Bildung-Centred Non-Affirmative School Didactics

This chapter contributes with a novel analysis of how non-affirmative theory of education and Bildung, contribute to the development of a non-affirmative approach to Bildung-centered school didactics (Uljens, 1997). Despite terminological differences, school didactics (SD) generally taken translates conveniently to the principles featuring non-affirmative education theory. First, framed by a longstanding tradition of Hegel-influenced education theorizing in Finland (J. V. Snellman), school didactics focuses the relational teaching-studying-learning process, which resembles the constitutive principles of summoning and Bildsamkeit. Second, both are Bildung centered regarding the centrality and the eductive treatment of teaching contents from the learner’s perspective. Third, despite the differences in their names, general education and school didactics, both takes the school as the point of their theorizing. Fourth, both accepts a non-teleological view of societal development. Fifth, both positions accepts Mündigkeit in a broad meaning as their aims. Finally, school didactics identifies three related pairs of subjectivity and intersubjectivity and explains the transition between these by summoning and Bildsamkeit. Non-affirmative SD reminds that pedagogical dimensions of educational leadership are necessary for understanding school teaching. The constitutive principles apply for the pedagogical dimensions of school leadership.

Key words Didaktik, school didactics, non-affirmative education theory, teaching-studying-learning process, educational leadership