Community work as critical pedagogy: re-envisioning Freire and Gramsci

Complex times, defined by rapid sociopolitical change, call for a coherently articulated critical pedagogy, ‘that particular type of pedagogy which is concerned with issues concerning social difference, social justice and social transformation’ (Mayo, 1990, p. 58). A pedagogy of transformative change, or liberation education, is rooted in praxis, and located in educational sites of resistance, for example, community work, youth work, social work, community education, adult education and schooling. The political nature of education situates educators either as agents of the state or as agents of transformative change; either perpetuating the status quo or creating the context to question. In this instance, I argue for community work as critical pedagogy, located as it is, in the very essence of people's lives, at the interface of liberation and domination. I explore some of the key concepts of Gramsci and Freire in the current context of globalization and within the notion of difference.