Education, as a practice of freedom, involves openings up possibilities for individuals to actively participate in the construction of their world. This paper explores the concept of freedom in the work of Maxine Greene and Paulo Freire, two thinkers who, despite their different philosophical traditions, converge in their advocacy for an education that fosters personal and social transformation. Both educational views not merely as the transmission of knowledge but as a process that empowers individuals to challenge existing power structures and engage with the world in more transformative ways.

Freire, rooted in critical pedagogy, understands education as a process of conscientização (conscientization), where individuals come to recognize themselves as agents of change within their context. Through dialogue and reflection, Freire argues, education enables the oppressed to critically recognize their conditions and actively engage in social transformation. Greene, drawing from pragmatism and existentialism, understands education as an awakening of aesthetic consciousness, where imagination plays a central role in expanding one’s perception of reality and creating new possibilities for action. Greene believes in the role of imagination as a tool for envisioning alternative ways of being and interacting with the world.

This paper aims to explore how education, through the lens of both thinkers, can be positioned as space between the search for meaning and active engagement with the world. By bringing together Freire’s and Greene’s focus, this research will provide insight into how both frameworks contribute to an education that fosters democratic participation, critical consciousness, and personal agency.

This study will adopt a phenomenological-hermeneutic and comparative approach to analyse, interpret, and contrast different conceptions of education as practice of freedom. The methodology will be structured into three phases: The first step will involve a review of the key discourses about education and freedom, with a particular focus on Freire’s conscientização and dialogical education, alongside Greene’s exploration of the relationship between education, imagination, and wide awakening. In the second phase, a comparative analysis will be conducted, examining the similarities and differences between the two thinkers in relation to their pedagogical influences, learning processes, and the development of agency. Finally, a critical reflection will address the broader implications of this analysis for contemporary education, particularly in relation to the potential of combining critical pedagogy and aesthetics education to promote an active, engaged, and democratic citizenship.

This comparative analysis of Maxine Greene and Paulo Freire allows for an understanding of education as a dynamic process that goes beyond the mere transmission of knowledge. Both authors agree that education should not be reduced to the reproduction of pre-existing structures; instead, it should enable people to take an active role in shaping their world. This process requires overcoming the passivity imposed by traditional educational models and developing an attitude of openness, reflection, and commitment to social transformation. Freire, whit his focus on critical consciousness, and Greene with her focus on awakening through imagination, both provide a framework for understanding education in terms of social justice and political engagement. In today’s context, these are two key elements that strengthen democratic participation and foster citizenship, enabling people not only critique the injustices of the present but also to imagine and collectively build alternative ways of doing things. In other words, the intersection of critical pedagogy and aesthetic education may offer solutions to contemporary challenges.

Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Bloomsbury Freire, P. (1973). Education for critical consciousness. Cambridge, MA: Continuum Giroux, H. (2011). On Critical Pedagogy. Continuum. Greene, M. (1978). Landscapes of Learning. Teachers College Press Greene, M. (1988). The Dialectic of Freedom. Teachers College Press. Greene, M. (1995). Releasing the Imagination: Essays on Education, the Arts, and Social Change. Jossey-Bass Publisher.