Stumbling upon Freire’s Culture Circles: From Teaching through Dialogue to the Creation of Shared Learning Spaces

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The paper articulates the praxis-driven design and evolution of a workshop program targeting the cross-cultural competency of allied health professionals in Northern Tasmania (Australia). The program’s genesis in the authors’ professional and research contexts gave rise to a constantly evolving series of workshops designed and delivered in collaboration with members of local migrant and refugee communities.

A detailed discussion of workshop content and pedagogy is framed by a consideration of its relationship to Paolo Freire’s Culture Circles and Jurgen Habermas’ Theory of Communicative Competence. The implications for cross-cultural practice in education, social work and other fields of practice; in particular group work, community development and social pedagogy; are informed by a consideration of indigenous wisdom and methods.

Application of the described approaches in a range of professional contexts including schools; community groups and organisations; and, academe has further contributed to a questioning of the boundaries of Western approaches to teaching, learning, professional education and community development activities.

The continuing evolution of the approach is evidenced by a discussion of the authors’ role in the design of a government funded program based on community dialogue that aims to address issues of racism in Tasmania. The paper concludes that dialogue with the ‘Other’ is facilitated and maintained by relationship-based approaches to mutual learning.

Stream: Equity, Social Justice and Social Change; Community, Culture, Globalisation

Paper: A paper has not yet been submitted.

Brian Sweeney is a liaison officer supporting refugee and other culturally and linguistically diverse students at the University of Tasmania. Brian has also delivered lectures in cross-cultural competence in the UTAS Faculties of Health Sciences and Education. He has also, with his wife Joselynn, developed cross-cultural awareness programs for academics and allied health professionals. His tertiary qualifications are in Management, History and Literature. He has had a varied career in trade unionism, teaching, journalism and public administration. He has worked extensively with migrant communities in Sydney and Launceston and is active in his local community, particularly in support of initiatives promoting cultural awareness. He has traveled widely and worked in a number of countries. He has been published in this field.

Ann Joselynn Sweeney, is an indigenous woman from the central region of Chile. She arrived as a forced migrant in Sydney in 1986. She graduated with Honours from the University of Wollongong in 1996 and with Honours in Social Work from the University of Tasmania in 2006. She has worked extensively with migrant communities in both Sydney and Launceston, has been published in this field and is currently undertaking a PhD related to this work. She has also, with her husband Brian, developed cross-cultural awareness programs for academics and allied health professionals. She is interested in community education, community inclusion and local solutions to local issues.