S02E07: Maíra Tavares Mendes - University prep-courses as social movement and liberating pedagogy

In this episode, we sit down with Maíra Tavares Mendes, Assistant Professor at OISE, cross-appointed in both the Educational Leadership & Policy and Higher Education programs. She traces her journey from teaching in Brazil's cursinhos populares to pursuing a Master’s degree in search of a framework for her practice. Confronting a lack of research, she turned to ideas associated with Paulo Freire to reframe these grassroots programs as sites of popular education rather than remedial support. While imperfect, one of Maíra's conferences paper became a pivotal means of recognizing her own pedagogy.