1970年代以降の北米におけるコミュニティ･オーガニゼーション(Community Organization, CO)の実践理論の展開を概括的にカバーしながら,それ以降の実践･研究に,ブラジルの教育哲学者パウロ･フレイレ(Paulo Frelre)の思想が頻繁に引用され,実践においてもその方法が幅広く取り入れられ応用されている点に着目し,その影響について検討する.北米のCOの研究の中から,フレイレに言及する事例研究,理論研究を検討することにより,自助価値の高まりや社会福祉の抑制,多文化主義などの北米の時代的な社会状況の変化と,フレイレの思想のCO実践への影響とその特徴を明らかにする.フレイレの実践は,ひとつの実践理論モデルとして,コミュニティの住民の対話により,コミュニティの抑圧構造を意識化し,行動の目標を明らかにする方法として,広範に実践され,また理論的な位置づけが行われているが,抑圧の構造が複雑なコミュニティにおいては,必ずしも適合しないという課題も明らかにされている.北米のCOの発展においてフレイレを無視することはできず,日本のCO実践においても｢住民ワークショップ｣の取り組みを深化させるために,北米の実践に学ぶべき内容は少なくない.@@@The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of Paulo Freire's pedagogical theory on community organization practices in North America since 1970s. We found that Freire's pedagogical methods of literacy education had been used in many community organization practices and his philosophical ideals had been frequently quoted in many studies on community organization as a theoretical basis in North America since 1970s. We overviewed the development of practical theory of community organization in North America and analyzed some case studies and theoretical studies. Through these reviews, we identified the emergences of suppressed communities in inner cities and the changes in social conditions such as strengthening of self-help values, constraint of social welfare expenditures, or multiculturalism, and so forth. An important element of Paulo Freire's work and his emphasis on dialogue were his concerns with conscientization, which are defined as developing a consciousness that is understood to deepen structural understanding of oppressed societies and have the power to transform reality. However, his works did not have adequate effects in diversified oppressed communities, as the use of dialogue was conceived time-consuming. Paulo Freire's work can not be ignored and we should perceive the significance of his works as one of the basic concepts for community organization and tools for community workshops in Japan.