| Is Polish Andragogics a science? | | Print | |
| Wit Pasierbek, Anna Walulik | 26.02.2008 | Science - Articles [en] | ||||
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Asking whether andragogics is a science requires the assumption that social sciences differ qualitatively from natural sciences because of the subject of their research. The most obvious difference is the fact that social science subjects are characterised by self-awareness and they are able to include reflection about one’s situation and relationships. Andragogic reflection belongs to this current of scientific thinking. Mieczysław Malewski proposes that it be included in a group of educational sciences. It would then belong to the field of social sciences and be given equal status with educational sociology, developmental psychology, economics of education, history of education and pedagogy .
The social and political changes that occurred in Poland after 1989 and which created a new type of social rationality, have also established qualitatively new external development conditions for andragogics which, until recently, was dominated by a neo-positivist methodological doctrine. Andragogic research also included such fields as self-directed learning, self-directed education, workers’ training, cultural and educational activities, industrial and agricultural activities and social and political activities. This resulted from a rational research strategy which requires a choice of the most urgent issues from the point of view of social needs. Adult education could only be found in institutions created, financed and controlled by the state. All research concentrated on problems connected with the effectiveness of adult education. This means that andragogics found itself in an ideological trap. Andragogic research activities were regulated by questions regarding the modernity of the programmes and text books for adults and whether or not they prepared the students for specific social roles and about the motives for participation and their ability to stimulate. Non-formal and informal learning, the most typical type was ignored. A significant feature of Polish andragogics during the Communist period was an empirical reference point. Frequently research was based on the simplest analyses of factographic material obtained from statistical data. It was conducted in conditions devoid of any real technical support by individual researchers or small teams. Educational methods were used as the theoretical basis, frequently referred to as adult pedagogics. In this way andragogics acquired the status of a subdiscipline, thus increasing the distance dividing it from sociology, psychology or philosophy. After 1989, the disbanding of the centralised state interest in adult education made it possible to base research procedures on understanding and interpretation by using qualitative research. Its point of departure became social reality in a form which people impart on it. This inclines andragogists to present research problems and seek interdisciplinary answers. At the same time, this requires a new definition of how andragogics is related to other sociological science disciplines and rejection of the conviction that all that is expected is knowledge directly serving educational practices. Shifting research emphasis from educational practice to a cognitive one, sometimes seems difficult. It appears that this results not just for a need for new thinking about andragogics as a science, but also from the situation in which adult education finds itself in the new socio-political reality. This may be why Józef Półturzycki’s call for research priorities in Polish andragogics, lists the following: - Local labour markets and their educational needs, eg, to stimulate the economic, social and cultural development, promoting local community activities to create jobs, encouraging enterprise and taking advantage of regional traditions and resources. - Specific social communities and their educational needs, eg, people of the third age, the handicapped, women, the army, sanatorium and hospital and care home patients, etc. New educational interests, eg, one’s own health and life, family contacts and relations, religious beliefs, new technologies and their use in everyday life, sexual contacts, natural environment, etc. - How state and non-state adult education institutions function on all levels, particularly schools and widely available courses from the point of view of their social usefulness, meeting teaching requirements, observance of legal guidelines, etc. - Non school centered forms of adult education linked to cultural, union, political, religious, social and tourist activities, etc. - Training and development of specialist andragogists associated with working out a qualification model for teacher-andragonists, andragogics-promoter, andragogics organiser and preparation of a training programme for their training and development as part of their professional work. - Specificity of educational methods in working with adults and their suitability in particular circumstances, teaching effectiveness auto reactive values and their role in self-directed education and others. - The role of information in adult education and its organisational, inspirational, innovative and popularising significance. - Links and contacts of research with andragogic practice on different rungs of its functional work, the role of university and college centres and other research centres on the activities of practicing andragogs, research collaboration, common research projects, help with working out methodology and organisation, diagnostic work, etc. - Development of andragogic theory and practice and promulgation in decision making circles among the practitioners. Wit Pasierbek Anna Walulik |
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