Classroom biographies: Teaching and learning in evolving material landscapes (c. 1960-2015)

in European Journal of Education (2017)

Despite growing interest in redesigning the material landscape of education, relatively little is known about the impact of these evolving classrooms. The current study aimed to gain insight into the ... [more ▼]

Despite growing interest in redesigning the material landscape of education, relatively little is known about the impact of these evolving classrooms. The current study aimed to gain insight into the physical learning environment and the potential pedagogical impacts thereof. A ‘biographical approach’ (c.1963-2015), was used to explore the long-term socio-material landscapes where teachers and pupils, classroom materiality and spatiality, and teaching practices are entangled. Stimulated recall interviews were conducted in Flanders (Belgium) with primary school teachers. Teacher-generated floorplans detailing their material classroom over time, transcribed oral accounts elaborating on these, and supportive data sources were aggregated and thematically analysed. The resulting identification of six key themes shed light on the evolving architectural and infrastructural developments, as well as triggers and teaching impacts thereof amongst the interviewed teachers. Findings show that negative school evaluations urging school intervention, and teachers’ proactive engagement within their classrooms, were the main catalysts of change. Moreover, evolving classroom layouts, in addition to the affordances of upgraded equipment, can be associated to changes in teachers’ practices. It can be concluded that the classroom is becoming an action context as the result of the inextricable mediating agencies identified. [less ▲]

Hautnah. Materialität der Moderne und sensomotorische Ansätze der Berufsbildung im "Zeitalter des Stahles"

in Thompson, Christiane; Casale, Rita; Ricken, Norbert (Eds.) Die Sache(n) der Bildung (2017)

Introduction: Das “Zeitalter des Stahles” In seinem Passagen-Werk, das der Überlieferung nach zwischen 1927 und 1940 entstanden ist, widmet sich Walter Benjamin den kunstvollen Eisen- und ... [more ▼]

Introduction: Das “Zeitalter des Stahles” In seinem Passagen-Werk, das der Überlieferung nach zwischen 1927 und 1940 entstanden ist, widmet sich Walter Benjamin den kunstvollen Eisen- und Glaskonstruktionen der Pariser Arkaden, die der modernen Großstadt nicht nur eine bisher unbekannte räumliche Atmosphäre gaben, sondern auch einen neuen Lebensstil prägten (Benjamin 1991). In der Tat wurden urbane Räume mehr und mehr durch bauliche und technische Raffinessen bestimmt, die, als Zeugen eines neuen Zeitalters, erst durch Werkstoffe wie Eisen und Stahl entstehen konnten. Im Jahre 1930 wurde vom Deutschen Werkbund, dem unter anderem Künstler, Konstrukteure und Architekten angehörten, der Band „Eisen und Stahl“ herausgegeben. Dieser enthielt 97 Schwarz-Weiß-Photographien von Albert Renger-Patzsch. Der Band machte bereits kurz nach seiner Publikation Furore und dokumentiert die herausragende Rolle der Photographie bei der Propagierung des neuen Zeitalters. Die Einleitung zu „Eisen und Stahl“ wurde vom damaligen Generaldirektor der Vereinigten Stahlwerke Albert Vögler geschrieben. Vögler (Renger-Patzsch 1930, S. 1 ff.) betonte den enormen kulturellen Einfluss von Eisen und Stahl, deren Materialeigenschaften seiner Auffassung nach nicht nur Alltagsdinge, Architektur, Technik und Ökonomie, sondern auch das intellektuelle Leben und die Ökologie ganzer Landschaften gravierend verändert hatten. Konsequenterweise bezeichnete Vögler daher das ausgehende 19. und beginnende 20. Jahrhundert als „Zeitalter des Stahles“ (ebd., S. 1), das er als eine grundlegend neue Welt beschrieb. Auslöser für diese neue Welt waren seiner Meinung nach spezifische Materialien, vor allem aber Eisen und Stahl, die unterschiedliche Härte- und Reinheitsgrade der Eisenerzverarbeitung repräsentierten und die nach und nach neue ästhetische Formen und menschliche Erfahrungen ermöglichten, welche wiederum vor allem von Ingenieuren, Konstrukteuren, Künstlern, Industriearbeitern und Angestellten geplant und ermöglicht wurden. Die rasant verlaufende internationale technische Entwicklung der Eisengewinnung und Stahlproduktion ermöglichte nicht nur die massenhafte Produktion von Waren und Gütern (bei denen Material, Form und Funktion auf neue Weise interagierten), sondern erschloss auch globale Märkte für Konsumenten. (...) [less ▲]

Klaslokalen Binnenstebuiten: Leerkrachten over de veranderende onderwijsleeromgeving doorheen hun carrière (1960-2015)

Article for general public (2016)

Welke scholen hebben we nodig voor de 21ste eeuw? Hoe moeten die toekomstige schoolgebouwen eruitzien? Misschien wel als één grote open werkruimte – met zithoeken, labo’s, vergaderlokalen voor groepswerk ... [more ▼]

Welke scholen hebben we nodig voor de 21ste eeuw? Hoe moeten die toekomstige schoolgebouwen eruitzien? Misschien wel als één grote open werkruimte – met zithoeken, labo’s, vergaderlokalen voor groepswerk, een immer toegankelijke media- en bibliotheek, enzovoort – waarin leerkrachten en leerlingen vrij kunnen bewegen naar gelang de activiteiten en noden. Zullen de ‘traditionele’ klaslokalen hun bestaansredenen verliezen in deze nieuwe onderwijsleeromgevingen? Het vraagstuk naar innovatieve scholenbouw is verre van nieuw. Inderdaad, eb en vloed kenmerken onze onderwijsgeschiedenis.klaslokalen hun bestaansredenen verliezen in deze nieuwe onderwijsleeromgevingen? Het vraagstuk naar innovatieve scholenbouw is verre van nieuw. Inderdaad, eb en vloed kenmerken onze onderwijsgeschiedenis. [less ▲]

Body_Machine? Encounters of the Human and the Mechanical in Education, Industry and Science

in History of Education (2016)

This paper unveils the body-machine as a key element of dynamic mental maps that have come to shape both educational praxis and research. It traces and analyses instances in which the human and the ... [more ▼]

This paper unveils the body-machine as a key element of dynamic mental maps that have come to shape both educational praxis and research. It traces and analyses instances in which the human and the mechanical encountered each other in metaphorical, material and visual forms, thereby blurring to some extent the boundaries between them while capturing and mobilising specific forms of knowing and acting. The paper studies firstly, how certain ‘orienting frames of reference’ and associated ‘experimental systems’ managed to materialise around the body-machine and penetrate theory and praxis; and, secondly, what visual and textual sources related to a vocational school may reveal about where and how the body-machine has come to operate in education, industry and science. The paper centres on early twentieth century photographs and analyses these not only as media presenting, representing and interrogating common thought and practice but also as agents of meaning-making around the body-machine. [less ▲]

Körper_Maschinen? Die Verschmelzung von Mensch und Technik in Pädagogik, Industrie und Wissenschaft

in Caruso, Marcelo; Mietzner, Ulrike; Wiegmann, Ulrich (Eds.) Jahrbuch für Historische Bildungsforschung (2015)

This paper unveils mutually constituent material, visual and metaphorical expressions of encounters between the human and the mechanical. It investigates circumstances and ways in which these expressions ... [more ▼]

This paper unveils mutually constituent material, visual and metaphorical expressions of encounters between the human and the mechanical. It investigates circumstances and ways in which these expressions have come into existence, and captured and mobilised new forms of knowing and acting. The paper explores firstly, how certain ‘orienting frames of reference’ and associated ‘experimental systems’ have managed to materialise around the body-machine and penetrate theory and praxis; and, secondly, what visual and textual sources related to a vocational school reveal about where and how the body-machine has come to operate in education, industry and science. The paper thereby analyses photographs not only as media presenting, representing and interrogating common thought and practice but rather as agents adding further layers to networks of meaning around the body-machine. It shows how the body-machine in metaphorical, material and visual ways became a key element of dynamic mental maps underlying educational practices and research. [less ▲]

Putting Male and Female Bodies in Their Places: Arenas and Theatres of Educational Reform

in Burke, Catherine; Grosvenor, Ian; Haenggeli-Jenni, Béatrice (Eds.) et al Education across Europe: A Visual Conversation (2014)

Creative Social Engineering? Reform Initiatives in Vocational Education and Professional Orientation (ca. 1880-1930)

Scientific Conference (2013, September 11)

Despite obvious connections between the industrial sector and that of technical-vocational schooling and training (cf. Blankertz, 1969) the historical importance of industry-related entrepreneurship for ... [more ▼]

Despite obvious connections between the industrial sector and that of technical-vocational schooling and training (cf. Blankertz, 1969) the historical importance of industry-related entrepreneurship for education in the whole of Europe remains underappreciated. In social-cultural and educational historiography alike States and/or Churches, rather than the industry and associated networks, tend to be connected to attempts at societal reform (see, e.g. de Swaan, 1988). Yet, in many European countries evidence can be found of industrialist initiatives preceding those from a governmental or congregational side. In view of economic interests and related values like efficiency, rationalization, etc., captains of industry needed to be innovative, and therefore also creative. In order to achieve innovation, however, actors from the economic sphere required input from the outside and in particular from the arts (literature, painting, philosophy, design, etc.). A key hypothesis of this paper, then, is that protagonists of the industry and the artistic-intellectual milieus of which they became part, were far less dependent on the formal structures that characterized state and denominational institutes’ organization. From a somewhat informal stage of society they may indeed have been able to act in a much more problem-focused manner. Whether this led to truly creative and innovative solutions remains a question to be answered. Some key players, in each case, were at once active in economy, politics, popular media and intellectual circles, which may well have enabled them to force through ideas at all levels, using alternative strategies in function of what they were aiming at. In Luxembourg – the point of departure of this paper – one such aim around the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries was the integration of new social groups (chiefly immigrant workers) into a rapidly changing society, including the allocation of their ‘proper’ place within the social fabric. Assumed to have been established at least partly to serve this purpose were mining schools, technical-vocational schools and associated professional orientation centres. Concretely, the paper will study reform initiatives like these undertaken in The Grand Duchy and investigate to what extent they creatively combined existing elements from neigbouring countries and constituted innovative solutions. Luxembourg and its industrial-intellectual sphere will thereby be considered as points of circulation and transformation, as crossroads of ideas at the heart of Western Europe. Case studies investigated, like the ‘Institut Émile Metz’ in Dommeldange suggest this is warranted. Thus, a ‘psycho-physiological laboratory’ attached to this institution inscribed itself in debates on ‘psychometrics’, inspired by ‘pedology’, ‘pedological psychology’, ‘experimental pedagogy’, ‘child study’, etc. (cf. Depaepe, 1993), and refering back to the ‘social physics’ made popular by Adolphe Quetelet as of the mid-1830s. Images, perhaps more than textual sources, visualize, propagate and/or question such currents in the area studied. Thus, for instance, unique glassplate negatives from a 2,248 unit large collection give insight into representations with regard to ‘experimental’ testing of students’ aptitude, etc., at the Dommeldange school. As part of a ‘perspectivist’ approach, such visual sources will be analyzed critically alongside textual ones. Method The subject and focus of this paper cannot be confined to national borders. From the primary and secondary sources consulted so far, it is abundantly clear that the historical actors behind the reform initiatives mentioned, as well as the ideas inspiring them, were of importance transnationally and of relevance for the whole of Western Europe in particular. From a methodological point of view, the paper will therefore draw inspiration from such concepts as ‘entangled’/‘shared’ history, ‘Kulturtransfer’ and ‘histoire croisée’, as put forth by scholars like Michel Espagne (2000), Matthias Middell (2001), Sebastian Konrad & Shalini Randeira (2002), Bénédikte Zimmermann & Michael Werner (2006). In dealing with visual material, this contribution will in turn follow two (related) approaches. The first approach stresses epistemological aspects of imagery and identifies pictures as a medium of perceiving, creating and questioning social-cultural realities (cf. e.g.: Boehm, 1999; Thyssen, 2007; Priem, 2009). The second consists of a documentary method inspired by Erwin Panofsky, which combines iconographical description with iconological/iconic interpretation and at the same time emphasizes analysis of image series as horizons of comparison. Expected Outcomes An expected outcome of this paper is that initiatives in the domain of technical-vocational education and professional orientation in Luxembourg, as elsewhere, were based on two rationales: a moral-utopian one, inspired by ideas of social critics like Henri de Saint-Simon, Charles Fourier and Robert Owen (e.g.: Bartier, 1985; Cunliffe & Erreygers, 2001), and one connected to beliefs in efficiency and rationality. Furthermore, it is expected that the reform initatives investigated in this paper were not to any notable extent distinctively ‘new’ or ‘Luxembourgian’. Elements were likely borrowed from neighbouring or other European countries, but then perhaps ‘creatively’ adapted to local circumstances. Another expected outcome is that from research in the domain mentioned, an interconnectedness or interdependence of economy (efficiency, rationality, etc.) and creativity (in view of innovation) emerges, in which educationally conceived initiatives from the industry and associated artistic-intellectual circles played a key role. [less ▲]

Brodskys hygienische Klappschulbank: Zu leicht für die schulische Mentalität?

in Zeitschrift fur Pädagogik. Beiheft (2012), 58

Die Autoren schlagen vor, die Materialität der Erziehung als ökonomische Strategie und als Ausdruck der Grammatik pädagogischer Institutionen zu analysieren. […] Als intellektuelle Spielerei über eine ... [more ▼]

Die Autoren schlagen vor, die Materialität der Erziehung als ökonomische Strategie und als Ausdruck der Grammatik pädagogischer Institutionen zu analysieren. […] Als intellektuelle Spielerei über eine merkwürdige "Erfindung" hatte dieser Beitrag nicht unmittelbar zum Ziel, eine theoretische Grundlage für die neue Geschichtsschreibung der Schulbank zu schaffen. Möglicherweise hat er jedoch eine Tür für einen besser geeigneten Umgang mit der pädagogischen Vergangenheit und insbesondere mit der pädagogischen Materialität eröffnet, für einen Umgang, der sich nicht mit Nostalgie zufrieden gibt, sondern sich eher auf eine wissenschaftliche Analyse stützt, welche im Dialog mit den Quellen zustande gekommen ist. (DIPF/Orig.) [less ▲]

About Pedagogization: From the Perspective of the History of Education

in Depaepe, Marc (Ed.) Between Educationalization and Appropriation - Selected Writings on the History of Modern Educational Systems (2012)

For history researchers, it is not a needless luxury to consider from time to time the content and the significance of the basic concepts they use, certainly if they have the ambition to interpret and/or ... [more ▼]

For history researchers, it is not a needless luxury to consider from time to time the content and the significance of the basic concepts they use, certainly if they have the ambition to interpret and/or explain history in addition to purely describing it. This self-reflection, compelled by the annually recurring dialogue with educational philosophers (cf. Smeyers & Depaepe, 2006),2 need not necessarily place an emphasis on philosophical abstraction but can just as well start from an examination of the history of one’s own research. Such an approach need not succumb to navel-gazing. Instead, such historical self-reflection possibly points to the creeping (and thereby largely unconscious) shifts in meaning that accompany various fashions (consider the swirling “turns” of recent years), which affect the social scientific vocabulary (historiographic, philosophical, pedagogical, psychological sociological, etc.). By rendering such developments explicit, the epistemological wrestling with the stream of experiences we call 'history', a process that can be chaotic, may in the future perhaps be somewhat less sloppy. Admittedly, even the most critical concepts that emerged from our own work were not always used with methodological care and/or theoretical purity. [less ▲]

Auf den Spuren von Diskurs, Traum und Wirklichkeit der architektonischen Formgebung in Decrolys Ermitage

in Zeitschrift fur Pädagogik. Beiheft (2011), 57(6), 928-951

The contribution is divided into three parts; first, [it tries] ... to uncover the Decrolyians'discourse concerning school architecture. On the basis of original sources, [the authors] ... look at the ... [more ▼]

The contribution is divided into three parts; first, [it tries] ... to uncover the Decrolyians'discourse concerning school architecture. On the basis of original sources, [the authors] ... look at the manner in which Decroly's and his disciples' thoughts on school buildings expressed themselves in the material heritage. Subsequently, Decroly's own school location is described and the question is raised as to how the developed environment was integrated into the pedagogical practice. In the final section, we study the utopian blue-print by the architects Renaat Braem (who nowadays is still considered one of the most important representatives of modern architecture and modern urban development in Belgium) and Jack Sokol, dating back to 1946. This had been a megalomaniacal project which was described both by the archtitects mentioned above and by the Decrolyians as a break with the existing school buildings, the ancient temples of pedagogy, in which one professed one's faith in the old didactics. It links up with the body of thought of an international plea which had been discussed during the first half of the 20th century, mainly in reform-pedagogical circles. The fact that the Decrolyians did, in the end, not realize their project of a renewable architecture was not so much the result of their persistent skepticism regarding one or the other school-architectonic determinism, which would transport the school building beyond the pre-eminence of its flexible use within the framework of the active method, it was simply due to limited financial resources. [less ▲]