Paulo Freire, one of the most influential educational thinkers of the twentieth century, developed a critical perspective on education that challenged traditional methods of teaching and emphasized liberation, dialogue, and social transformation. His ideas, especially presented in *Pedagogy of the Oppressed* (1970), have significantly influenced the sociology of education by highlighting the relationship between education, power, inequality, and social justice. Freire viewed education not merely as the transmission of knowledge but as a process through which individuals become aware of social realities and actively participate in transforming society. Freire criticized the conventional system of education, which he called the "banking model" of education. In this model, teachers are considered the sole possessors of knowledge, while students are treated as passive recipients. Teachers "deposit" information into students, who are expected to memorize and reproduce it without questioning. According to Freire, this approach suppresses creativity, critical thinking, and independent judgment. It reinforces existing social hierarchies by encouraging obedience rather than inquiry and perpetuates the dominance of powerful groups over marginalized populations. As an alternative, Freire proposed the "problem-posing model" of education. In this approach, teachers and students engage in dialogue as equal participants in the learning process. Knowledge is created collaboratively through discussion, reflection, and shared experiences. Students are encouraged to question assumptions, analyze social realities, and develop solutions to real-life problems. This model transforms education into an active and participatory process that promotes intellectual growth and democratic values. A central concept in Freire's philosophy is "conscientization" or critical consciousness. He believed that oppressed individuals often accept their social conditions as natural because they lack awareness of the structural causes of inequality.