Paulo Freire, the Decolonial Curriculum and the Experience of the Professional Masters in Youth and Adult Education in Bahia, Brazil

In this paper we situate a discussion of the decolonial curriculum within the context of a Brazilian postgraduate programme (MPEJA) focused on adult and youth education (EJA). We draw on the work of Paulo Freire in our discussion of decolonial thinking and its pedagogical representation within EJA in Brazil. We suggest that engagement with the programme provides legitimacy and visibility for participants, supporting them in revealing the diversity and specificity of EJA (Cardoso, 2017). MPEJA also counters decolonial thought through the possibilities it provides to EJA educators for reflection on their professional context and the socio-economic influences on the experiences of their EJA students.