Popular Education

Initial funding of PVI was based on a vision of providing a learning and gathering space to immigrants as they strive to achieve full citizenship in the civic, economic and political life of the Valley; and to stand with them as they overcome economic, social and political oppression.

Based on this principle, PVI opted to focus its work on the principles of popular education, with the belief that providing spaces where immigrants could share experiences and concerns and learn from each other together, they would reach an understanding of the social contexts and causes that exclude them from society. In turn, attaining this knowledge would leads to empower these communities to solve their problems and positively change their reality.

There is no single definition of popular education. Popular Education is a community education effort, aimed at empowering adults through cooperative study and action, directed toward achieving a more just and equitable society. Popular Education has its priority in the poor, oppressed, and marginalized people of the world.

Popular Education is based on the assumption that the world can be changed, and that everyday people can make that change. It is essentially inviting people to learn about the world, in order to make the world the place it can be for them and their children.

One Key Principle of Popular Education is that participants are active subjects, not objects, in their experience of learning and action. Knowledge is not simply information handed down by experts, but rather it builds on the experiences and insights of the people participating.

This brief explanation has been compiled using information provided from the following sources: