Upbringing and education of a person are processes that are extremely important for the formation of a full-fledged society. The science of the laws of upbringing and education of a person is called pedagogy. From this article you will learn more about the history, categories and functions of this science.
History of Pedagogy: Basic Information
The concept of "pedagogy" is the result of the fusion of two ancient Greek words: "paidos" ("child") and "aga" ("lead"). As a result, we got a "tutor", that is, a teacher. It is curious that in ancient Greece the word "teacher" was understood literally: this was the name of a slave whose duties included escorting a child to school and picking him up from there.
For the first time about pedagogy as an independent science, and not part of philosophy, in the first quarter of the 17th century, the Englishman Francis Bacon, a philosopher, author of the work "On the Dignity and Multiplication of Sciences", spoke.
It is there that he calls pedagogy, along with others already known to societysciences.
Until about the middle of the last century, pedagogy was viewed as a science that was mainly related to children. But in the 20th century, higher education ceases to be a privilege available only to the rich, and becomes widespread. In this regard, in the 50s. In the 20th century, it became clear that the findings of pedagogy are applicable not only to children, but also to adults (students, for example). This discovery expanded the field of scientific activity, but first corrected the wording itself. From now on, pedagogy is the science of the laws of upbringing and education of a person in general, and not just a child.
What does pedagogy study?
Pedagogy considers the patterns of education of a growing person. In other words, at the center of this science lies the process of transferring the accumulated knowledge by the older generation to the younger one, and on the part of the younger generation, the process of active perception of the acquired knowledge. Pedagogy is close to psychology. Since the science we are considering is inextricably linked with the human factor, therefore, the teacher should almost first of all learn how to solve problems related to the human and, in particular, the child's psyche, because he works with living human material. A competent teacher is able to use the characteristics of the child's psychology to his advantage.
Categories of Pedagogy
Let's consider the main categories of science about the laws of human upbringing and education.
- Development. This is the general process of formation of the growing human personality. People have a propertychange throughout your life. It would be more correct to say that they are constantly, continuously changing. This applies more to children than to adults. Moreover, middle and senior school age fall at the same time as transitional. A transitional age is one of the most important centers of development in a person's life.
- Education. Despite the fact that development is primarily a process that takes place within the personality, the development of the child needs competent guidance and direction from the outside. This guidance and direction is called education. This is an everyday, laborious process. Its purpose is the development of all aspects of the personality, which the teacher considers essential for the successful existence of a person in society.
- Education. In fact, this is a part of both development and upbringing, but such an extensive and laborious part that it was singled out in a separate category. Education implies acquaintance with the most important experience of previous generations, summarized in the form of specific knowledge.
- Training. It follows directly from the previous paragraph and represents its implementation. The learning process, like, in fact, the entire pedagogical process, is a two-way activity. In this case, the student and the teacher. The student is learning, the teacher is teaching.
- General Pedagogy. This is the theoretical part of science. It studies all the above categories and is engaged in the formation of forms, means and methods of successful education and training. General pedagogy develops fundamental laws, that is, lawscommon to all age categories.
Pedagogical psychology, pedagogy of higher education are also distinguished (it studies the issues of pedagogical activity in secondary and higher educational institutions, corrective labor pedagogy (its main goal is re-education).
Functions of Pedagogy
There are two main functions of pedagogy as a science:
- Theoretical. Its essence is tracking, systematization and description of innovative experience that arises in practice; diagnostics of existing pedagogical systems; conducting trials and experiments. This feature has more to do with science.
- Technological. It includes: the development of plans, training programs, projects and teaching aids, that is, materials that streamline pedagogical work; introduction of innovations in practical pedagogical activity; analysis of performance results. This function is more related to practical labor.
Conclusion
Pedagogy is the only science whose subject of study is the upbringing of a person. It is in demand in all societies that have stepped over the primitive stage of development. That is why pedagogy can probably be called the science of the laws that are most important for society.
