Abstract
Societies need to make sure that the next generation is ready and capable to take over in due time, be it in working life, culture, civil society, politics or families. Therefore, society at large and specifically state governments need to assist the efforts of families and local communities. Such provisions have been the basic premise for general educational theories for centuries, when education was often named Democratic and Comprehensive Bildung. At present, this premise needs re-conceptualization, because societies are moving dramatically towards opening up for interactions and relations with the widest possible area: the globe. Many societal challenges have effects across nations, calling for trans-national coordination, management and solutions,—for homogenized and standard based policy making. At the same time, inspiration from multiple sources produce conflicting visions and rival discourses about what the purposes of and the means for education should be.
In this paper we analyze and discuss two contemporary, fundamentally dissimilar discourses on education and their theoretical and societal roots. Our main method is discourse analysis. We argue for inclusion of a global world-view in national education. We shall be critical, however, to the technocratic turn and the homogenization of education per se and argue for a Democratic Bildung perspective in education for world citizenship.
Zusammenfassung
Gesellschaften haben dafür Sorge zu tragen, dass die nächste Generation darauf vorbereitet ist und sich auch dazu bereitfindet, zu angemessener Zeit Verantwortung zu übernehmen – sei es nun im Berufsleben oder in der Kultur, in Zivilgesellschaft, Politik oder Familie. Deshalb müssen die Gesellschaften insgesamt und die Regierungen im Besonderen das Bestreben von Familien und lokalen Gemeinschaften unterstützen, ihren Kindern die besten Entwicklungsmöglichkeiten zu verschaffen. Solche Fürsorgekonzepte sind für Jahrhunderte die elementare Voraussetzung für die erziehungswissenschaftliche Theoriebildung gewesen, immer dann, wenn Erziehung als demokratische oder allgemeine Bildung verstanden wurde. In der Gegenwart muss diese Voraussetzung aber neu konzeptualisiert werden, weil sich Gesellschaften dramatisch verändern, indem sie sich für gemeinschaftliche Handlungen und Beziehungen öffnen, die sich auf das denkbar größte Gebiet beziehen, auf den Globus. Viele gesellschaftliche Herausforderungen haben Effekte, die über (einzelne) Nationen hinweg wirken und deshalb transnationale Koordination, Management und Problemlösung verlangen – für eine homogenisierte und auf gemeinsamen Standards beruhende Politik. Gleichzeitig erzeugt die Inspiration aus unterschiedlichen Quellen konflikthafte Visionen und rivalisierende Diskurse über die Zielsetzung von Erziehung sowie die Wahl der dafür geeigneten Mittel.
In diesem Beitrag analysieren und diskutieren wir zwei fundamental verschiedene Diskurse über Erziehung und deren theoretische und gesellschaftliche Wurzeln. Unsere Hauptmethode ist die Diskursanalyse. Wir argumentieren dafür, eine globale Welt-Perspektive in die nationale oder regionale/lokale Erziehung einzubringen. Wir nehmen aber eine kritische Position bezüglich der technokratischen Umorientierung und der Homogenisierung per se ein und argumentieren für eine demokratische Bildungsperspektive im Rahmen einer Erziehung zum Weltbürger.
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Notes
The Danish ‘Folkeskole’ covers primary and lower-secondary education, for students aged 6–16. A brief description of the Danish educational system is found below.
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Moos, L., Wubbels, T. General education. Homogenised education for the globalized world?. Z Erziehungswiss 21, 241–258 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11618-018-0809-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11618-018-0809-z