The Graduate Program in Science Education is pleased to announce the launch of the Paulo Freire Chair. It originated from the postdoctoral research of the Researcher/Professor of this Program, Dr. Monica Folena.
We transcribe below the announcement of its launch on the homepage of UFRPE.
The Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE) is enthusiastically preparing to launch the Paulo Freire Chair. Focused on education for sustainability, this teaching, research, and extension space will be inaugurated on September 20th, at 7:30 PM, at the Department of Education (DEd). The space will be located on the second floor of Block B of the DEd.
The launch date of the Chair coincides with the X Paulo Freire International Colloquium, which will take place from September 20 to 22, at the Education Center of the Federal University of Pernambuco (CE/UFPE). The chair inaugurated at UFRPE will be officially established as part of the event.
In Brazil, there are eight Paulo Freire Chairs. Sustainability was a gap in these Freirian spaces, and the Chair aims to fill this gap. The director of DEd, Professor Monica Lopes Folena Araújo, emphasizes that Paulo Freire was involved in social struggles, and thus sustainability cannot be addressed solely from an environmental perspective. For her, the proposal for the institutional space "involves social, political, economic, and educational sustainabilities."
One of the objectives of this research, teaching, and extension space is to give visibility to UFRPE's activities, seeking to link with UNESCO in its first year of operation. "The chair will join efforts with other spaces where Paulo Freire is already a guide, to generate actions in the university’s tripod. Not only today, but for a long time, Paulo Freire's thought is immortal; it is more relevant than ever. Some of the teachings he brings to us are that education needs to be problematizing, alive, dialogical, and humanizing," Monica stressed.
This Freirian space is a gain for the transformations at UFRPE. The professor notes that when looking at the areas of humanities and social sciences, they stand out within the university. "The teaching degree programs have increased in number compared to the bachelor’s programs. The human and social aspect brings a different perspective to the institution, which remains rural, but is rural within the Rural. How do we think about the rural at the Rural?" asks Folena, as she clarifies the contribution of sustainability to the university’s dynamics.
Several UFRPE groups will be linked to the Paulo Freire Chair, such as: Research Group in Teacher Education and Pedagogical Practice in Science and Biology (FORBIO); Transdisciplinarity, Childhood, and Youth Study Group (GETIJ); Research Group The Place of Interdisciplinarity in Paulo Freire’s Discourse (UFRPE, UPE, FACIG, Santa Helena College); and the Environmental Education Research and Study Group from Sergipe (GEPEASE) of the Federal University of Sergipe.
The institutionalization of a space in which Paulo Freire is the guide arises as part of a movement for recognition and visibility of the Brazilian researcher, educator, and philosopher, internationally acknowledged. The Pernambucano is known for his contributions to the History of Pedagogy, influencing critical pedagogy, and his recognized work in Popular Education, which led to him being honored as the Patron of Brazilian Education.
The dialogue at UFRPE to form the Freirian space began in 2018, based on Monica Folena’s postdoctoral research. The professor of DEd researched how the Paulo Freire chairs, centers, and institutes in Brazil address the theme of sustainability.
Source: UFRPE Launches Paulo Freire Chair with a Focus on Education for Sustainability
Disclosure: Diário de Pernambuco