Presentism as a Research Strategy in Modern History of Education

Abstract

he article deals with the peculiarities of use of presentism as an approach in historical knowledge connected with the relationship between the past and the present. The essence of presentism, its cognitive potential, types, strengths and weaknesses are revealed. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the cognitive capabilities of presentism as a research strategy in history of education, the identification of the risks that arise in connection with its use. It is shown that the main reasons for using presentism in historical and pedagogical research are as follows: substantiation of the relevance of the chosen topic; construction of a methodological research project; substantiation of the practical significance of the results obtained. The emphasis is made on the fact that the presentist approach, the use of which is inevitable, can lead to the distortion of the past, generate bias and tendentiousness in historical analysis, conclusions, generalizations, interpretations, assessments and, thereby, reduce the objectivity, scientific character and theoretical potential of the results obtained. Overcoming the negative consequences of the use of peresentism requires balance and attitude to the historical and pedagogical experience as a unique, inimitable phenomenon that cannot be transferred and repeated in the present in order to solve up-to-date educational problems.

Postmodernism and the Perspectives of University Education

“…Among the most important characteristics of modernism, we have identified the following: 1) rationality, or rather, instrumental rationalitythe ability to turn the procedures and methods of human mind into the most precise tools of knowledge and transformation of the surrounding world and man himself; 2) universality, manifested in the form of a firm conviction that there is a certain common, unifying origin in the world, a certain invariant (matter or spirit) that can bring to a common denominator the diversity of the surrounding reality; 3) belief in progress, the conviction that history is steadily advancing towards a more and more perfect, just and dignified state, towards the heights of goodness, truth, and beauty (Vakhovskyi, 2010, Vakhovskyi et al, 2021.…”