Comparison of self-reflection in Humboldtian Bildung and the Kyoto School
Educational implications in light of OECD frameworks
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7577/njcie.4150Keywords:
Self-reflection, Humboldtian (neo-humanistic) Bildung, the Kyoto School, negative education, OECD Education 2030Abstract
This article focuses on the importance of reflective experiences in education. It firstly reviews and compares the Humboldtian Bildung and the Kyoto School, represented by Nishida Kitaro. Both philosophies emphasize the importance of reflective experiences in education, criticising the specific knowledge-skill-based instruction approach. In this sense, the two views are similar. However, this article further explains the significant difference in how the self is considered in relation to the world within each thought, and therefore, how each educational approach is different, namely as seen in the idea of negative education from the Kyoto School. In the latter section, this article develops the discussion of reflection in the process of learning provided in the OECD Education 2030 framework, which was initiated in 2015 and that is still ongoing. Criticising didactic learning as the sole approach for knowledge and skill acquisition, the OECD Education framework advocates instead for the importance of student self-reflection in relation to society to support a broader development of necessary competencies. By comparing the two schools of thought, the article reveals the underlying assumption of self in Western mainstream educational philosophy, and it argues for the importance of open-mindedness toward the other worldview.
Downloads
Metrics
References
Abe, M. (1995). The Logic of Absolute Nothingness as Expounded by Nishida Kitaro. The Eastern Buddhist. NEW SERIES, 28(2), 167-174.
Danner, H. (1994). ’Bildung’ A basic term of German education. Educational Sciences. 9/1994. http://www.helmut-danner.info/pdfs/German_term_Bildung.pdf
English, A. (2013). Discontinuity in Learning- Dewey, Herbart, and Education as Transformation. Cambridge University Press.
Fujita, M. (2009). What is the Kyoto School [in Japanese] 京都学派とは何か. Journal of Japanese Intellectual History [in Japanese] 日本思想史学. 41, 35-48.
Humboldt, W. von (1852). The Limit of State Action (The Sphere and Duties of Government). Translated from German to English by Joseph Coulthard in 1854. John Chapman.
Ito, A. (2014). Naturphilosophische Voraussetzungen in der Bildungslehre Wilhelm von Humboldts [in Japanese] フンボルト陶冶論における自然哲学的前提. Studies in sociology, psychology and education: inquiries into humans and societies [in Japanese] 慶応義塾大学大学院社会学研究科紀要：社会学心理学教育学：人間と社会の探究. 77, 19-38.
Jacinto, Z. A. (2016). Nishida Kitaro’s Views on Education: 1895-1935. Journal of Nishida Philosophy Association, 13,191-171.
Koller, H.C. (2011). The Research of Transformational Education Processes: Exemplary Considerations on the Relation of the Philosophy of Education and Educational Research. European Educational Research Journal, 10(3), 375–382. https://doi.org/10.2304/eerj.2011.10.3.375
Komatsu, H. & Rappleye, J. (2020). Reimagining Modern Education: Contributions from modern Japanese philosophy and practices? ECNU Review of Education, 3(1), 20-45. https://doi.org/10.1177/2096531120905197
Li X. & Euan A. (2020). A historical perspective on the OECD’s ‘humanitarian turn’: PISA for Development and the Learning Framework 2030. Comparative Education, 56(4), 503-521. https://doi.org/10.1080/03050068.2020.1781397
Løvlie, L., & Standish, P. (2002). Introduction: Bildung and the Idea of a Liberal Education. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 36, 317-340.
Naka, N. (1989). Freedom and Bildung of Humboldt [in Japanese] フンボルトにおける自由と陶冶. German Literature [in Japanese] ドイツ文學. 82, 13-21. https://doi.org/10.11282/dokubun1947.82.13
Nakagawa Y. (2015). Buddhism and Holistic Education. Journal of International Buddhist Studies, 6(1), 45-55.
Nishida Kitaro (1927). From things working to things seeing [in Japanese] 働くものから見るものへ. in Nishida Kitaro’s complete works. 西田幾多郎全集 IV. Iwanami Shoten. 岩波書店
Nishida Kitaro (1937). Logic and Life. [In Japanese] 論理と生命. in Nishida Kitaro’s complete works. 西田幾多郎全集 VIII. Iwanami Shoten. 岩波書店
OECD (2018). The Future of Education and Skills- Education 2030. https://www.oecd.org/education/2030/E2030%20Position%20Paper%20(05.04.2018).pdf
OECD (2019). OECD Future of Education and Skills 2030. Conceptual Learning Framework- Learning Compass 2030.
OECD (2019). OECD Future of Education and Skills 2030. Conceptual learning framework – Student Agency for 2030. http://www.oecd.org/education/2030-project/teaching-and-learning/learning/student-agency/Student_Agency_for_2030_concept_note.pdf
OECD (2019). OECD Future of Education and Skills 2030. Conceptual learning framework- Concept note: Anticipation-Action-Reflection cycle for 2030. https://www.oecd.org/education/2030-project/teaching-and-learning/learning/aar-cycle/AAR_Cycle_concept_note.pdf
Okamoto, T. (2015). Potential of the Kyoto Philosophy [in Japanese] 京都哲学のポテンシャルをめぐって. Forum on Modern Education. History of Educational Thought Society, 24, 172-173. https://doi.org/10.20552/hets.24.0_170
Okawa, I. (2005). Educational Philosophy of Humboldt [in Japanese]フンボルトの教育理念. German Literature Review [in Japanese]ドイツ文學研究. 50, 31-77.
Östling, J., Josephson, P., & Karlsohn, T. (2014). The Humboldtian tradition and its transformations. In P. Josephson, T. Karlsohn, & J. Östling (Eds.), The Humboldtian Tradition: Origins and Legacies (Vol. 12). Brill Academic Publishers.
Phillips, D., & Schweisfurth, M. (2014). Comparative and International Education. Bloomsbury.
Rappleye J., Komatsu, H., Uchida, Y., Krys, K., & Markus H. (2020). ‘Better Policies for better lives’? Constructive critique of the OECD’s (mis)measure of student well-being’. Journal of Education Policy, 35(2), 258-282. https://doi.org/10.1080/02680939.2019.1576923
Rinne, R. (2008). The Growing Supranational Impacts of the OECD and the EU on National Educational Policies, and the Case of Finland. Policy Futures in Education, 6(6), 665–680. https://doi.org/10.2304/pfie.2008.6.6.665
Rizvi, F. & Lingard, B. (2009). Globalizing education policy. Routledge
Sevilla, A. L. (2016). Education and Empty Relationality: Thoughts on Education and the Kyoto School of Philosophy. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 50(4), 639-654. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9752.12159
Sorkin, D. (1983). Wilhelm Von Humboldt: The Theory and Practice of Self-formation (Bildung), 1791-1810. Journal of the History of Ideas, 44(1), 55-73. https://doi.org/10.2307/2709304
Takayama, K. (2020). An invitation to ‘negative’ comparative education. Comparative Education, 56(1), 79-95. https://doi.org/10.1080/03050068.2019.1701250
Yokoyama, R. (1981). Philosophy of Nishida Kitaro [in Japanese] 西田幾多郎の哲学説. Hitotsubashi Kenkyuu [in Japanese]一橋研究. 6(4), 91-107.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2021 Miwa Chiba
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Declaration on copyright
- The author/s will keep their copyright and right of reproduction of their own manuscript, with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License, but give the journal a permanent right to 1) present the manuscript to the public in the original form in which it was digitally published and 2) to be registered and cited as the first publication of the manuscript.
- The author itself must manage its financial reproduction rights in relation to any third-parties.
- The journal does not provide any financial or other remuneration for contributions submitted.
- Readers of the journal may print the manuscripts presented under the same conditions that apply to reproduction of a physical copy. This means that mass reproduction of physical copies or production of copies for commercial purposes is not permitted without the agreement of the author/s.
