Non-affirmative Theory of Education and Bildung

Interpreting the modern heritage of ‘Bildung’ in connection to education theory, this open access volume explores non-affirmative theory of education and ‘Bildung’ as a language of education for the 21st century. In this ‘Bildung’-centered view of education, discerning thought on knowledge and values are critical objectives of education. To promote these aims, education practice must recognize but not affirm existing conditions or future ideals but instead pedagogically summon the student to self-directed critical treatment of the contents. Drawing on contemporary developments of modern education theory, especially as developed by Dietrich Benner in Berlin, the volume highlight how ‘educative teaching’ aims at supporting the growth of the individual as a person and citizen. The volume shows how it is possible to identify a position beyond education either as a mere transformative or a reproductive power. Instead of such an instrumentalism, education is seen as a critical societal practice, necessary for reflexive action and democracy. In different ways, the chapters demonstrate how non-affirmative theory offer an alternative to contemporary neo-liberal and conservative policies. The non-affirmative approach offers a strong education theory, relationally connecting the interactive level of teaching, studying and learning with the societal level and educational governance. Non-affirmative theory on education and ‘Bildung’ provides an elaborate point of departure for empirical research on teaching and educational leadership, teacher education and policy making. In five sections, the volume highlights how non-affirmative education theory relate to Didaktik, educative teaching, school didactics, democratic education and social justice. The approach is also analysed in relation to phenomenology, sociology, hermeneutics, cultural-historical activity theory, discursive institutionalism, empirical research, educational leadership and governance and 21st century competencies. Chapter “On Affirmativity and Non-affirmativity in the Context of Theories of Education and Bildung” is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

Part I. Introduction -- Chapter 1. Non-affirmative theory of education and Bildung – problems, positionings and possibilities (Michael Uljens) -- Chapter 2. On affirmativity and non-affirmativity in the context of theories of education and ‘Bildung’ (Dietrich Benner) -- Part II. Non-affirmative interpretations of Didaktik -- Chapter 3. Knowledge, values and subject-ness - Educative teaching as a regulative idea of school development in the 21st century (Thomas Rucker) -- Chapter 4. Herbart’s educative teaching in times of Big Data-based measurement and assessment (Ling Lin) -- Chapter 5. ‘Bildung’-Centered Non-Affirmative School Didactics (Michael Uljens) -- Part III. Non-affirmative education and related theoretical positions -- Chapter 6. Dewey, existential uncertainty, and non-affirmative democratic education (Andrea R. English) -- Chapter 7. Revisiting forgotten relationships between justice and education - Non-Affirmative Education as complementing distributive justice (Juan José Sosa Alonso) -- Chapter 8. Between doxa and transformational Bildung – A phenomenological and social-theoretical rehabilitation of the formation of opinions with Egon Schütz and Pierre Bourdieu (Johannes Türstig) -- Chapter 9. Hermeneutics in non-affirmative theory of education (Mari Mielityinen-Pachmann) -- Part IV. Non-affirmative education and empirical research -- Chapter 10. Pedagogical experimentalism and the principle of verification. A quest for non-affirmative educational research (Hanno Su and Johannes Bellmann) -- Chapter 11. Non-affirmative theory of education and cultural-historical activity theory — Where do they meet? (Alex Mäkiharju) -- Chapter 12. Understanding municipal education leaders in the tension between politics, professionals and parents (Ann-Sofie Smeds-Nylund) -- Part V. Non-affirmative education perspectives on governance and policy -- Chapter 13. Operating in an outcomes-based and a democratic Bildung discourse (Lejf Moos) -- Chapter 14. On the normativity of data-driven curriculum policy-making: a discursive and non-affirmative approach (Andreas Nordin) -- Chapter 15. Bildung and 21th century competences: in need of mutual recognition? (Armend Tahirslay) -- Chapter 16. From ‘didactics’ to ‘curriculum-and-didactics’ and beyond: A non-affirmative approach to the analysis of policy changes of didactics in mainland China (Bangpin Ding) -- Part VI. Concluding reflections and openings -- Chapter 17. Non-affirmative education theory as a language for a global discourse on education (Michael Uljens).