In our study, we analyse some reflections contained in the education thought of John Dewey, Paulo Freire and Peter McLaren. The three thinkers, with mutually different methods, have, in our opinion, as common point the intention to show that no education system is neutral in relation to the way in which societies are organised: all systems of education aim at the constitution of a particular kind of society through the formation of a corresponding mentality in the individuals. The ethical and political foundations of a society are mirrored in the education system: any reform of the society should, therefore, begin with the reform of the education system; furthermore, any reform of the society cannot be effective unless it is founded on the reform of education.
As regards Dewey’s observations, we concentrate our attention on his criticism of any education system based on the passivity of pupils and on the massification of students: Dewey steadily pleads for a system of education aiming at the individualisation of pupils. As regards Freire’s meditation, we point out Freire’s uncovering of the oppression exercised against the subaltern classes through the traditional education systems: the constant relegation of pupils of the oppressed classes to a condition of total passivity, which is the aim of the system of education described by Freire as the banking concept of education, destroys any sense and aspiration to autonomy in the pupils themselves. Self-depreciation of pupils is the result of the traditional system of education. McLaren points out that a correct system of education should have as its own aim the self-transformation and the empowerment of the students: educators ought to uncover the relations holding between knowledge, which is always a social construct, and the interests of the dominant class.
Defining the Distinctiveness of Urban Heritage Identity: Chiang Mai Old City, Thailand