Democracy and Bildung/Erziehung—Towards a Universal Theory of Education

Abstract

Dewey's Democracy and Education is re-read as an attempt to develop a universal theory of education that, on the one hand, gives the broadest, most general view on education and, on the other hand, contextualizes every observation by binding it to the assumed perspective. Dewey's broad concept of education encompasses two dimensions that in the German discourse are usually connected to the distinction of Erziehung and Bildung. In its first dimension, it avoids a widespread "scholastic" view of education by focusing not only on formal but also on informal education. In its second dimension, it also avoids a widespread individualistic view on education by referring not only to growth of the individual, but also to growth of the social setting (democracy) on the whole. This outlook allows for investigating and reflecting any subject matter with respect to its educational aspects-including the process of theorizing itself. This reflective turn of theorizing education has consequences for the understanding of education as an academic field. A universal theory of education is at odds both with a disciplinary approach and the idea of education as an applied field for foundational disciplines. At the same time, it has the potential to reconnect to both configurations of the academic field if these configurations are understood slightly different than today.

Information and analytical support for the development of teacher education in Russia

“…Studies currently underway in the world indicate the growing influence of politics on education [11], the strengthening of the connection between society and education [12], the interdisciplinarity of sciences and the openness of pedagogy to impulses from outside: politics, administration, society [13].…”

Characteristics of educational sciences research activity in European post-socialist countries in the period 1996 to 2013: Content analysis approach

“…There is constant theoretical and methodological import and export, and a blending of problems and themes. Although many scientific disciplines participate in the implementation of education, and educational sciences are interdisciplinary by nature, the strong interdependence between society and education constitutes a foundation that justifies the consideration of educational sciences as a field of the social sciences (Bellmann and Su, 2017).…”

Inferentialism at Work: The Significance of Social Epistemology in Theorising Education

“…‘meaning as reference and abstraction and meaning as contextualised personal sense’ (p. 28). Although Derry is interested in Vygotsky's contribution towards a social epistemology of knowledge and the curriculum, she tends to privilege a ‘scholastic view of education’ (Bellmann and Su, ) that leads her to focus on the former side of Vygotsky's ambivalence (for her discussion of Wertsch see Derry, ). For Wertsch, this side follows ‘Enlightenment traditions of abstract rationality’ (p. 22).…”

“…Instead of distinguishing good education from bad education, or education from non‐education, a holistic approach could analytically expose an educational dimension of any social field ( cf . Bellmann and Su, ). The focus on internal differentiations of education paves the way for empirical approaches.…”