Marcuse was responsible for the development of Critical Theory. Freire worked with the Brazilian peasants in overcoming oppression through literacy and culture classes. Raising the consciousness of the oppressed was the key to the theories of each. Both Marcuse, a German, and Freire, a Brazilian, were deeply effected by the injustice and suffering they witnessed and experienced in their countries.

Marcuse studied philosophy, literature and economics at the University of Berlin, then went to Freiburg to study philosophy with Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger where he conducted an intense study of the phenomenology of Hegel, who was the central philosophical influence on Marx and Engels. Studying Hegel’s phenomenology and dialectical methods, Marcuse adopted Hegel’s "dialectical theory of negativity" and spent the rest of his life making use of this approach in his attempt to analyze and criticize ideologies and social institutions. The cornerstone of Hegel’s system or world view, is the notion of freedom, conceived not as simple license to fulfill preferences but as the rare condition of living self-consciously and in a fully rationally organized community or state.

Hegel requires rational state to meet very stringent conditions, including the consent of the rational conscience of its members. History is seen as progress towards freedom. Hegel’s understanding that to have value in my own eyes I must achieve value in the eyes of others was arguably the foundation for subsequent social philosophy (alienation, master/slave morality). Apart from his social and political philosophy, one of the most important of Hegel’s legacies has been his conception of logic (dialectic, dialectical materialism). Hegel’s attitude to logic is complicated by the equation between history on the one hand and thought or spirit on the other, meaning that disharmony or ‘contradiction’ in the world is an instance of contradiction in thought. Marx found in Hegel’s dialectic the ammunition to assail the bourgeois, religious, monarchical social order, now revealed as only a moment in the forward development of history. Marcuse then studied Heidegger’s existentialism and phenomenology, attempting to combine Heidegger’s theories with those of Marx.

In One-Dimensional Man one recognizes Husserlian and Heidegerrian motifs in Marcuse’s critiques of scientific civilization and modes of thought. Marcuse develops a conception of a technological world, similar in some respects to that developed by Heidegger, and like Husserl and Heidegger, sees technological rationality colonizing everyday life, robbing individuals of freedom and individuality by imposing technological imperatives, rules and structures upon their thought and behavior. For Heidegger the essence of human being lies in its existence, an existence which appropriates the world to itself. The world must be seen as a product of self-creation. He develops the theory that those men who reach out make the present into their own destiny; they create a life in time, thus linking Being with Time; the life that they create perforce is in a world which falls "within the inescapable limits of contingency," or a world of "historical dependence, of entanglement." Those who find their destiny in time thus achieve an existence which is "true historicity", an authentic existence. The contact with Heidegger strengthens Marcuse’s notion that the revolution does not spring from the social situation alone, but also from the aims of the self which wishes to restore meaning to a world of objects from which it has become alienated. At this point Marcuse brings together the thought of Heidegger with that of an Hegelianized Marxism; he is, as Habermas puts it, the first Heideggermarxist.

Freire reached out as well to a variety of philosophical positions in his search for solutions to the problems experienced by the peasants of Brazil. Freire lists some of the positions he studied: "Sartre and Mounier, Erich Fromm and Louis Althusser, Ortegay and Mao, Martin Luther King and Che Guevara, Unamuno and Marcuse."

Richard Shaull argues that while many have perceived the work as Freire as primarily in terms of its contribution to the education of illiterate adults in the Third World, he sees that Freire’s methodology as well as his educational philosophy are as important for us as it is to those in Latin America. Shaull equates the struggle of the Brazilian peasants to become free Subjects and to participate in the transformation of their society as similar, in many ways, to the struggle not only of blacks and Mexican-Americans but also of middle-class young people in the United States. Freire himself grew up in the poverty and hunger experienced by so many Brazilians and at the age of eleven, vowed to find a solution to the problem so that children would not have to suffer so. Freire termed the condition of society as a "culture of silence", determining that the ignorance and lethargy the peasants experienced was a direct product of the whole situation of economic, social and political domination - and of the paternalism - of which they were victims. The people, rather than being encouraged to know and respond to their concrete realities, were kept "submerged" in a situation in which such critical awareness and response was practically impossible. He realized that the educational system was one of the major instruments for the maintenance of this culture of silence.

The basic tenet of Critical Pedagogy is that there is an unequal social stratification in our society based upon class, race and gender. Those of high power and status are at the top of society and control the rest of society. By doing so, the unequal conditions can be maintained; in other words, the status quo remains. Those who wish to maintain this status quo do so because of the economic and social benefits they derive from this stratification, hence, not wishing to lose these benefits they fight to keep them by oppressing others. Your reaction by now may be, "That’s ridiculous. We live in America, the land of plenty, the land of hope and freedom. Anyone to wants to be successful in this society is free to do so. We can’t possibly have that condition in the United States." After all, that sounds like some sort of dictatorship, and in a free society no one could get away with that sort of control and power. Yet, this control is wielded through a tool known as hegemony. Under hegemony those who are oppressed are giving their permission to be oppressed to those who are dominating them. It is a subtle, almost invisible, form of control, in which everyone (including the oppressors and the oppressed) believe it is the only way, the right way.

Apple states that hegemony acts to "saturate our consciousness", so that the educational, economic and social world we see and interact with, and the commonsense interpretations we put on it, become the real world, the only world.

Although Dewey does not use the term "hegemony", he too, describes this process. "Etymologically, the word education means just a process of leading or bringing up . . . we speak of education as a shaping, forming, molding activity - that is, a shaping into the standard form of social activity . . . The required beliefs cannot be hammered in; the needed attitudes cannot be plastered on. But the particular medium in which an individual exists leads him to see and feel one thing rather than another; . . . Thus it gradually produces in him a certain system of behavior, a certain disposition of action." So, what schools do is help to create and re-create the existing culture, beliefs and practices, which is the hegemony. Hegemony is hegemony because of its "invisibility"; it appears to simply be living and doing in the only way we could, it seems to be perfectly natural and is therefore accepted as commonsense. Dewey describes how the structures within schools - the subject matter and the organization of the school - contribute to the hegemony of our society. " . . . the bonds which connect the subject matter of school study with the habits and ideals of the social group are disguised and covered up. The ties are so loosened that it often appears as if there were none; as if subject matter existed simply as knowledge on its own independent behalf, and as if study were the mere act of mastering it for its own sake, irrespective of any social values. Since it is highly important for practical reasons to counteract this tendency the chief purposes of our theoretical discussion are to make clear the connection which is so readily lost from sight, and to show in some detail the social content and function of the chief constituents of the course of study. . . . The material of school studies . . puts before the instructor the essential ingredients of the culture to be perpetuated."

According to Raymond Williams, "Schools . . not only process people, they process ‘knowledge’ as well." As Apple explains, they act as agents of cultural and ideological hegemony, as agents of selective tradition and cultural incorporation. . . . They help create people (with the appropriate meanings and values) who see no other serious possibility to the economic and cultural assemblage now extant.

Democracy and freedom from oppression are the cornerstones of Critical Pedagogy. Apple and Giroux have approached this concept, appropriating or applying the works of Marcuse and Freire, to the situations of many Americans whom they perceive as being blocked from fulfilling their potential for happiness and freedom due to their race, class and gender. Giroux states:

I believe that it is clear that the thought of the Frankfurt School provides a major challenge and a stimulus to educational theorists who are critical of theories of education tied to functionalist paradigms based on assumptions drawn from a positivist rationality . . . the Frankfurt School offers an historical analysis and a penetrating philosophical framework that indict the wider culture of positivism, while at the same time providing insight into how the latter becomes incorporated within the ethos and practices of schools. Though there is a growing body of educational literature that is critical of positivist rationality in schools, it lacks the theoretical sophistication characteristic of the work of Horkheimer, Adorno, and Marcuse.

From Critical Theory several approaches may be adopted by Critical Pedagogy: 1) the critique of positivist rationality, 2) the view of theory, 3) the critical reconstruction of a theory of culture, and 4) the analysis of depth psychology. "It is within the context of these four areas that radical educators can begin the task of reconstructing and applying the insights of critical theory to schooling . . . critical theory needs to be reformulated to provide the opportunity to both critique and elaborate its insights beyond the constraints and historical conditions under which they were first generated . . . one may argue that we are just beginning to work out the implication of their analyses. The real issue is to reformulate the central contributions of critical theory in terms of new historical conditions, without sacrificing the emancipatory spirit that generated them."

Like Marcuse and Freire, the first step for attaining the necessary change and freedom is a raising of the consciousness of the people. Both Marcuse and Freire’s theories held that the existing inequalities in their countries, or in any society, were possibly to overcome once the oppressed became aware of the hegemony - the blindness, unconsciousness of the true situation and possibilities - which held them captive. They were slaves to a belief system which was an integral part of the dominant culture. Once the oppressed become aware of their situation they can then critique it to determine what is wrong and what should be, then make decisions and take actions toward the perceived needed change.

Many renowned educators and theorists works contribute to or support this theory; they include Ira Shor, Henry Levin, John Goodlad, Theodore Sizer, Jonothan Kozol, the Holmes Group, Michel Foucault, the Critical Theory of Herbert Marcuse and the Frankfurt School, Peter McLaren, Pierre Bourdieu, Stanley Aronowitz, and Antonio Gramsci.

Critical Pedagogy studies the role which schools play in maintaining the social stratification of society, and the possibilities for social change through the schools. "Critical pedagogy is both a way of thinking about and negotiating through praxis the relationship among classroom teaching, the production of knowledge, the larger institutional structures of the school, and the social and material relations of the wider community, society, and nation state." Peter McLaren explains that Critical Pedagogy is an approach adopted by progressive teachers attempting to eliminate inequalities on the basis of social class, and that it has also sparked a wide array of anti-sexist, anti-racist, and anti-homophobic classroom-based curricula and policy initiatives.

Common questions for the critical educator include: What knowledge is of most worth? Whose knowledge is most important? What knowledge should be taught, and just as important, what knowledge is not to be taught? How does the structure of the school contribute to the social stratification of our society? What is the relationship between knowledge and power? What does this imply for our children? What is the purpose of schooling? Is it to ensure democracy or to support big business? How can teachers
enable students to become critical thinkers who will promote true democracy and freedom?

Ira Shor describes Critical Pedagogy:

When pedagogy and curricular policy reflect egalitarian goals, they do what education can do: oppose socialization with desocialization; choose critical consciousness over commercial consciousness, transformation of society over reproduction of inequality; promote democracy by practicing it and by studying authoritarianism; challenge student withdrawal through participatory courses; illuminate the myths supporting the elite hierarchy of society; interfere with the scholastic disabling of students through a critical literacy program; raise awareness about the thought and language expressed in daily life; distribute research skills and censored information useful for investigating power and policy in society; and invite students to reflect socially on their conditions, to consider overcoming limits. . . . .

We can pose the question of critical pedagogy (desocialization) when we discuss teacher education programs or curriculum at any level of schooling. Once we accept education’s role as challenging inequality and dominant myths rather than as socializing students into the status quo, we have a foundation needed to invent practical methods.

Critical Pedagogy, then, is defined by what it does - as a pedagogy which embraces a raising of the consciousness, a critique of society, as valuing students’ voices, as honoring students’ needs, values, and individuality, as a hopeful, active pedagogy which enables students to become truly participatory members of a society who not only belong to the society but who can and do create and re-create that society, continually increasing freedom.

Michael Apple argues that education is not a neutral enterprise, that by the very nature of the institution, the educator is involved, whether he or she is conscious of it or not, in a political act. He attempts to analyze and understand the relationship between education and economic structure, and the connections between knowledge and power. Apple approaches his analysis from three points: l) the school as an institution, 2) the educator him or herself, and 3) the knowledge forms. Each of these are situated within the larger context of society.

"The first need is to become aware of the world in which we live; to survey its forces; to see the opposition in forces that are contending for mastery; to make up one’s mind which of these forces come from a past that the world in its potential powers has outlived and which are indicative of a better and happier future." In 1958 John Dewey described the contradictions and problems with which our society was dealing; those issues remain today, and the relevance of Dewey’s recommendations are as true for us today as they were in 1958.  He states that it is the teacher’s job to help put things right, whether or not teachers feel it is their job. His point is that, whether teachers choose to do so or not, they are still choosing, since the very act of intentionally doing nothing is still doing something. One cannot not choose. "Drifting is merely a cowardly mode of choice" His point is that teachers should become aware themselves of our present situation and after conducting intelligent study they should make a choice and base whatever actions they choose on that informed decision. He felt that it was important for teachers, parents and other educators to understand the social forces and movements of the times and the role of the schools, which could not be accomplished unless teachers were aware of a social goal. Dewey knew that teachers, in general, do not feel that they have time for general theories, yet he states that the first prerequisite of intelligent decision and action is understanding of the forces at work. "The most specific thing that teachers can first do is something general." For this reason, it is imperative that teachers as well as those in teacher education programs take the time to study the constructs and power structures within our society, to determine how these impact educational policies, curriculum, testing, accountability, teaching methods and materials. Teachers need to reflect upon what they are doing and why they are doing it.

As educational reformists and progressives contemplate the how and why of creating change they should bear in mind the words of Henry Giroux as he offers suggestions for the elements of an educational platform -

Rejecting the traditional view of instruction and learning as a neutral process antiseptically removed from the contexts of history, power, and ideology, critical educational theory begins with the assumption that schools are essential sites for organizing knowledge, power and desire in the service of extending individual capacities and social possibilities.