Critical Praxis

Praxis is the union of action and reflection and of theory and practice. Paulo Freire refers to praxis as the reassertion of human action for a more human world on two levels, the individual and social, where the simultaneous changing of circumstances and self-change occur. Critical praxis is threefold and includes self-reflection, reflective action, and collective reflective action. According to Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, revolutionary practice is the changing of circumstance and human activity. Critical educational praxis occurs in two contexts: (1) authentic dialogue between learners and (2) the social reality in which people exist.

There is a long tradition of scholarship on thoughtful action and the deep connection between theory and practice in Western philosophy. The origin of praxis is Greek and refers to ...