Johnny and Ivan learning in a programmed way: The reinvention of one American technology

in IJHE Bildungsgeschichte (2019), 9(1), 29-46

In the heated times of the Cold War, two hypothetical schoolboys – Johnny in the United States and Ivan in the Soviet Union (USSR) – were both promised a school where they would learn in a new way. This ... [more ▼]

In the heated times of the Cold War, two hypothetical schoolboys – Johnny in the United States and Ivan in the Soviet Union (USSR) – were both promised a school where they would learn in a new way. This new way – the technology of programmed instruction – was developed by the American behavioral psychologist Burrhus F. Skinner. It became popular globally over the 1960s and was promoted passionately in the United States and the USSR alike. The aim of this article is to explore this shared sentiment, with the specific intention of explaining how, during the Cold War, an American innovation was able to become a hit in Soviet education under reform. Un­ derstanding educational transfer as translation rather than transportation, the article unveils the ways in which the idea of programmed learning became embedded and reconceptualized through the specific Soviet political, historical, and cultural lens of the time. The case of programmed instruction not only demonstrates that ideas become global only through their local reinvention but also illustrates that assumed scientific­ hence ­universal educational innovations or programs are never such. [less ▲]

Hans-Christian Harten: Himmlers Lehrer. Eine interdisziplinäre Gesamtschau auf das Schulungswesen der SS"

in IJHE Bildungsgeschichte (2015), (2), 241-243

Visuelle Politik der Schule

in IJHE Bildungsgeschichte (2014), 2

Disciplining: From Corporal Punishment to Full-body Segregation. Comments on “Strict Discipline” by William F. Pinar

in IJHE Bildungsgeschichte (2013), 3(1), 113-115

The text written by William Pinar on “strict discipline” raises issues that can be uncomfortable and yet will benefit most from leaving the closet behind. Pinar here emphasizes the vulnerability of young ... [more ▼]

The text written by William Pinar on “strict discipline” raises issues that can be uncomfortable and yet will benefit most from leaving the closet behind. Pinar here emphasizes the vulnerability of young learners, behavioral norms under continuous pressure as schooling rises in importance for life chances, the power of masters, and the tensions of guiding and disciplining children and adolescents as they orient themselves morally in their own cohorts and in contrast to their elders. His concept of Currere, or the running of the course and the lived experiences of curriculum that constitute a person’s education (see Pinar 2011), underscores the significance of subjectivity, individuality, indeed: developmental distinctive-ness. Pupils’ innocence and their blossoming on the path to adulthood as well as the close contact required in interactive learning processes inherently provide moments of fondness and aversion—and sometimes even passion. The latter have become verboten in an age shocked by innumerable cases of sexual abuse in family, ecclesiastical, and pedagogic settings, and sensitive about the lifelong damage often caused by such acts. There are also costs to ignoring the potential and the need for understanding and intimacy in learning processes, whether intergenerational or among diverse peers. [less ▲]

Wolfgang Legler: Geschichte des Zeichen- und Kunstunterrichts. Oberhausen: ATHENA 2011

in IJHE Bildungsgeschichte (2013), 3(2013), 136-140

Hans Joas: Die Sakralität der Person. Ein wertvoller Beitrag n icht nur zur Geneamlogie der Menschenrechte.

in IJHE Bildungsgeschichte (2012), 2

Inszenierte Wissenschaft

in IJHE Bildungsgeschichte (2012), (2), 267-269

Pedagogy on Display. Images and the "Grammar" of Education

in IJHE Bildungsgeschichte (2012), 2012(2), 243-246

Rezension: Gert Biesta: Good Education in the age of measurement

in IJHE Bildungsgeschichte (2011), (2), 213-215

Historiographische Herausforderungen der Bildungsgeschichte

in IJHE Bildungsgeschichte (2011), 1(1), 9-22

The following contribution argues that the obvious marginalization of history of education is due to the fact that after the Second World War, history of education was too little oriented ... [more ▼]

The following contribution argues that the obvious marginalization of history of education is due to the fact that after the Second World War, history of education was too little oriented historiographically to the globalization of education policy and society. A plea is made for cultural self-refl ection and comparative historical analysis, which holds the promise of not only a new quality of history of education but also a new quality of educational refl ection in general. [less ▲]