Exploring the ethics of agency through the lens of Bildung

Experiencing something of a renaissance, the German pedagogical idea ‘Bildung' has recently been reconsidered for contemporary education. Historically proposed by von Humboldt, Bildung's interplay represents a relational movement between a learner and the world that aims for personal freed...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of children's spirituality
Main Author: Wills, Ruth (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Taylor & Francis [2017]
In: International journal of children's spirituality
IxTheo Classification:AG Religious life; material religion
CB Christian life; spirituality
NCA Ethics
VA Philosophy
ZF Education
Further subjects:B Ethics
B Agency
B Education
B Repetition
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Description
Summary:Experiencing something of a renaissance, the German pedagogical idea ‘Bildung' has recently been reconsidered for contemporary education. Historically proposed by von Humboldt, Bildung's interplay represents a relational movement between a learner and the world that aims for personal freedom and growth. It is also identified as a means by which learners might become aware of their personal capacity to develop responses to daily experiences. Thus, it attends to agency and has resonance with children's spirituality. Whilst such a notion of learning might be promoted as an alternative to a functionalistic educational paradigm, this paper highlights ethical concerns regarding pedagogical freedom. It highlights philosophically the illusion of freedom and considers critically the place of power in learner-led methods. Finally, the paper proposes how a nuanced, Kierkegaardian application of Bildung might address the ethical concerns raised and proposes how a re-considered understanding of the notion might be valuable for education today.
ISSN:1469-8455
Contains:Enthalten in: International journal of children's spirituality
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/1364436X.2017.1377689