Home – Home – Jornals – "Philosophy of Education" 2011 number 4

The construction of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) has shaped university policies in European countries over the last few years. Education is seen as the basic factor in achieving social inclusion and progress in society at any level; hence the emphasis on the idea that universities should be closely connected with the market and employment. Training in competences has become a main feature in what is now a new educational approach. In this article, we would like to criticise some aspects of the Competence Model typical of the Bologna Process and, in presenting the results of a research work carried out among Education university students and lecturers in Spain, we argue in favour of Philosophy of Education as a kind of practical knowledge that is unfortunately often absent from the curriculum of Educational Studies and Teachers training.

With the high speed of globalization, more and more ideas about how to achieve social reform are arriving in China from the West. There is controversy in China about whether people should remain faithful to Confucian philosophy of moral education with its filial piety principle or whether to follow the trend of globalization, entailing taking a new and critical look at this principle, which could result in its revision, if not its demise.

The paper addresses the issue of theory, praxis and poiйsis as manifestations of human activity and as sources of its further modifications. It deals with the application of this concept of human activity in the teaching profession. Therefore, the focus is on the most important anthropina as indispensable constants in the concept of the teaching profession. On the ground of the ethical analysis of the current situation of the world as well as that of a human being, we look for the bases of teachers‰ professional ethics. Contemporary scholars point out the substantial connection between education and meaningful co-being, which should become a field for dialogue. It is necessary to make sure that live communication is not pushed out by parallel monologues and that those models of thinking are not expanding, which could lead to obstacles to understanding and interpretation mistakes, and which are related especially to  the instant knowledge and information technology reductionism. We also deal with the shift in the notion of teaching and of the dimensions of the teaching profession. More and more widespread is the notion of the model of a so called broad profession. A teacher is a specialist whose role is to facilitate the learning process and to create friendly conditions and challenging opportunities to release the pupils / studentsґ potential. These moments can also be seen when incorporating information and communication technologies into the process of education and self-education. Implementation of ICT into tuition and creation of virtual learning environments are essential moments in the development of educational projects. The paper also deals with the axiological and ethical dimensions of the virtual learning environment. The outcome from the issue in focus is formulated in the reflection on e-learning as an educational strategy, on one hand, and as a cultural phenomenon on the other. The article closes with an outline of a structural framework of teachersґ code of ethics.

Body language is the most natural and most understandable dialogue in the world. The significance of the Olympic Games against the backdrop of body language is considered, as well as the role of hands in life's movement, the role of speech from the point of view of human principles.

In the paper the development model of Russian and American education on the example of elite schools' formation is analyzed. The differences connected with national historical traditions, mentality, economic and political structures of these countries, mobilization or innovative types of development are considered. A special attention is paid to the fact that, although the models of Russian and American education were initially opposed, similar problems are observed there which showed the most severe crisis of national educational systems. The conclusion and the author's suggestions are made about the state policy of Russia in the field of elite education.

The present article «Philosophy of Naming» attempts to describe the system that structures the choice criteria and personal names selection in various cultures and ethnic groups. In order to build up such structure it is necessary to refer to various language elements and conduct the analysis of its units and cultural signs - personal names, applying the methodology of such scientific areas as philosophy, semiotics, linguistics, culturology, etc. While working on the topic and with the material we were able to single out several groups based on the main naming principle: attribution to a particular ethnic group, relevance to the worldwide events, giving name to the outstanding objects, and the name change after death.

The paper is devoted to the discussion of some methodological aspects of studying informatization of education from the point of view of social philosophy. An approach to such investigation and realization of education informatization in practice is suggested. A crucial difference between the informatization in the field of education and informatization of the society is indicated; this difference reveals itself in the subjective kind of the former. The informatization of education in the most straightforward way affects the field of values, resulting in the necessity to develop the system of borders within education informatization and an appropriate node line of measures, which could reflect qualitative transitions in the dynamics of the given phenomenon of social reality.

In modern conditions of social development, a philosophical analysis of the worldview foundations of modern upbringing is extremely topical; the nature and the purpose of education in the context of formation of the person's worldview are substantiated. The author shows that the change of values (money is the only true value) leads to a number of threats for the society, educational system and the state as a whole. Therefore, it is necessary to reconsider the axiological aspect of the worldview foundations of upbringing. It is necessary to restructure the system of upbringing to return the main cultural function to it.

Phenomenology of seeking, the problem of time from a phenomenological point of view, the meaning of time for the present and future

The current research on Education frequently turns to the problems of autonomy and emancipation. This paper considers the concepts of autonomy and emancipation in Immanuel Kant and Jacques Ranciere under Gert Biesta's examination. The following question is discussed: can a person be emancipated through education? We will make a brief explanation against or in favor of the new logic of emancipation discussed by Biesta, suggesting the possibility of rethinking the emancipation aiming to the dependence criticism, a typical category of current pedagogy, inspired by Kant.

This article deals with the issue of education in the context of the work of Jan Patocka. Education is considered in the form of three movements of human existence: receiving, reproduction and transcendence. It reveals the relationship between Patocka's theory of education as a movement of human existence and modern European traditions and discusses the meanings of this theory for today's theories on education. Education is understood as a chance to meet a generation on common ground and as a dialogue, conflict and struggle across the generations. It is also understood as a continuity of culture and discontinuity of necessary metamorphoses, as a symmetric and asymmetric relationship based on responsibility.

The goal of this essay is to analyse the theory/practice relation with the help of Tsunessaburo Makiguti's thought. Makiguti is a Japanese pedagogue who was thinking against the objectives of the education in his time associated with military training. To Makiguti, the meaning of education should be dissociated from technical training or knowledge transmission, but should be connected with happiness and self-fulfillment of the students. Overcoming the theory-practice dichotomy is achieved when education is linked to life, and there is no theory without its being filled with life and its needs.

The purpose of this paper is to examine existence and motion in substance in Mullah Sadra's view and to develop some of its educational implications. Accordingly, first Concept of Existence, Principality of Existence and Motion in Substance are explained and in part of Motion in substance are illustrated that while philosophers previously admitted the possibility of existence of motion in four categories; quantity, quality, position, and place, however, they considered the essence or substance of objects which were the locus of quantity, quality, and position as being fixed and motionless, Mullah Sadra proves that the trans-substantial motion of objects exists in their essence and does not occur to them as an accident. Through the principle of motion in substance, Mulla Sadra proved that the substantiality of substance and the quality of its creation are in the form of addition of a strong degree to the previous weak degree.
Then, some of useful consequences of Mullah Sadra's theory for philosophy are mentioned. Finally, in section of educational implications are explained that soul needs a materialistic ground for appearance and perfection is obtained by the aid of education. The important point in the educational system based on Sadra's philosophy, is preparing the ground for human development, i.e. in an education system, situations should be created in such a way that the student can understand the subjects in depth and add to his essence of being through active participation in teaching-learning processes. Hence, in Sadra's education system, the most important objective of education is teaching how to learh.

There are considered the issues of human existence and crisis on the basis of ideas of J.A. Comenius and Jan Patoиka.

This article examines the relationship between culture and the possibilities of a multicultural education, it asks which concepts of multiculturality in today's diverse world can different cultures coexist in. It analyses the axiological dimension of the concepts of multiculturality with an emphasis on the values of tolerance, reverence and respect and the dialogical character of multicultural education.

The authors address the problem of the cultures' dialogue in the context of globalization and its role in the West and East rapprochement that is topical in modern time. In the article the role of Russia is considered, a twofold nature of its culture allows it to become an intermediary between East and West in formation of the integrated civilization. The conclusion is that the cultures' dialogue in the context of globalization being a reality of the modern world becomes a condition of mankind's self-preservation.

Consideration of the Eastern and Western concepts of education in the aspects of similarities and specifics is connected with the search for holistic knowledge about education that provides people with cultural, educational, spiritual and moral potential, diverse socialization and dignified, non-conflict existence in society of the XXIst century. Methodological basis for understanding the integration process is a thesis about the dialectical unity of education and society. Education has a little chance for successful development without social conditions as well as society cannot progress without educated people that were brought up by integrated system of education that takes into account the best achievements of the Eastern and Western educational experience. Information technologies now bring methodology, training experience, teaching people in schools as a common heritage of all the countries of the world, thereby causing the formation of a unified educational space and the need for philosophical rethinking of educational processes.

In the article the comparative analysis of Japanese, Chinese, American, German and Russian organizational cultures is carried out. The role of Russian organizational culture on the global scale is revealed. The author assumes and proves that Russian organizational culture should be developed according to the Eastern model because of their orientation to traditions and similarity of their values.

The article is dedicated to the research of Western and Eastern education, revealing their common and different features between them. Much attention is paid to the disclosure of these issues through the prism of historical, social and spiritual development. It is emphasized that the Eastern education  is characterized by strict requirements in fulfilling traditional norms, customs and canons, and a more free search for truth is specific for the West. While the Western education was inclined towards the school uniform of learning, division of  school into classes and the assignment of subject teachers, the Eastern education system prefers an individual interactive system. The 21st century and globalization set common objectives for the Western and Eastern systems of education such as: the need of training professionally qualified person, humane and harmoniously developed personality, which supposes necessary synthesis of these two educational systems.