Conclusion: The Ecopedagogy of Courage—A Freirean Legacy

This chapter is divided into two subsections. The first one presents a comprehensive review of the ecopedagogy movement, where the author discusses the ‘missing topic’ in Freire’s work: the ecological crisis. Work by key authors in the ecopedagogy movement is discussed, providing evidence that even if Freire has not explicitly employed an ecological perspective, or directed his thoughts to climate issues, the seeds of a more planetary consciousness have been present since his early work. In the second and final subsection, Freire’s central ideas are revisited, in particular the core concept that education and learning are not ends by themselves but rather means for a broader humanistic revolution that will bring about social and economic equality and put an end in all forms of oppression. Some of the key criticisms of Freire’s work are revisited and refuted using Freirean thought. The chapter ends by providing further evidence of the relevance, necessity, and timeliness of Freire’s work to enhancing democratic education in the twenty-first century.