Educational Science. Hermeneutics, Empirical Research, Critical Theory

In Europe during the 1970s and 1980s educational science became one of the most developed disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. In Germany this development involved moving beyond the humanist tradition (which had dominated until this period) by drawing on the empirical tradition as well as on the Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School. These new developments were to bring educational science new and more complex dimensions, which were further amplified as a result of developments in the educational system and also thanks to institutional recognition of the discipline of educational science itself. There is no doubt that it is in Germany that educational science developed as a scientific discipline in its own right when humanist pedagogics, empirical educational science and the Critical Theory of the Frankfurt School merged. Indeed, these three different paradigms have played such an important part in shaping educational science that it is essential that their convergence be reconstructed and critically reflected. Such is the purpose of this present book. In examining the main currents within educational science, the author aims to help the reader gain an overview of the different approaches in this field. (DIPF/Orig.)