Η εξέλιξη της παιδαγωγικής σκέψης

by Émile Durkheim, Maurice Halbwachs (Foreword), Ηλίας Αθανασιάδης

Η κλασική αυτή μελέτη του Ντυρκέμ ξεκινάει από μια διατύπωση που υπόκειται στο σύνολο των έργων του: τα έθιμα, οι ιδέες, οι τρόποι έκφρασης των αισθημάτων δεν είναι προϊόν της συνειδητής μας δράσης, είναι εν μέρει αποτέλεσμα των πρακτικών και των αναπαραστάσεων προηγούμενων γενεών. Σ' αυτές τις συνθήκες, ακόμη και ο πιο ικανός παιδαγωγός δεν μπορεί να ισχυριστεί ότι επεξεργάζεται μια εντελώς νέα εκπαιδευτική θεωρία. "Δεν βρίσκεται μπροστά σε μια tabula rasa, πάνω στην οποία μπορεί να οικοδομήσει ό,τι θέλει". Του απομένει λοιπόν να γνωρίσει τα προηγούμενα εκπαιδευτικά συστήματα για να δράσει πάνω στις υπάρχουσες πραγματικότητες. Κι αυτό χωρίς να περιμένει έτοιμες λύσεις από την εξέταση των παιδαγωγικών θεωριών διότι, όπως έλεγε επίσης ο Ντυρκέμ, αν "όλοι σχεδόν οι μεγάλοι παιδαγωγοί, ο Ραμπελαί, ο Μονταίν, ο Ρουσσώ, ο Πεσταλότσι είναι επαναστατικά πνεύματα . . . δεν λένε να τι υπάρχει, αλλά να τι θα έπρεπε να κάνουμε". Αν το παρελθόν σχηματίζει "το ασυνείδητο κομμάτι μας", ο Ντυρκέμ καταπιάνεται ακριβώς με το άνοιγμα και την ανάπτυξή του.

Genres: Education, Sociology

484 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 1977

About the author

Much of Durkheim's work was concerned with how societies could maintain their integrity and coherence in modernity; an era in which traditional social and religious ties are no longer assumed, and in which new social institutions have come into being. His first major sociological work was The Division of Labor in Society (1893). In 1895, he published his Rules of the Sociological Method and set up the first European department of sociology, becoming France's first professor of sociology.

In 1896, he established the journal L'Année Sociologique. Durkheim's seminal monograph, Suicide (1897), a study of suicide rates amongst Catholic and Protestant populations, pioneered modern social research and served to distinguish social science from psychology and political philosophy. The Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912), presented a theory of religion, comparing the social and cultural lives of aboriginal and modern societies.

Durkheim was also deeply preoccupied with the acceptance of sociology as a legitimate science. He refined the positivism originally set forth by Auguste Comte, promoting what could be considered as a form of epistemological realism, as well as the use of the hypothetico-deductive model in social science. For him, sociology was the science of institutions,[citation needed] its aim being to discover structural social facts. Durkheim was a major proponent of structural functionalism, a foundational perspective in both sociology and anthropology. In his view, social science should be purely holistic; that is, sociology should study phenomena attributed to society at large, rather than being limited to the specific actions of individuals.

He remained a dominant force in French intellectual life until his death in 1917, presenting numerous lectures and published works on a variety of topics, including the sociology of knowledge, morality, social stratification, religion, law, education, and deviance. Durkheimian terms such as "collective consciousness" have since entered the popular lexicon.

Reviews

[Ted Newell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply fantastic. A very careful, thorough and convincing tour through French educational history from the earliest monks onward. Makes clear the link between general culture shifts and educational change. Satisfying. Kudos to author David Hamilton for alerting me to its existence. Kudos too to Routledge for having the nous to reprint it.

[Tamas Coelho de souza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Um excelente livro publicado no Brasil como título de "A Evolução Pedagógica". Um panorama hsitórico envolvente e elucidativo da educação francesa desde o começo da Idade Média. Excelente leitura para os interessados em pedagogia.