The diversity of 'progressive school pedagogues' 1929-1960: A space of opposites making society making the child

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskriftTidsskriftartikelfagfællebedømt

This article examines the structure and dynamics of progressive school pedagogues’ ‘collective ideology’ which emerged and institutionalised itself in Denmark in the period 1929-1960. A common methodological culture was promoted as opposed to a traditional academic school culture. The article uses a social spacial approach and depicts a collective biography using prosopographical data from existing biographical lexicons regarding 549 progressive school pedagogues. First, a space of social positions is identified, i.e., opposites between teachers from rural areas versus art professions and biological professions from urban districts. Second, a space of pedagogical position-taking is portrayed, i.e., opposites between scientific rationalisation of the population’s potential versus humanistic cultivation of the individual’s potential. It is suggested that, in the small state of Denmark, progressive pedagogy developed as a heterogeneous middle-class project of consensus-making within the state structure, seeking cohesion of society in a time of emergency around WWII.
OriginalsprogEngelsk
TidsskriftPraktiske Grunde. Tidsskrift for kultur- og samfundsvidenskab
Vol/bind2013, 7
Udgave nummer4
Sider (fra-til)5-24
Antal sider20
ISSN1902-2271
StatusUdgivet - 21 jan. 2015

    Forskningsområder

  • Det Humanistiske Fakultet - progressivism, social space approach, collective biography, professions, welfare state, nation state

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