This reflection on Paulo Freire's seminal volume, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, examines the lessons learnt from Freire and their place in contemporary pedagogical theory and practice. Freire's work has inspired ground-breaking research which Vandenbroeck has collated, demonstrating the ongoing influence on early childhood educators.

Michel Vandenbroeck is Professor at the Department of Social Work and Social Pedagogy at Ghent University, Belgium.

On Paulo Freire, Pedagogy of the Oppressed and this Book 1 Facts matter. And so do ideologies 2 Paulo Freire: His modernity and new ways of thinking about early childhood education 3 A Freirean view of early childhood education in Portugal: A complicit response to Michel Vandenbroeck's introduction 4 Pedagogies of children and youth in South Africa: Why Paulo Freire is crucial in this age of neoliberalism 5 Contesting the evidence: Alternate approaches to supporting children's development through critical consciousness 6 Power to the profession? Reading and repoliticizing early childhood workforce development in the United States 7 The praxis of local professional groups exploring alternatives for the banking concept of early childhood education in Japan 8 Transforming early childhood education: Dreams and hope in Aotearoa New Zealand 9 Discussion: Early childhood education as a locus of hope