Book

Description

European education is not a mere issue of laws and institutions. Instead, it is inherently a living process, which is defined by centuries of social reorganization, political struggle, cultural development, and educational discovery. This book is an attempt to explore this multifaceted reality in a multidimensional sense. The focal point of this thematic investigation is the historical shift in European education toward an internationalization and technologically dominated education system. This process was neither smooth nor without resistance. During the last 200 years, the nation-state has played the role of the main regulator of educational policy but has increasingly had to share this responsibility with supranational organizations, international treaties, and digital platforms that do not rely on geographical borders at all. The study of this change cannot be achieved by mere fact-recording. Then there is the question of the underlying ideological circumstances, and their implications for pedagogical autonomy, educational identity, and the role of the teacher in the 21st century which the book addresses. The concept of open-air schools, which modern pedagogy tends to introduce as a new creation, has a historical background, and dates back to the late 19th century. They arose out of issues of collective health, physical growth of children and relationship between the learning process and the natural world. The fact that the same spirit of early educational activity has made its way up to the present day in the form of experiential learning, environmental education and the design of learning space is impressive, and it teaches any serious educator or researcher some valuable lessons. In this case, the reader can observe how a concept with very humanistic roots has turned into a means of meeting the demands of the labor market, but its significance cannot be limited to this. The historical development of lifelong learning in European societies gives the impression of an ongoing desire to adjust to the dynamic and shifting social situations.