Critical Coaching | Freire Institute

Critical Coaching flips the script on traditional coaching courses. Drawing upon the philosophy of Paulo Freire, this advanced 15-session course reimagines key coaching skills from the persepctive of critical pedagogy. You will learn to transform standard coaching conversations into acts of co-investigation, shifting the focus from "fixing" the individual to empowering the collective. Through video lectures, problem-posing case studies, and deep reflective exercises, you will master the art of authentic dialogue, structural listening, and problematization.

Status: paid
Price: USD 330.00

Critical Coaching

From individual performance to collective praxis

Move beyond individual metrics and unlock the power of collective action through a radical, problem-posing approach to team coaching

This new course starts January 2027. Special Inaugural Cohort Rate for initial signups! As this is the inaugural delivery of the course, participants joining the founding cohort will receive a special Inaugural Cohort Rate. This rate applies to the January 2027 cohort only and will not be the standard price for future cohorts.

Traditional coaching models often focus on maximizing individual productivity to meet top-down organizational goals, a dynamic Paulo Freire called the "banking model" of education. In complex, team-based environments, this highly individualized approach falls short, ignoring the structural realities and systemic pressures teams face.

Critical Coaching flips the script. Grounded in the emancipatory philosophy of Paulo Freire, this advanced 15-session online course reimagines foundational coaching skills through the lens of critical pedagogy. You will learn to transform standard coaching conversations into acts of co-investigation, shifting the focus from "fixing" the individual to empowering the collective. Through video lectures, problem-posing case studies, and deep reflective exercises, you will master the art of authentic dialogue, structural listening, and problematization. This course is designed for leaders, facilitators, and coaches who are ready to abandon the "carrot and stick" and instead create environments...

What You Learn

Recognize and dismantle top-down, "banking" methods of management that stifle collective creativity and team agency.
Move past superficial rapport-building to promote horizontal communication and profound psychological solidarity among team members.
Utilize problem-posing frameworks to strip away the illusion of "business as usual," helping teams identify the structural root causes (generative themes) behind surface-level symptoms.
Formulate deep, structural inquiries that challenge assumed constraints and catalyze a team’s collective imagination.
Develop the ability to "hear the system" speaking through individual complaints, omissions, and team silences.
Replace hyper-individualized SMART goals and punitive feedback loops with collective "limit-acts," mutual accountability webs, and continuous co-reflection (Praxis).

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Duration

You will be registered for 12 months from the start of the course. The minimum time necessary to complete the course is 3 months.

Course Delivery

Course materials such as videos, readings and tasks will be released over the period of your enrollment. Live online seminars are not part of the course content but may be made available as a bonus.

Course Certificate

You will receive a certificate upon successful completion of the course.

Course Content

Here is what we cover in this course

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