Topologik (Dec 2013)
Allgemeine Pädagogik und erziehungswissenschaftliche Forschung
Abstract
This article examines how „educational theory“ and „philosophy of education“ can contribute to the further development of pedagogical theories and educational research today. The article develops in four stages. In the first section, the authors discuss pedagogical research questions found in the ancient traditions of educational thought. Accordingly, the authors show that Paideia did not refer primarily to the education of children and youth. Rather, it referred to the formative education [Bildung] of human beings during their entire lifespan. In the second section, the authors address how the European Enlightenment and German Neohumanist thinkers influenced the development of modern educational philosophy. In the third section on the contemporary field of educational theory, the authors problematize theories of and research in formative education [Bildung], which do not address questions of pedagogical interaction [Erziehung]. They argue that such approaches to theory and research fail to meet the demands of scientific educational research. In the final section, the authors use examples from two qualifying exams of students, one from the University Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego in Warsaw and one from Humboldt University Berlin, to demonstrate the possibility of educational theory as an inquiry-based reflective discipline.
