Franz Hamburger/Jürgen Oelkers
An Introduction
Jürgen Oelkers
Democratic Thinking in Pedagogics
Democratic thinking is older than pedagogics as a discipline. Based on the relations between different forms of government and of education established by Montesquieu, the author examines approaches to democratic thinking in dissident groups and alternative ways of life which aimed at a democracy from below. Concepts of a democratic education emerged during the 19th century; the test field for these ideas were the United States, i.e. the first modern democracy. Different approaches to and phases in the development of democratic pedagogics are described; the final phase being the discussion of children’s rights, which no longer restrict the principles of equality to adults alone.
Sven Steinacker/Heinz Sünker
Political Culture, Democracy, and Educational Practice in Germany. Co-administration – self-determination – participation or the year “1968” in a historical context
The article focuses on the question of the complex mediations between social balance of power, political culture, and institutionalized education (inside and outside the school system). Against the background of a development largely attached to conservative and undemocratic traditions, culminating in National Socialism and, even after the liberation, mostly oriented by restorative models, the educational-political initiatives of 1968 and of the years to follow are interpreted as attempts to set free emancipatory potentials of a democratic political culture. By way of illustration, the authors name concepts of critical education which focused on pedagogical action (in the broadest sense) as a means of emancipation, combining it with far-reaching conceptions of social change.
Thomas W. Coelen
Education for democracy in pedagogical institutions
Families, nursery schools, clubs/associations, open youth centers, and schools as well as other pedagogical institutions contribute to the formation and education of democratic subjects, each in their own specific way and to different degrees. In this, the respective institutional structures favor or impede the degrees and the forms of participation of the addressees as well as the corresponding educational processes. Therefore, in capitalist- democratic societies, pedagogics cannot succeed in one single institution. Only the – possibly complementary – “interplay with other forms of associations“ (Dewey) holds
the chance of forming a democratic identity.
Hartmut Ditton
How much inequality through education can a democracy tolerate
Due to the crucial importance of education for social partaking in modern democracies, it is not surprising that inequality in education has increasingly been discussed in recent years. Still, the question arises what different cycles in the intensity of political and public awareness can be put down to. The author argues that the issue needs to be considered in a broader social context. Thus, current hopes to effect distinct changes
through specific educational-political reforms do not necessarily appear to be convincing.
Articles
Martin Giese
The Concept of Experience in Didactics – a semiotic analysis
The concept of experience is omnipresent in educational scientific discourses. Yet, what is still lacking is a uniform theory of experience which would constitute a universally binding basis for an experience-oriented teaching practice. In this sense, there exists a curious discrepancy between the prospering use of the concept and its theoretical or teaching-related discussion. Without wanting to put the case for experience-oriented illusions of feasibility – which are incommensurable with the structure of the basic phenomenon – the author shows how a semiotic analysis of experience may help formulate a consistent and above all anthropologically sound theory of experience which would also provide an answer to the question of the genesis of experiences. In this context, experience is conceived of as a lasting
achievement of consciousness in accordance with Schwemmer´s approach.
Stephan Schumann
Promotion of Motivation through Problem-Orientated Teaching? Reflections on the fit of motivation theory and on results of the project APU (Application- and
Problem-Orientated Teaching) On the basis of the theory of self-determination and of the pedagogical theory of interests, the author examines the promotion of the motivation to learn in problem-orientated spheres of learning and teaching. The structural characteristics of such teaching concepts show correlations with conditions conducive to motivation postulated by the theory of self-determination, in particular. However, with regard to the problem-orientated sphere of learning implemented by APU in seven Swiss secondary schools in the year 2006/2007, a quasi-experimental study with three survey points in time (N = 371) showed no effects on the conditions conducive to motivation; rather, as regards the development
of interests and intrinsic motivation, the effects were, in fact, negative.
Uwe Maier
Effects of test-based reports on school and on teaching - Are international findings applicable to comparative tests in the German-speaking countries
Assuming that accountability an international mandatory testing pattern of testbased exists, the author summarizes and categorizes international findings on the effects of accountability. The survey on existing literature shows that extremely negative consequences are above all linked with the functional integration of test-based accountability in countries such as the US or England. On the other hand, there are also studies that point to the relative insignificance of innovative mandatory tests for the development of teaching; – a research branch which has as yet not gained enough attention in the Germanspeaking countries. International research reports on the reception and use of feedback concerning achievement on the school level, too, could be instructive for the implementation of mandatory testing. In a final part, the author discusses research-methodological implications for studies on test effects and on feedback usage.