Conceptions and references of popular education: the systematization of experiences of its protagonists in Paraíba

Abstract

The article presents aspects concerning popular education (PE). This research has the perception of protagonists of experiences in Paraíba as a backdrop. The main objective is the reconstruction of the history of PE in the aforementioned state, based on the recognition, the appreciation, and the recording of the memory of some of its main participants, in an investigative process that sought to promote the explicitness and systematization of their ideas, reflections, and trajectories. The research method adopted was the systematization of experiences, in which individual semi-structured interviews were the strategy for operationalizing data. The summary table shows a common element: all the interviewees reported having the popular educator Paulo Freire as reference for inspiration in their practices. The definitions on PE addressed primarily the basic principles: dialogue, educator, knowledge, and reality. Thus, we collected a portfolio with information, reflections, ideas as well as a record and documentation of the paths, trajectories, and experiences of the interviewees in the field of PE.