This book examines critically the ideas and performance of Paulo Freire as secretary of education in Brazil in the early 1990s, during the socialist democratic administration of the Workers' Party in Sao Paulo. With an emphasis on theory, the authors discuss the relationships between the state and social movements as well as the relationships between teachers and curriculum reform. In so doing, they thoroughly examine the intersection of politics and education in educational reform in one of the major urban centers of Latin America.A central focus of the book is the project of...

How can we better educate disadvantaged urban students? Drawing on over five years' experience in a broad partnership involving twelve urban professional development schools in five districts, a teachers' union, a comprehensive public university, and several community-based organizations, the contributors to this volume describe how they worked together to help disadvantaged urban students through an innovative professional development program. By networking with educators at different levels and coordinating curriculum projects, they were able to begin overcoming rigid and ineffective...