discuss the compatibility of dialogical/constructivist frameworks of assessment within current models of institutionalized education.

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