Examining the educator: toward a critical pedagogy of sport for development and peace

The chapter focuses on specific aspect of education through sport, namely the role of the educator in sport for development and peace (SDP) programs. Building on theoretical work advocates using the lens of critical pedagogy as developed by the late Brazilian educator Paulo Freire to analyze and enhance educational practice in SDP. This chapter analyses the current practice however, also highlights the tension experienced by educators of turning Freire’s theoretical lens into praxis at a community level. These issues are examined with specific reference to two different SDP contexts conducted intensive fieldwork: HIV/AIDS education in Zambia and employability education in Brazil. From the perspective of critical pedagogy, the fieldwork in Zambia and Brazil raises a number of key themes and tensions with regard to the role of the educator in SDP programs. The critical pedagogy analyses three critical issues: the tension between didactic and dialogical pedagogies; education’s embeddedness in everyday lives and realities; and questions of power and authority.