FREIRE, PAULO (1921-97)

Paulo Freire’s educational theory is a liberative pedagogy for the oppressed. He denounces the idea that individuals should not freely and intelligently share in the development and progress of the society. He maintains that education should not stifle human potentials but enable them to participate in the growth of the
society, through self-determination in accordance with societal norms. Thus, in pedagogy of the oppressed, he criticized education that does allow the child to contribute to social process. Freire pictures this erroneous education in what he called “Narrative education” or “Banking concept of education”. The teacher is the narrating subject and the child is the patient, listening object that has little or nothing empty bank account to be filled by the depositor.

Education thus has become an act of depositing,
in which the students are the depositaries and the
teacher is the depositor. Instead of communication
the teacher issues a communiqués and makes
deposits which the students patiently receive
memorize and repeat”(Freire, 1993:53)3.

This is “Banking concept” of education: The child does not interact and share ideas with the teacher. He deposits knowledge into the children without allowing them the freedom of participating in the discovery of knowledge.