Education as a Practice of Freedom: Reflections on bell hooks

Abstract

This paper critically analyses the conceptions of bell hooks on education. It focuses on the relevance of hook’s ideas to the classroom. It is a theoretical paper based on secondary data that seeks to contribute to the growing body of knowledge in education. The paper is a reflection of hook’s reaction to education as a practice of freedom, the feminist theory, progressive holistic education and pedagogy of hope. Hook’s ideologies also revolve around her philosophy of the classroom based on race, capitalism, gender, oppression, class domination, liberation, collaboration and praxis in teaching and learning. Freedom in education gives teaching a performative act that offers space for change, invention, spontaneous shifts and can serve as a catalyst drawing out the unique element in each classroom. The transformed and transformative classrooms are a testament to hook’s vision of changing the way we think of pedagogy as liberatory for all involved in education, from the teacher to the student and institutions we teach and learn in everyday.

Key words: Freedom, education, liberation, gender, race, literacy, culture.