Author: Griff Foley
University of Technology Sydney, Australia

Edition: Volume 61, Number 3, November 2021

Introduction: This paper is a personal reflection on Freire’s influence on one Australian adult educator. I eschew the normal journal article structure and tell a tale of how Freire has influenced my practice and thinking in adult education and community activism over half a century. The narrative is structured as a montage, moving forward in time from the late 194o’s, when Freire first began to develop his praxis, to today. The story is framed by two key Freirean concepts, generative themes and codes, and by concepts drawn from adult and professional education, political economy and ecology. These concepts are embedded in the narrative, rather than discussed separately: they help me to tell the story and they are part of the story.

Keywords: Paulo Freire, generative themes, codes, critical thinking, learning in social action, montage, pedagogies effective
and ineffective, neoliberalism, dialectical education, critical learning, hegemonic learning, miseducation, destroying rational discussion, discussion principles, critical learning in Landcare, learning a new rationality, environmental sustainability, Anthropocene, progressive initiatives, Freire hope and the learning dimension, informal and incidental learning

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This article is part of AJAL, Volume 61:3. The entire volume is available in .pdf for purchase here.