Educology

Educology for Developing Democracies on Eaarth

Link

Eaarth Needs Educology

The Philosophical Fallacy

Contributing Papers Set 1

Contributing Papers Set 2

Contributing Papers Set 3

Contributing Papers Set 4

Educology in Australia

Educology in the USA 1

Educology in the USA 2

Educology in Lithuania

Educology in Nigeria

Educology in Guinea

Educology in Britian

Educology in Norway

Educology in Germany

Educology in Netherlands

Educology in Poland

Other Papers

Books in Educology

Educology Doctoral Study

Educology Bachelor Study

Educology Networking

Educology and Media

ERA/USA

page1

page2

Articles Published in cd-International Journal of Educology (cd-IJE) in Educology and Philosophy of Educology 

by Lithuanian Scholars

8 Articles


Document
International Journal of Educology, 2002, Vol 16, No 2An Educology of Values Education:The Attitudes of Thirteen to FifteenYear Old Teenagers Towards SpiritualValues: Priorities, Change andSome Pre-Conditions.Elvyda Martišauskienė,Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
Document
International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2The Problem Methodin Teaching Philosophy:An Educology of TeachingJūratė Morkūnienė, Law University ofLithuania, Vilnius, Lithuania
Document
International Journal of Educology2004, Volume 18, Number 2The Impact of Philosophical Trends on the Conceptualisation of an Educology ofVocation (A Paper in Philosophy of Educology)Eugenijus DanileviciusAssociate Professor of EducologyVilnius Pedagogical University
Document
International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2The Challenge of Establishing aCommon Set of Terms for Discourse,Inquiry and Research inEducational ScienceKęstutis Pukelis & Izabela SavickienėVytautas Magnus University, Lithuania
Document
International Journal of Educology2004, Volume 18, Number 2An Educology of Vocation on a Theological and Philosophical Basis(An Essay in Philosophy of Educology)Eugenijus DanileviciusAssociate Professor of EducologyVilnius Pedagogical University
Document
cd-International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special IssueMoral Education in Lithuania: An Educology of TeachingUnderstanding and Caring versus Teaching ReasoningLilija DuoblieneProfessor and ChairmanDepartment of EducologyVilnius University, Lithuania
Document
cd-International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special IssueCreativity: Can it be Trained?A Scientific Educology of CreativityDaiva KarkockieneAssistant Professor of PsychologyVilnius Pedagogical University
An Article in Educology

 

International Journal of Educology, 2002, Vol 16, No 2

91

An Educology of Values Education:

The Attitudes of Thirteen to Fifteen

Year Old Teenagers Towards Spiritual

Values: Priorities, Change and

Some Pre-Conditions.Elvyda Martišauskienė,

Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania

Abstract

An analysis was conducted in Lithuania of teenager

attitudes towards spiritual values which function in both

micro- and macro-environments. The data obtained in this

contemporary investigation were compared with those

registered two decades ago, in the authoritarian type of

society of that time. The focus of the study is on the

peculiarities of teenagers’ attitudes towards spiritual values

in different types of secondary school.

Introduction

Spiritual values underlie the spread and development of

all manifestations of human existence. Positive attitude

towards spiritual values is of utmost significance as it

presupposes adequate value orientation, and it guarantees

successful realization of spiritual values. For these reasons,

attitudes towards spiritual values acquire the status of

universally acceptable seeking and, in this way, they properly

have a prominent place among the key educational issues.

While studying the attitudes towards spiritual values,

noticeable split in opinions can be observed due to

observable differences in the treatment of spiritual values as

such, as well as due to the issues of different approaches to

their genesis, classification and selection. In search of the

International Journal of Educology, 2002, Vol 16, No 2

92

possible answers to the above mentioned problematic issues,

the author, in the majority of cases, tends to rely on the key

ideas of the following philosophical theories:-- neotomism,

personalism, existentialism, humanism and phenomenology.

Consequently, the universally acknowledged

transcendental values – truth, goodness, beauty, and holiness

– are considered to be the most important spiritual values.

On the one hand, they all are closely inter-related with

one another, and only this kind of inter-related effect

enables the individual to establish adequate relationships

with different objects of the world that surround him

(natural and supernatural phenomena, as well as other

individuals and him/herself). It is the holistic system of

values that is acceptable, from the educological point of

view, as it is based on the spiritual centre of the individual

(A. Maceina) or on the centre of self axis of personality (R.

Assagioli, G. Colombero) or on the spiritual initials (K.

Wojty
ła) and the like. It is this spiritual centre, in general

terms, that harmonizes the individuals’ relationship with the

outside world.

On the other hand, the subsystems of spiritual values

(religious, moral, cognitive, aesthetic) are not equally

significant. They differ in the form of existence of objects

that condition the relationships of the individual. These

forms of existence of objects referred to here are material

existence, spiritual existence and the Absolute Spirit. The

subsystems of spiritual values also differ in the degree of

impact that is exercised on individuals themselves. As early

as in the times of ancient Greece and Rome, it was known

that only moral values (that relate to the notion of goodness)

influence the human being as a personality that is capable of

establishing authentic relationships with the world; whereas

cognitive values (relating to truth) and aesthetic values

International Journal of Educology, 2002, Vol 16, No 2

93

(relating to beauty) direct the individual towards the objects

of creation, and those values primarily obey the rules and

norms of logics and aesthetics with somewhat weaker

impact on the individual him/herself. Religious values

(relating to the notion of holiness) manifest themselves

through the relationship of the individual as the product of

creation towards the Creator and towards other individuals

as creations of God. Religious values can only spread on

the basis of moral values. In this respect, moral values

become central ones among all spiritual values. The aspect

of holiness enables those values to realize relationships on

the highest level, i.e., “places them on the transcendental

(God-like) horizon where freedom is the outcome of the act

of grace” (A. Anzenbacher, 1995, p. 161), and where

cognition and self-determination is truth (K. Wojty
ła, 1997).

Mention should be made of how higher values imply

lower ones in the holistic system. That accounts for the

necessity to regard the subordination of values adequately in

the processes of investigation of attitudes towards spiritual

values. This subordination is affected by many factors

(political, social, philosophical, psychological, educological

and others), the interface of which often results in the fates

of single individuals as well as the fates of whole states.

Thus, attitudes towards spiritual values are closely related to

the historical events of a certain nation. This fact allows us

to state the topicality of the issues under discussion and to

point out the importance of the pre-conditions in the formation

of values. It is appropriate to survey the processes in

the development of values in Lithuania in the 20
th century.

After World War I, Lithuania became an independent

state with the possibilities of fostering the highest spiritual

values. At that time, the efforts of S.Šalkauskis, the famous

Lithuanian philosopher and educologist, to give the highest

International Journal of Educology, 2002, Vol 16, No 2

94

spiritual values the status of paramount educational objectives

were especially noteworthy. He urged educators and

educologists to encourage the learners’ positive and conscious

attitudes towards the essential forms of goodness

(theological view of the world, science, morality, art,

healthy body and the like). However, the realization of all

those ideas was aborted as Lithuania became incorporated

into the Soviet Union a year after the start of World War II.

In the fifth and sixth decades of the twentieth century the

repressive political system under the Soviets prevented all

educological processes from taking their natural course of

development; religious, national and moral values were

excluded from the context of social life. In the seventh to

ninth decades, with the totalitarian system gaining in power

and new generations growing up under its influence,

intensive efforts were made to declare the adherence to the

ideals of truth, goodness and beauty that carried a strong

political colouring. At the same time, the effect of those

politically-biased ideals was somewhat softened by the ideas

of humanistic and cognitive theories of psychology that

reached Lithuania in the works of J. Piaget, L. Kohlberg, A.

Maslow, C. Rogers and others, as well as by the mature

thought of Lithuanian authors (L. Jovaiša, B. Bitinas, J.

Vaitkevi
čius and others). Research in educology was also

gaining experience, scope and maturity in general, with

greater emphasis on attitudes towards moral values in

particular, as deeper insights were identified and

investigated with reference to the issues of ethical ideals,

professional moral orientation, the individuals’ moral

position as well as the study of possibilities for the

development of certain component parts of values

orientation (V. Aramavi
čiūtė, A. Tamulaitienė, S.

Dzenuškaitė, J. Žilionis, E. Martišauskienė and others).

International Journal of Educology, 2002, Vol 16, No 2

95

From the present-day perspective, all those instances of

educological research could be qualified as the partial

representation of the state of secondary school learners’

spiritual development. But the results of that educological

research cannot be overestimated as they often surpassed the

immediate needs of that time.

A new stage in the development of attitudes towards

spiritual values started in the last decade of the twentieth

century when Lithuania regained its independence. That

period has been marked by the following developments:--

(a) a swelling of a new wave of interest in spiritual values,

(b) a rediscovering of the key ideas which had begun in the

third and fourth decades of the 20th century (as it turned out,

the special funds of departments had been guarded much

better than the borders of the state) and (c) a pouring of

multiple ideas into Lithuana from the West. Spiritual

values, though, could not always find their way into the

hearts of the Lithuanian people, who had been long

suppressed by the totalitarian socio-political system.

Instead, many would rather embrace pragmatic and

hedonistic values and allow them to flourish.

Presently, complex changes in the socio-political system

of the country which are accompanied by steps in

educational reform make it urgent to study change in the

value orientation. Educological research becomes more

imperative than ever before. It involves many different

aspects of spiritual education, starting with its holistic

understanding (L. Jovaiša, B. Bitinas, V. Aramavi
čiūtė) and

ranging to its subsystems of national identity (I. Dirgėlienė),

manifestations of humanism (R. Bakutytė), forms of tolerance (A. Sprindžiūnas), as well as the study of interrelationships

between spiritual values and different types of

International Journal of Educology, 2002, Vol 16, No 2

96

activity such as educational (R. Stančikaitė), sports (S.

Šukys, I. Tilindienė), music (D. Aukštikalnytė) and others.

Scope and Focus of the Study

An investigation was made of a sample of thirteen-tofifteen-

year-old teenagers’ spiritual maturity-shaping from

an educological point of view. The process of maturityshaping

was treated as a continuous process. The focus of

this research report is on the analysis of the initial stage of

the process, viz. the teenagers’ attitudes towards key

spiritual values. The aim of this initial investigation has

been to determine the extent and character of the spread and

change of the attitudes towards values among the sample of

thirteen-to-fifteen-year-old teenagers. The intention of the

research has been to identify the peculiarities of attitudes

towards spiritual values as well as the socio-educational

preconditions for their development among thirteen-tofifteen-

year-old teenagers. The specific objectives of the

investigation were:-- (1) to identify the preferred values

among contemporary thirteen to fifteen-year-old teenagers,

(2) to compare differences in the attitudes towards spiritual

values of the teenagers twenty years ago, who lived under

the conditions of the totalitarian system, and those of present

day teenagers, (3) to identify the similarities and differences

in the attitudes towards spiritual values among teenagers

who presently study in different types of school.

Methodology and

Organizational Structure of the Research

A complex methodology of research was used in the

investigation. Firstly, the projection model method was

applied when the teenagers were asked to list qualities of a

spiritually rich personality that spread from a single centre,

like the rays of the sun. Then, the teenagers were asked to

International Journal of Educology, 2002, Vol 16, No 2

97

select two or three qualities from their own list and define

them in terms of the content they attached to those qualities.

Secondly, the methodology suggested by M. Rokeach

was used. This made it possible to determine the teenagers’

hierarchical grouping of both terminal and instrumental

values in relation to how important the teenagers found

them for a spiritually rich personality in general. There

were seven bands formed in the process of evaluation of the

teenagers answers. The highest-ranking band comprised the

values that the teenagers placed in the first and second

positions. The very high-ranked band, correspondingly,

included the values, placed as third and fourth. The

normally high-ranked band, then, included the values from

the fifth and sixth positions. The average band contained

positions seven to twelve, and the insufficiently high band

included positions thirteen to fourteen. The low-ranking

band included positions fifteen and sixteen, and the very

low-ranked band held positions seventeen and eighteen.

Further in the investigation, this methodology will be

referred to as the methodology of vertical ranking. It served

well to identify the highest and lowest-ranked values in the

study of attitudes towards values.

Thirdly, the method of horizontal research was used to

disclose the teenagers’ attitudes towards values on the basis

of the descriptions of spiritually rich personality offered to

the teenagers. In the process of analysis of the description,

the teenagers were asked to rank all the values into the

following bands:-- (1) very important, (2) important, (3) not

very important, (4) unimportant, -- according to its

respective significance to the spiritually rich personality in

general. This methodology served to disclose the scope of

attitudes towards spiritual values. The horizontal ranking is

marked in the text with the asterix sign [*] which helps to

International Journal of Educology, 2002, Vol 16, No 2

98

spot the averages of data; the highest average signals the

highest level in the attitudes respectively. In the vertical

ranking, on the other hand, the lowest averages signal the

highest level in the attitudes.

For the fourth method, the test of sentence completion

was used. With the help of that test, the relationships of the

teenagers to different objects of reality were investigated as

well as their relationships to spiritual values.

The Sample

The sample included 1255 secondary school students.

There were 324 students of town secondary schools, 72

students of village secondary schools, 192 students of the

humanities stream, 162 students of the sciences stream, 205

students of Catholic orientation schools, 197 students of

arts, 70 students from sports schools, and 33 students from

youth schools. In addition, the data obtained in 1982-1983

from 218 teenagers were also used in the analysis.

Statistical analysis of the data was done with the help of the

software SPSS.

Contemporary Teenagers’

Attitudes Towards Spiritual Values

As noted earlier, the key spiritual values are comprised

of truth, goodness, beauty and holiness. These values were

investigated with the help of several methods, and the values

were presented in their concrete realizations which disclosed

the content of the values. In conformity with the logic of

educological research in general, the key parameters of the

investigation were the general concept of the content of

values and the dynamics process of expressing personal attitudes

towards certain values. With the help of M. Rokeach’s

methodology that is usually applied to studies with

the aim of identifying value orientation, it was established

International Journal of Educology, 2002, Vol 16, No 2

99

how thirteen-to-fifteen year-old teenagers ranked terminal

values according to their importance for the spiritually rich

personality. The data about the spread of values according to

the degree of their importance are given in Table 1.

Table 1. Thirteen to Fifteen-Year-Old Teenagers’

Attitudes towards Terminal Values (the Vertical Cut)

Ranks

Values

The

highest

%

Very

high

%

Normally

high

%

Average

%

Insufficiently

high

%

Low

%

Very low

%

χ

Wisdom 11.9 15.6 17.8 38.0 8.2 5.1 3.4 3.44

Cognition 2.6 5.7 7.5 39.1 17.7 17.8 9.7 4.56

Beauty 6.3 6.9 7.6 32.0 13.5 13.5 20.2 4.61

Creative work 3.1 3.5 6.2 31.0 14.9 18.7 22.6 4.98

Inner harmony 7.5 8.4 10.8 34.8 11.8 14.8 12.0 4.28

Self-respect 7.0 12.9 14.7 36.6 11.5 9.5 7.8 3.93

Health, safe living 41.7 18.0 11.7 19.4 3.5 3.6 2.2 2.44

Active life 8.9 7.1 10.9 42.3 13.3 10.9 6.7 4.03

Social recognition 1.9 6.1 8.9 37.7 13.9 16.7 14.7 4.65

Interesting job 3.8 6.8 9.0 41.6 16.6 13.7 8.4 4.35

Comfortable life 5.2 12.0 12.2 33.3 10.2 11.4 15.7 4.28

Exciting life 4.7 7.1 10.5 30.2 11.7 11.2 24.6 4.69

True friendship 19.0 24.6 17.3 28.6 3.8 3.7 3.0 2.97

Equality, brotherhood 6.9 7.8 10.6 38.1 13.8 11.6 11.3 4.24

Happy family life 36.4 19.4 11.3 21.6 5.4 3.4 2.5 2.60

Mature love 17.2 18.7 13.4 30.9 7.9 7.0 5.0 3.35

National security 4.0 5.5 7.0 29.1 13.0 18.4 23.0 4.89

Freedom 13.7 14.8 14.0 36.3 9.5 7.3 4.5 3.53

M. Rokeach’s identified group of terminal values comprises

only the domains of cognition (truth), beauty and morals

(goodness). It is evident that in the domain of cognition

(truth) the teenagers give preference to wisdom ( χ = 3.44).

Nearly half of all learners (45 per cent) rank wisdom in the

International Journal of Educology, 2002, Vol 16, No 2

100

highest bands (positions 1 to 6). It is noteworthy to point

out in this place that intellectual capacity in general ranks

high not only in everyday life situations, but in the

philosophical tradition as well where it is placed next to

spirit (‘nous’ in Greek, ‘intellectus’ in Latin). However,

cognition as a means of constant personal growth and selfimprovement

is ranked not too high (insufficiently high and

low ranks) by more than one third of all the learners who

took part in the investigation. The dimension of beauty is

placed on a still lower ( χ = 4.61 – 4.98) band. Nearly half

of all the participants of the investigation (47.2 per cent)

rated lowest the value of responsiveness to works of art and

objects of nature, and even 56.2 per cent expressed similar

attitudes to creative work.

Teenagers’ attitudes towards moral values present the

scale of split opinions. The value attitudes fall into certain

categories according to the type of objects to which those

attitudes are related. The categories are attitudes towards

self, friends, family and nation. According to the underlying

features that are decisive in choice and decision-making, the

attitudes are grouped on the naturalistic and humanistic

levels. The former, according to A. Anzenbacher, can be

further subdivided into direct or indirect hedonism

manifestations; and the second one into self-perfection or

well-being of other individuals. The methodology that we

used could not embrace the third level, that of faith.

As can be seen in Table 1, the teenagers expressed the

most favorable attitudes towards their own health ( χ =

2.44), but this value belongs to the group of values that are

qualified as indirect hedonism. The objects of direct

hedonism were rated lowest:-- an exciting life ( χ = 4.69), a

comfortable life ( χ = 4.28). When the attitudes referred to

the humanistic level, i.e. the perfection of self, like inner

International Journal of Educology, 2002, Vol 16, No 2

101

harmony, self-respect, there was a wide diversity of opinion

along all ranks. It is noticeable, however, that lower and

very low ranking instances could be observed while rating

inner harmony whereas more very high and high ranking

instances occurred with reference to self-respect.

The teenagers’ attitudes towards their family members

could be qualified as extremely positive. As many as 67.1

per cent of learners placed a happy family life on the highest

rank ( χ = 2.60). A true friendship was ranked as one of the

highest values (60.9 per cent; χ = 2.57), and similarly

came a mature love (49.3 per cent; χ = 3.35). On the other

hand, equality, when understood as equal possibility for

everyone, was rated by lowest ranks, which leads to the

conclusion that the foundations of value attitudes towards a

true friendship, a happy family life and a mature love are far

from being stable.

The teenagers’ attitudes towards national security

qualified that value as unimportant for them personally ( χ

= 4.89); more than a half (54.4 per cent) of the learners

ranked that value on the lowest rank, and nearly one fifth of

them (23 per cent) placed it on the very low rank. There

may be different causes attributable for that:-- either poor

comprehension of the role of national security, or the

considerations that there are no potential threats for the

national stability, or other sort of causes could be

responsible for the data.

The teenagers’ attitudes towards terminal values were

also investigated with the help of other methods (sentence

completion method, for instance) which made it possible to

verify the adequacy, consistency and conditioning of value

attitudes; it also provided a possibility to investigate those

values that teenagers of their age tend to prefer. The data are

presented in Table 2.

International Journal of Educology, 2002, Vol 16, No 2

102

Table 2. Thirteen-to-Fifteen Year-Old Teenagers’Attitudes

towards Terminal Values (the Horizontal Cut).

Levels

Attitudes towards

Very high

%

High

%

Insufficient

%

Low

%

χ

Science 4.8 62.5 30.3 2.4 2.70

Teachers 7.2 61.6 29.0 2.2 2.74

Art 3.7 41.8 43.0 11.5 2.38

Nature 2.9 64.4 31.9 0.8 2.69

Oneself 0.5 22.8 69.4 7.3 2.16

The opposite sex 0.2 22.0 75.7 2.1 2.20

Mother 7.4 63.2 27.9 1.4 2.77

Father 0.6 45.5 49.8 4.2 2.42

Friends 9.4 64.4 25.2 1.0 2.82

Nation 1.1 39.9 51.5 7.5 2.35

Church 57.4 28.4 10.9 3.3 3.48

God 53.7 30.2 13.3 2.8 3.42

The data revealed that the church ( χ = 3.48) and God (x

= 3.42) were treated most positively by the students as the

values responsible for faith. On the other hand, the very

positive teenagers’ attitudes towards friends ( χ = 2.82),

mother ( χ = 2.77) and the teachers ( χ = 2.47) came close

to their positive attitudes towards a happy family life, a true

friendship and a mature love. On the other hand, the

teenagers’ attitudes towards nation, nature and art were

somewhat similar to those expressed towards national

security, beauty and creative work.

The teenagers’ attitudes towards instrumental values

were also revealed with the help of M. Rokeach’s

methodology that is used to identify value orientation. They

are shown in Table 3.

International Journal of Educology, 2002, Vol 16, No 2

103

Table 3. Thirteen-to-Fifteen Year-Old Teenagers’Attitudes

towards Instrumental Values (the Vertical Cut)

Rank

Value

The

highest

Very

high

High Average Insufficient

Low Very low χ

Education 17.8 12.2 10.8 35.4 9.0 7.7 7.1 3.56

Intellectuality 11.3 10.9 10.5 35.2 12.8 12.3 7.1 3.93

Broad-mindedness 2.5 4.3 6.0 32.4 16.7 20.5 17.5 4.88

Imagination 3.8 5.1 8.3 24.7 15.6 16.7 25.8 4.96

Independence 10.2 9.8 10.4 37.2 12.9 12.5 7.1 3.98

Self control 5.9 10.0 11.3 39.0 14.4 12.6 6.8 4.11

Cheerfulness
12.8 12.3 13.3 31.5 9.6 10.0 10.4 3.85

Arrogance 4.8 4.8 6.1 24.3 10.4 13.1 36.5 5.16

Capability 4.6 6.4 7.2 38.9 17.5 14.5 10.9 4.45

Courage 15.1 13.2 12.3 33.3 9.0 10.7 6.4 3.66

Politeness 16.7 17.2 15.2 33.9 7.4 5.6 4.0 3.31

Tidiness 8.6 12.3 13.0 33.4 10.3 9.9 12.5 4.04

Altruism 12.6 10.2 9.8 33.9 9.9 13.2 10.3 4.0

Forgiving 11.2 13.4 12.6 39.6 8.6 8.7 5.8 3.71

Obedience 2.1 5.9 8.4 34.0 15.1 14.3 20.2 4.78

Honesty 31.6 15.8 14.0 25.3 5.8 4.3 3.1 2.83

Sensitivity 12.9 16.8 15.3 35.4 8.7 7.0 3.9 3.47

Responsibility 15.9 20.5 15.6 34.0 6.0 5.6 2.4 3.20

It is evident that teenagers tend to give priority to moral

values, among which honesty comes first ( χ = 2.87).

Nearly two thirds of all learners (61.4 per cent) rated

honesty in positions 1 to 6. Other moral values that were

considered important by the teenagers were responsibility

( χ = 3.20) and sensitivity ( χ = 3.47); their positive

ratings exceeded the negative ones. That relationship went

down with reference to forgiving ( χ = 3.71), and positive

and negative ratings appeared equally balanced with

reference to altruism (χ = 4.0), whereas the ratings

changed in the opposite direction with reference to

International Journal of Educology, 2002, Vol 16, No 2

104

obedience ( χ = 4.78). One fifth of all learners gave it a

very low rating. It should be noted that the teenagers tended

to disapprove of demonstrating high ambitions and

displaying arrogance. A considerable number of learners

(36.5 per cent) ranked arrogance very low ( χ = 5.16). In

conclusion, it should be pointed out that the teenagers’

attitudes towards themselves were rather superficial from

the moral point of view; the emphasis was laid on selfevident

characteristics that can be easily observable in the

majority of cases; to give just a few examples:--

independence, χ = 3.98; self-control, χ = 4.11. Other

values that are related to indirect manifestations of

hedonism (e.g. capability) or those that can only potentially

direct towards seeking expressions of humanism showed the

following pattern of spread:-- politeness ( χ = 3.31),

courage ( χ = 3.61), cheerfulness ( χ = 3.85), tidiness ( χ =

4.04), capability ( χ = 4.45).

A similar attitude could be observed with reference to

intellectuality. Education ( χ = 3.56) was rated higher than

intellectuality ( χ = 3.93). That could be a sign of deeprooted

spiritual powers in the individual. The dimension of

beauty, on the other hand, got into the lowest band. The

values like openness to novelty and versatility of views ( χ

= 4.88) as well as imagination ( χ = 4.96) did not look

appealing to the teenagers. The above discussed data allow

us to conclude that the attitudes of teenagers towards

spiritual values in both the existential and behavioural

aspects display similar tendencies. Those tendencies were

further investigated with the help of other procedures of

evaluation.

As it was stated, the teenagers were asked to design their

own model of realistic, spiritually rich personality; they

International Journal of Educology, 2002, Vol 16, No 2

105

were also asked to rank spiritual values in the concrete

description according to the importance of those values for

the spiritually rich personality in general. In that way, the

first procedure helped to reveal attitudes towards a concrete

spiritually rich personality, and the second procedure made

it possible to create a model of the ideal spiritually rich

personality (‘ideal’ here is used in the meaning ‘desirable’,

as a general type, and not a concrete personality description).

These procedures of investigation made it possible to

establish what values the teenagers could observe in their

micro-environment, what notions they chose to name them,

and which spiritual values they gave priority to and

qualified as the most important ones in the macroenvironment.

The data are presented in Table 4.

Table 4. Thirteen-to-fifteen year-old teenagers’ attitudes

towards the ideal and concrete spiritually rich personality.

Attitudes towards

Values

The ideal personality

Number %

The concrete personality

Number %

Seeking meaning 269 21.4 66 5.2

Intellectuality 620 49.4 405 32.2

Responsiveness to beauty 291 23.2 253 20.2

A sense of humour 518 41.2 67 5.3

Openness to change and novelty 342 27.2 5 0.4

Inventiveness 382 30.4 32 2.5

Respect 834 66.3 572 45.5

Authenticity 807 64.3 12 0.9

Independence 571 45.5 28 2.2

Cheerfulness 383 30.4

Courage 520 41.4 52 4.1

An active life 360 28.7 25 1.9

Sympathy 816 65.0 1124 89.4

Unselfish care 766 61.0 828 65.8

Balanced interests 285 22.7 74 5.8

Tolerance 351 27.9 140 11.1

International Journal of Educology, 2002, Vol 16, No 2

106

A sense of duty 462 36.8 152 7.8

Responsibility for one’s action 698
55.6 10 0.8

Intolerance of carelessness 271 21.6 247 19.0

Devotion to one’s job responsibilities 303 24.1 52 4.2

Self-sacrifice 408 32.5 32 2.5

Telling the truth 885
70.4 213 16.9 Fidelity 777 61.9 326 25.7

Spiritual unity 258 20.5 515 40.9

Believing in God 269 21.4 236 18.7

The investigation revealed that the teenagers of that age

showed a good understanding of the importance of spiritual

values. As many as 86.5 per cent of the statements that were

independently shaped by the teenagers about the spiritually

rich personality corresponded to the content of description

of spiritual values. The dispersion of the spiritual values

was characterized by the following tendencies. Only the

value of responsiveness was ranked high by all the

teenagers. Especially in its form of sympathy, the value of

responsiveness permeated nearly all other attitudes towards

the concrete spiritually rich personality (as pointed out by

89.4 per cent of all the participants of the investigation); it

also exceeded by one fifth other value attitudes in respect to

the evaluation of the ideal personality. On the other hand,

the value of honesty (telling the truth, fidelity) was pointed

out as the most important one only in respect to the ideal

spiritually rich personality (79.4 and 61.9 per cent

respectively). As we could observe (in Table 3, for

instance) those values were ranked highest among

instrumental values as well, especially with reference to the

macro-environment.

On a somewhat lower level appeared dignity (respect,

authenticity in a way) and responsibility (responsibility for

International Journal of Educology, 2002, Vol 16, No 2

107

one’s action, intolerance of carelessness) in the situation

when not all empirical manifestations were considered

important by the teenagers. But altruism (devotion to one’s

job responsibilities, self-sacrifice), solidarity (balanced

interests) and tolerance in both positions were placed on the

lowest level. All of the results lead to the conclusion that

with moral values dominating along other spiritual values in

a general sense, they remain of a narrow range, especially in

the micro-environment, and their valuations mostly depend

on immediately observable manifestations of empathy.

A different pattern could be seen with reference to faith.

It was universally acknowledged by the teenagers in its

existential aspect, but the picture changed completely in its

instrumental aspect where only one fifth treated it in the

same way ( χ = 2.49). It is interesting to note that the same

ratio remained in the situations when the teenagers were

asked to rank their family members; the level of

understanding of the importance of spiritual unity was twice

as high in comparison with the analogous attitude towards

the ideal spiritually rich personality. On the basis of those

data, it could be asserted that one fifth of the teenagers

reached that very high understanding level of faith on the

notional level through their empirical practices; that kind of

experience is typically not rich enough at their age.

In the domain of mind and reason, in both positions

intellectuality was given high rankings (49.4 and 32.2 per

cent respectively) whereas seeking meaning appeared

among the neglected values, especially in the microenvironment.

These results lead to the conclusion that even

though education and wisdom were ranked higher than

intellectuality and cognition (see Tables 1 and 3), those

former values were not adequately related to searching for

meaning in life. And beauty came lowest among all the

International Journal of Educology, 2002, Vol 16, No 2

108

rankings. Out of four empirical manifestations that the

teenagers were asked to rank, only the generalized

responsiveness to beauty was ranked as very high by one

fifth of the teenagers. Again, the values like creative work

and a sense of humour appeared among the neglected ones

in the micro-environment of the teenagers.

The data of the investigation of the teenagers’ attitudes

towards instrumental values, in comparison with terminal

values, revealed that only the position of faith changed

when the latter got from the highest position to the last but

one position. Faith, however, was ranked higher than

beauty in the micro-environment. The teenagers’ attitudes

towards spiritual values are generally conditioned by many

factors. The questions arises as to how much of the change

can be attributed to the influence of the socio-political

system and to educational reform.

Socio-Pedagogical Pre-Conditions of the

Attitudes of Teenagers towards Spiritual Values

These preconditions are understood as a complex of

factors in the socio-pedagogical situation. The effects of the

situation are recorded in the change of attitudes that took

place in the last two decades. In this way, the attitudes of

contemporary teenagers were compared to those of the

teenagers of that time who studied under the conditions of

the totalitarian system in the same types of school. We had

218 respondents of the previous investigation (carried out in

the period of 1982-83) and 285 present-day teenagers who

met the requirements of the present research.

After 1990, when Lithuania regained its independence,

the socio-political situation in the country changed at all

levels and structures. It should also be noted here that in the

previous investigation the teenagers’ attitudes towards

spiritual values were studied only in their moral aspect. For

International Journal of Educology, 2002, Vol 16, No 2

109

this reason, the comparison was drawn between the

teenagers’ attitudes towards five moral values. The methods

of the two investigations were similar. In both cases the

goal was to find out the highest (the most positive) attitudes

towards the ideal spiritually rich and moral personality

(according to the value descriptions) and attitudes towards a

concrete spititually rich and moral personality (according to

the independently chosen and listed important values). The

data are presented in Diagrams 1 and 2.

Diagram 1: Comparison between the attitude of teenagers Diagram 2:Comparison between the attitude of teentowards

the ideal personality in the soviet period and the agers towards a concrete personality in the soviet period

present day and the present day

It is evident that contemporary teenagers attach more

importance to moral values, with the exception of the value

of sensitivity, to the ideal personality. The teenagers’

attitudes towards honesty (35.6 per cent) and responsibility

(32.1) display the biggest difference. That could be

accounted for by the positive changes in the teenagers’

attitudes towards spiritual values that function in the macroenvironment.

The attitudes towards the micro-environment, though,

present a different picture. Contemporary teenagers, with

only slight exceptions, tend to downgrade the spiritual

98

50

9

38

32

59,9

72,1

41,1

42,9

67,6

0 50 100 150

100

16,9

3,38

38,9

31,3

80

18,4

0

12

21,7

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

sensitivity

fairness

responsibility

a sense of duty

honesty / honourability

attitudes of teenagers at present

attitudes of teenagers in the soviet period

International Journal of Educology, 2002, Vol 16, No 2

110

values of their family members. A very clearly-marked

difference is observed in the evaluations of a sense of duty

(26.9 per cent). It should be noted that this value had the

highest factorial weighting (0.2383) among all other values

under discussion in the soviet school. On the other hand, in

the totalitarian system, the content of the value of a sense of

duty mainly consisted of obedient implementation of the

directions given from the position-holder above. In this

way, the observable regression in the teenagers’ attitudes

might be the outcome of the processes of deeper

conceptualization of the content of moral values in the

changed situation. We refer here to the explanations

provided by the teenagers as to why this value is important

for a spiritually rich personality. The data convincingly

show that 39.0 per cent of all teenagers evaluated all the

spiritual values on the basis of moral criteria, and another

35.0 per cent of teenagers applied the same criteria for more

than half of the values under discussion.

It is worth noting the differences in attitudes within the

same period. The gap between the attitudes towards a

concrete personality and the ideal spiritually rich personality

show which spiritual values find their immediate

actualization in the concrete lives of teenagers and to what

degree favourable conditions for their internalization are

created. The data can be seen in Table 5.

Table 5. Differences in teenagers’ attitudes towards the

ideal and concrete spiritually rich personality between the

soviet period and present-day time.

Teenagers’ attitudes in the

soviet time

Values Present-day teenagers’ attitudes

+ 2.0 Sensitivity + 20.1

- 33.1 Fairness - 53.7

- 5.7 Responsibility - 41.1

International Journal of Educology, 2002, Vol 16, No 2

111

- 0.9 A sense of duty - 30.9

- 0.7 Honesty - 45.9

The plus (+) before the number means that the concrete

personality is ranked higher than the ideal personality;

minus (
−) means just the opposite. The data support the

conclusion that teenagers in the soviet period felt lack of

fairness in the majority of cases whereas present-day

teenagers tend to feel lack of all the above mentioned

values, with the exception of sensitivity which has the

highest factorial weighting (0.661) in the teenagers’

attitudes towards spiritual values. Present-day teenagers

realize the importance of these values and have a desire for

them. Then, the micro-environment, which is devoid of

these values, has painful effects on the teenagers which, in

turn, makes the processes of internalization of values more

complicated. The situation can be characterized as a kind of

paradoxical one. There is no ‘directing’ in the value

functioning from above and the levels of the practical

realization of values in every-day relationships diminish.

This leads to the development of pedagogical problems.

Interdependence of Teenagers’ Attitudes

towards Spiritual Values and the Type of School

One of the major objectives of the educational reform is

to establish a system of profiles with a certain subject

groups bias at the secondary education level. It seems

meaningful to study how varied content of learning that is

registered in the curriculum affects the learners’ attitudes

towards spiritual values. With the help of the
x˛ criterion,

there was a selection of meaningful correlations made

between spiritual values and the school profiles with certain

subject groups bias. Then, the averages of the choice of

International Journal of Educology, 2002, Vol 16, No 2

112

values were calculated which speak for a particular level of

the teenagers’ chosen values (see Table 6).

The data in Table 6 display how the attitudes of

teenagers from different types of school towards spiritual

values differ. It is evident that knowing real life is the most

important value for learners of all types and profiles of

school, with a special emphasis on this value expressed by

the learners of art and sciences profiles of school. The

learners of Catholic schools and of the profiles of

humanities and sports profiles closely follow the first group

of learners in their attitudes. Positive attitudes towards

aesthetic values are more characteristic of learners of art,

catholic and town general education schools. But when the

attitudes of learners of those profiles schools are compared

to their attitudes towards cognition, a clearly-marked

regression in the attitudes of learners of sports, sciences and

humanities is evident.

The learners’ attitudes towards moral values as the

foundation for all human existence are favourable in all

types of school. The highest rankings for moral values are

given by learners of Catholic schools, followed by the

rankings of learners of sciences and youth schools. Both

groups of learners place self-respect and a happy family life

high, but their attitudes towards instrumental moral values

are among the lowest ones. The value of national security is

in general very low-ranked, with somewhat higher rankings

given to it by the learners of sport, Catholic and general

education schools. It is noticeable that the teenagers of the

same types of school express very favourable attitudes

towards instrumental moral values as well as towards faith

which might lead us to the conclusion that the teenagers are

able to establish links among those values.

International Journal of Educology, 2002, Vol 16, No 2

113

To summarize, the most favourable attitudes towards

spiritual values can be observed among the learners of

Catholic schools, with somewhat gradually lower in rank

attitudes expressed by the learners of art schools, town

general education schools, sport schools, sciences and

humanities, village general education schools and youth

schools respectively. We consider it very important to know

those tendencies in learners’ attitudes a priori before

planning other educational processes. It seems especially

important to be aware of the distinct differences in attitudes

towards instrumental moral values and aesthetic values.

Conclusions

1. The dispersion of the groups of spiritual values

according to the teenagers’ highest favourable rankings

looks like this:-- moral values, cognitive values,

aesthetic values. The values of religious faith get the

highest positive ranking on the existential level, and on

the instrumental level those values are placed only

somewhat higher than the aesthetic values.

2. Contemporary teenagers tend to give priority to:-- (a)

honesty, sensitivity, dignity and responsibility – among

the moral values; (b) wisdom, education/selfdevelopment,

intellectuality – among the cognitive

values; (c) faith – among the religious values; (d) a sense

of humour – among the aesthetic values.

3. There is a distinct change in teenagers’ attitudes towards

spiritual values observed as an outcome of the fall of the

totalitarian system. The teenagers tend to express more

favourable attitudes towards moral values that generally

function in the macro-environment, among which

honesty, responsibility and fairness are ranked highest.

But a more negative attitude is evident towards the

values that function in the micro-environment, like a

International Journal of Educology, 2002, Vol 16, No 2

114

sense of duty and sensitivity. Mention should be made

that especially sensitivity gets lower ranking among the

other values functioning in the macro-environment as

well. For that reason, the processes of the

internalization of spiritual values pose a number of

serious pedagogical problems.

4. Different types of school and profiles of general

education seem to affect the teenagers’ attitudes towards

spiritual values. The cognitive values are most

favourably ranked by the learners of sciences and art

profiles learners, with somewhat lower recognition

given to them by the learners of Catholic and the

humanities profile learners; the aesthetic values are most

favourably treated by the learners of art, as well as the

learners of Catholic and general education schools; the

moral and religious values are most valued by the

learners of Catholic, sport and general education schools

and the learners of Catholic schools seem to show the

broadest and deepest-conceived attitudes towards

spiritual values in general.

References

Anzenbacher, A. (1995): Etikos įvadas. Vilnius: Aidai.

Aramavičiūtė, V. (2000): “Vyresniųjų moksleivių santykių su pasauliu

brandos ypatumai,” Acta paedagogica Vilnensia. Mokslo darbai.

Nr.7. P.30-38.

Assagioali, R. (1984):
The Act of Will. New York: Penguin Books. Bitinas, B. (2000): Ugdymo filosofija. Vilnius: Enciklopedija.

Colombero, G. (2001): Vidinio išgijimo kelias. Vilnius: Katalikų

pasaulis.

Maceina, A. (1938):
Lavinimas ir auklėjimas//Lietuvos mokykla. Nr.1.

pp.14-28

Rokeach, M. (1979):
Understanding Human Values. London.

Wojtyła, K. (1997): Asmuo ir veiksmas. Vilnius: Aidai.

International Journal of Educology, 2002, Vol 16, No 2

115

About the Author

The author of the article has been investigating the issues

of teenager education in the last two decades. At the start,

the focus of the research was on moral education of

teenagers which resulted in the defence of a PhD

dissertation on the theme, “Fifth-to-seventh-form teenagers’

ability to evaluate behaviour manifestations as an important

condition for the development of moral position,” in 1985.

The author has the following published works:

“Peculiarities of teenagers’ moral attitudes” (1994) and

“The development of teenagers’ moral evaluations” (1997)

and a number of articles in collections of research

publications.

At present the author is doing research in the field of the

peculiarities of spiritual manifestations of the seventh-toninth-

form learners as well as investigating the preconditions

of personality development. The following

articles were published in this field: “Fostering the essentials

of human nature and the process of education” (1994),

“Pedagogical assistance to teenagers in their spiritual

growth “ (1997), “The concept and expression of

spirituality” (1998), “The activity of class head-teacher as

an important factor in the teenagers’ spiritual growth”

(1997), “On some specific peculiarities of senior teenagers’

spiritual growth in present-day school” (1998), “The

religious aspect of senior teengers’ spiritual growth”

(2000), “The attitudes of senior teenagers towards spiritual

values” (2001), “Emotional internalization of values in the

years of adolescence” (2001). The monograph “Spirituality

of teenagers as a pedagogical phenomenon” is now in the

process of preparation.


An Article in Educology

 

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

69

The Problem Method

in Teaching Philosophy:

An Educology of Teaching

Jūratė Morkūnienė
, Law University of

Lithuania, Vilnius, Lithuania

Abstract

This is an attempt to clarify principally some

fundamental ideas clustered around the concept of the

formal conditions which would constitute a fruitful studying

of philosophy. First, an ideal study situation would require

the student to participate in the object-subject dialogue;

philosophical studies are an active dialogue between the

text and the subject. Next, philosophy is a paradigmatically

and historically institution, grounded on the notions of

discipline, autonomy and authority. The idea is that we are

currently facing a crisis in philosophy, and this crisis

constitutes a major problem for the studies of philosophy.

The metamorphosis of the concept of philosophy in

contemporary philosophy is related to the new problem of

the dialogue and interconnections between the object and

the subject, new ways of conceiving the truth and a renewed

social force of philosophy. New perceptions of the

interconnections of the student and philosophical knowledge

raise anew the problems of objectivity. Philosophy has lost

its autonomy and strict authority.

Introduction

The importance of the problem method in teaching

philosophy is evident. The very nature of philosophy as a

humanitarian science implies a dialogue between the object

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

70

under study and the subject (student). What is it –

“philosophical training”, “philosophical teaching”? This is

not simply information on the history of ideas. It is rather

developing the individual’s thinking. Every opportunity of

developing our personal abilities to make decisions means

the attainment of a new level in our philosophical education.

Whenever we show more independence in our critical

thinking and decisions-making we have made progress in

our philosophical education.

There are two tendencies in applying the problem

method in teaching. First, in natural and exact sciences

solution of a problem means an instrumental conditioning

when the subject chooses from two or more alternatives,

himself raises questions and deals with them. In the second

tendency the problem is considered to be contained in the

matter of study itself, and the formulation of the problem

and the structure of its solution should be found in the

content of the matter. Thus, in this case the problem has no

instrumental limitations, the subject can not invent the

problem himself, the problem is partially “thrust on”. So, in

the humanities (philosophy) the problem method (teaching)

depends on the both parts of the “dialogue”: on the matter

of study and on the researcher. We shall consider only

some aspects of the problem method that are of significance

in teaching philosophy.

Philosophy as a Technique

In teaching philosophy the peculiarities of the matter are

often neglected and automatically the routine “technical”

rules are preferred. This means that the scope of

philosophical themes, “problems”, tasks is strictly regulated

or even determined a priori (depending on the institution, its

teaching traditions).

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

71

In a society in which the official and commonly

accepted truth is or should be predominant, the problem of

freedom of creation, of thinking never arises. Philosophers

in such a society encounter a clear and a single task – to

relate this single truth, “to hammer” its principles, rules and

definitions into the student’s head. There is not, and can not

be, a problem, because there can not be a different,

somebody’s own opinion (e. g., in the former philosophy of

Marxism). In a society guided by the ideology of

monologism, philosophy and its teaching can and must be

strictly regulated. Technical rules can be applied there, and

the problem method itself is perceived as a technique. This

means that the problems that should be answered by the

teacher can be strictly listed. A problem is understood as an

alien thing brought into philosophy from the outside. The

problems are “presented”.

In such a kind of philosophy, the object of study – or

rather “analysis” – is the sum total of knowledge or the

totality of fragments (citations), it is the knowledge which is

understood as something finite, a certain intellectual datum.

The philosophical truth is explained exclusively through the

meaning of a term, and the term is explained through its

usage and the affirmation of its application. The fact of the

presence of a term in a philosophical dictionary is

considered an adequate proof of its strictly limited sphere of

application. One should only learn it. On learning many

terms, those “basic” in particular, one can ostensibly

understand the general problems of philosophy.

The task is ostensibly fulfilled: the student has been

“acquainted” with philosophy.

Importance of Studying

a Text in Raising a Problem

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

72

The specific nature of philosophy resists its regulation

by methods of technical sciences. Philosophy, being an

uninterrupted creative process, a continuous solution of

fundamental questions devoid of commonly accepted

technical rules, allows no regulation.

One of specific features of philosophy is its “working”

with the text which should be read and understood. The text

is the tool of philosophical thinking. The tool of philosophy

is concepts, language which develops in time. As M.

Bakhtin puts it, “text is the primary datum (reality) and

starting point of any humanitarian science” (2: 292). There

is everywhere a real or an implied text. An investigation

becomes asking and answering questions, i.e. a dialogue.

We ask no questions from nature, and it gives no answers.

A naturalist questions himself and in a certain way

organizes his observation or experiment, whereas in the

study of man and society (humanitarian and social sciences)

we constantly deal with the questions that are already there,

expressed in the form of signs, notions, metaphors, texts,

and we do our best to perceive them.

Thus, philosophy
studies a text as an expression of

thought. Such a way of study means a dialogue, because we

ask the author (philosopher) questions and find answers in

the text. The text and its understanding (not a description or

explanation) is exactly the “axis” on which all

methodological problems of philosophy are centered.

To study a text of natural and technical sciences means

just obtaining information, whereas reading philosophical

texts is a dialogue, a discussion between the philosopher’s

text, author’s experience on the one hand and the student’s

knowledge on the other. However, this is not just an

individual interaction between the student and the text. The

student comes with all his store of knowledge gained from

his social medium. In this case, of significance is also the

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

73

students’ specialty. “I find what I know.” First, he

understands the things that are already known to him.

However, the stock of knowledge (at least of a student) is

not large. Philosophical texts, both those belonging to the

past and present, in many cases are “alien” to the student,

because his knowledge and experience has been

accumulated even on a lower level of generalization, in

another “paradigm” of teaching. It is here that a conflict

appears first of all, i.e. a problem arises. How should I

understand a strange experience and of what use is it to me?

In general, is this strange text worth being understood by

me? Maybe I should only learn it (to pass the exam)? The

student encounters the dilemma: first, is the text worth

studying if it is not worth understanding? Second, if it is

worth understanding, how should I do it?

And here again approaches of natural sciences and

philosophy are at variance. The natural scientist sees an

objective fact or regularity behind the text.

The philosopher is interested in the meaning of a fact or

a regularity: he wants to understand
what it is that makes thetext meaningful, turns it into knowledge, how this

knowledge shapes itself and develops. A philosophical text

is a process that develops in time, reveals its meaning in

time, in the continuity and therefore is perceived

consistently, in time, and in development. An interrupted,

“broken” philosophical text or its fragment (excerpt)

“begrudges” information, it is devoid of argumentation and

lacks meaning.

Understanding while reading a text is not only a means,

but also the very matter of cognition. Thus, a philosophical

text has a dual meaning: it is both the matter of understanding

and the means of understanding. Philosophical

knowledge (cognition) is the awareness of what thinking

had done in the past. However, it is also relevant for the

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

74

present. Therefore philosophical knowledge is not just an

object (of study) on which a sum of data and facts must be

memorized. This is the very activity of thinking, which can

be cognized to the extent to which the cognizing mind

reproduces it, assimilates, and accepts it as a matter of

significance to him (subject) at present.

Therefore a philosophical text should be complete. The

studying mind works following the logic of thinking

imposed by the author, it begins to understand the

connections revealed by the author; even the style of

thinking is of importance. This is the way to acquire

knowledge, but at the same time the tool of thinking

undergoes training – habits are being formed in it. This is

why philosophical problems could be understood only

gradually, passing from one philosopher to another, and

with the growing complexity of the problems.

Relation between

Teaching and Solving a Problem

A problem arises when there is a conflict between the

present situation and the goal. The subject (student) tries to

attain the goal (to understand), but he does not know the

ways and means to attain it. Therefore he is in a difficulty,

and faces a conflicting situation: the problem of

understanding, memorizing, and assimilating the philosophical

text arises. (The situation as such is certainly created

by the teacher since he teaches a new and unknown subject.)

The conflict is removed when the problem is solved.

However, it is a long and tedious process.

While solving the problem, the student first of all goes

beyond the limits of the already known information. In the

initial stages of teaching, instructions and verbal confirmations

are essential. However, later, they lose their primary

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

75

function and become auxiliary (e. g., explanation of terms).

From teaching in the narrow sense of the word (explanation

of terms, verbal definitions) we pass on to the consolidation

of associations (the richer the knowledge, the more

associations), to the explanation of a conception, which

involves an active participation of the student. “Teaching

by solving problems is a combination of images, creation of

hypotheses and creation of strategies” (4: 586, 625). Thus,

we consider
solving a problem as a process that proceeds in

time. We think that in philosophy the processes of solving

problems are essentially identical to the processes of

teaching.

The Ways of “Removing”

the Problem, or the Process of Solution

According to the definition of R. L. Ackoff and F. E.

Emery, “the problem is a state of striving for a goal, which

does not satisfy the striving individual” (1: 115).

In the process of cognition the cognizing subject

encounters – a problem which he must resolve in one or

another way. Two alternatives of solution are possible: 1)

the individual facing a problem (and this implies

dissatisfaction, “discomfort” of thinking) can “change his

striving” (1: 115), i.e. reject the problem, refuse to solve it;

or 2) the individual can substitute the state of dissatisfaction

by a “state of managing” (1: 123), i.e. to face the problem

and to solve it (to attain the state of satisfaction). First, the

student realizes the problem and searches in his memory for

the elements of knowledge that could be helpful in solving

it. If he finds enough of them, the solution begins. If not

enough – two ways are open: either to reject the problem

(or merely to learn it in order to pass the exam) or to start

acting, to search, to acquire new knowledge in order to

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

76

solve it. The teacher’s task is to raise gradually the level of

the complexity of the problems according to the acquired

level of philosophical knowledge. Thus, to encourage the

subject (a student) to tackle the problem (to turn the

obtained however still dead information into his own) three

conditions are required: first – a sufficient context of

knowledge (information) to provide material for

considering, explaining and understanding the problem (in

this relation, it is very important to present as much of

systemic knowledge as possible); second – the subject’s

intention “to improve the situation” (M. Wertheimer, 7:

293) or desire to know, and third – the sufficiently trained

abstract thinking of the subject (this is also one of the tasks

of the delivered course of philosophy).

The Importance of Disposition

The level of the complexity and universality of the

problem, its open or reserved character propose the ways of

its solution. Usually two ways of solution are specified: 1)

solution through trial and error, i.e. a random, unfounded

and sometimes even useless series of actions; 2) solution

based on a consistent analysis, systematic and purposeful

investigation.

Searching
for means to solve the problem is of essentialimportance. The search is a disposition to the final result.

The disposition (one of the core individual features trained

through teaching philosophy) in the processes of cognition

acts as an organizing factor.

The disposition can act in two ways: 1) as a merely

fixing factor, when there is a statement: “things are like

this.” In this case, the disposition acts as a factor impeding

a creative solution. (The student learns some series of facts,

statements and definitions, because he has to pass the

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

77

exam); 2) as a tendency to complete the cognitive activities.

In this case the disposition is also a precondition of search.

The process of solving the problem, depending on the

prevailing tendency, can proceed either stereotypically when

the facts, and notions presented by the teacher are accepted

passively, by “learning”, “cramming”, or in a creative way,

by searching for an independent, heuristic solution

important to the studying subject.

Ways to Stimulate Thinking

How can thinking be stimulated? In general terms, this

can be achieved by means of thinking of problems of the

most diverse levels by singling them out from a

philosophical text. However, only an active thinking

disposed to “change the situation in the direction of its

improvement” (M. Wertheimer) is capable of doing this.

If a man
is not inclined to and does not know (a little

stock of knowledge) how to organize his mental activities,

he usually fails to attain a high level of the development of

thinking, even within the context of the availability of best

preconditions and good conditions (“social niche”), and

even when the quality of teaching is high.

One should master the stages of thinking such as
raising

a task, creation of an optimal motivation, regulation of the

purposefulness of associations, maximal involvement of

both visual and symbolic metaphoric components, training

of conceptual thinking.

Creation and Strengthening of Motivation

Creation of motivation is one of the most important

preconditions of the enhancement of thinking. While

studying a subject, the questions arise: What is it good for?

Why should I know this? Will I ever need it in my life?

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

78

The motive of studying can be a vital necessity (to pass the

exam) or intellectual satisfaction (“I’ve made a discovery”).

To encourage the second motive is the first and most

important task of the teacher. The second case implies

independent thinking, initiative, individuality. Even if the

student is “reinventing the wheel,” even if he makes

essential mistakes because of his poor stock of knowledge,

the problem under consideration becomes his own problem.

And even if he fails, he gains practice in independent

thinking and arrives to the next problem which he will

manage to solve. N. Blake calls it “an ideal speech

situation” or “an ideal speech conditions” (3: 357; 356),

when the participants can freely exchange opinions, desires

and views, when only a “stronger argument” is searched for.

However, he stresses that such a situation is always difficult

to attain, because it implies a certain knowledge of the

subject under discussion. Otherwise, on the basis of

“common knowledge” alone, a person can speak and say

whatever comes to his mind: “Yet unstructured speech

situation can kill rationality” (3: 357). To maintain optimal

motivation, of use are a gradual increase in the complexity

of the problems in accordance with the man’s abilities. The

student moves from success to success, his self-confidence

augments, thus increasing his potential to overcome greater

and greater obstacles.

Overly complicated tasks should be avoided. Therefore

teaching philosophy should start “from the beginning:”

without Socrates one cannot understand Plato, without Plato

one will fail to understand Aristotle, etc., but one should

never start with an insuperable problem.

How should the optimal motivation be encouraged?

Sometimes the student must be challenged to encourage him

to overcome difficulties, to check his strength. Sometimes

he must be praised to encourage his attempts to experience

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

79

the joy of discovery again, to plunge into work, to

experience this emotional state once more. Praise

(augmentation of one’s personal significance) raises the

creative potential of the individual. Sometimes the student’s

ambitions must be stimulated.

When the individual is solving a problem, he inevitably

makes a broader use of information and reaches far beyond

the limits of the problem (and compulsory literature). It has

been proven experimentally that when a problem is accepted

as interesting, the probability of its
solution is essentially

higher. However, a failure in solving the problem may

change the student’s attitude for the worse: he will tend to

consider it not interesting and useless. He may even reject

it. Therefore it is reasonable to define the sphere of his

interests in which he will realize his abilities and only in this

relation to turn his attention to the philosophical problem

(i.e. to elucidate in the course of philosophy the problems

that are of interest to the students of a concrete specialty or

urgent for our time; to relate the problems of cognition,

social problems to the practical problems of the present).

The process of thinking contains in itself the conscious

and unconscious components. It is a well-known fact that

the process of solving a problem is not interrupted when the

subject ceases to think about it consciously. If the process

of solution “fails” despite a keen desire to perceive, it is

useful to put the problem aside for some time and “to

switch” to another one. Such a “switch”, with the

introduction of a collateral information (in philosophy this is

an excursion into the history of philosophy) helps to

concentrate on the new aspects of the problem, which will

actually turn helpful in solving it. When after such an

“excursion” into the history of philosophy the subject

returns to the primary formulation of the problem, it

becomes easily understood and thus solved. This happens

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

80

because of the thinking activity which has been incessantly

going on in the sub-consciousness and the accumulated new

content of cognition.

An unsuccessful attempt to solve a difficult problem

should be postponed in due time, before the desire comes to

reject it for good, because in this way one can escape a

decline in the level of motivation and an appearance of a

constantly negative (repulsive) attitude to the problem (or

even to the whole discipline). Exactly here the role of the

teacher comes forth by regulating the direction of associations,

i.e. causing the students to take interest in the

problem.

The Role of Posing

Questions in Solving a Problem

The process of thinking is also stimulated by the ability

to raise the appropriate questions, since questions help to

concentrate attention and limit the “shaking up” of the

hypotheses in one’s memory.

Thinkers in Ancient Greece searched for the ways to

encourage the pupil’s attempts to solve a problem. They

(Socrates) did it by asking questions. Socrates called his

discourses-dialogues “the midwife’s art,” because he not

only raised interest in his pupil, but also created the illusion

that the pupil himself found the solution of the problem.

It is desirable to drive the student to the solution,

however, so as to force the student to make the last step

himself.

Questions provide guidelines for the process of thinking,

prevent the thought from distraction, for example, from

“slipping away” from the philosophical level of thinking to

the level of special sciences or common sense.

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

81

Which is the way to develop the ability of raising

necessary (right) questions? This is what the method of

problem teaching under discussion is intended for. It

renders the student the status of a discoverer.

However, if a man gets the answer to the question too

soon, i.e. when he knows only the statement but does not

know the history, argumentation, etc., the knowledge

contained in the answer is poorly assimilated, because there

is no goal, not even the urge to know the answer (the only

goal remains – to pass the exam).

The Tasks of Problem Teaching

The process of teaching with the use of problems provides a

student with the opportunity to
repeat, seeminglyindependently, the way covered by the philosopher to his

discovery. Each stage of teaching offers a new stock of

information. However, it is not so much the information

itself that matters, but rather stressing going beyond its

boundaries, to relate it to the contemporary level of

cognition or to the contemporary social or other problems.

In problem teaching, hazards or barriers can be hardly

escaped. These are the specific obstacles of thinking. The

inertness and stereotypes of thinking are connected with the

former philosophical school, with the prevailing ideology of

society, philosophical fashion, with the “traditions” of a

higher school, the teacher’s competence. The atavism of

monological thinking manifests itself in worshiping the

“authorities,” depreciation of the non-authorities, rubberstamping

in the evaluation of philosophers. The taboos of

thinking are still practiced by higher schools or departments.

The student, even without noticing it, becomes involved in a

traditional way of thinking.

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

82

It should be emphasized that problem teaching means

the beginning of the assimilation of new material not from

“familiarity” with the conventional ways how to solve the

problem (what has been written on the subject by several

philosophers, often with no relations with their specific

epochs, without any historical or even theoretical context),

but from
providing the conditions which urge to solveexactly this problem just in the present-day historical

period.

These conditions imply assimilation of the entire

“phylogenesis” of philosophy, moving from epoch to epoch,

from philosopher to philosopher. And this means more than

merely learning some fragments. This is the only condition

for the student to assimilate knowledge not because it was

delivered, “reported” or dictated by the teacher, but because

he has got an
inner stimulus to know it. By solving the

arising problems which have already become of personal

importance to him, the student assimilates new material

deeper and sooner – because he cares!

Conclusions

1. Philosophical problems can be perceived only gradually,

passing from one philosopher to another, from one

epoch to another. Therefore fragmentary teaching of

principles, definitions, “general” questions does not

create a “problem field.”

2. The knowledge delivered while lecturing philosophy

should be systematized as much as possible. Therefore

it is impossible to offer a problem presentation of

knowledge in such a vast discipline as philosophy in a

short course.

3. It is necessary to provide a continuous tension of solving

the problems, an uninterrupted connection between

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

83

lectures and discussions, because discussions are the

place where the aroused “conflict” of cognition is

directed towards creative approach, the student is

inspired with the desire to know, “to discover.”

4. Discussions should ensure the atmosphere of “relaxed

mind” allowing any nonsense to be said, without

demanding immediately “the only correct” answer. The

student, as a self-regulating system, comes to see his

mistakes by himself, he himself “makes a discovery”

while trying to solve a problem that is of importance to

him, under the non-obtrusive guidance of the teacher,

who without force, but with a deep knowledge of the

matter, implants associations.

5. The whole method of problem teaching is based on

knowledge. Therefore studying the original sources (not

only descriptions or, even worse, questionable manuals),

should become an indispensable requirement.

References

1. Ackoff R.L., Emery F.E. On Purposeful Systems. Chicago & New

York: Aldine; Atherton, 1972.

2. Bakhtin M.M. Estetika slovesnogo tvorchestva. Moskow: Iskusstvo,

1979.

3. Blake N. Ideal Speech Conditions, Modern Discourse and Education.

Journal of Philosophy of Education. 1995, Vol. 29, No. 3. P. 355-

367.

4.
Gellner E. Words and Things: A Critical Account of Linguistic

Philosophy and a Study in Ideology. London: Gollancz; Boston:

Beacon, 1959.

5.
Ranson S., Martin J., Nixon J., McKeown P. Towards a Theory of

Learning. British Journal of Educational Studies. 1996. Vol. 44, No.

1. P. 9-26.

6.
Mayor F. Philosophy Education: a Key to the Twenty-first Century //

Philosophy. May 1997. No 5. – P. 1.

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

84

7. Wertheimer M. Productive Thinking. New York: Harper &

Brothers, 1978.

8.
Weston A. Risking Philosophy of Education. Metaphilosophy.

1998. Vol. 29, No. 3. P. 145-158.


An Article in Philosophy of Educology

 

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

85

The Challenge of Establishing a

Common Set of Terms for Discourse,

Inquiry and Research in

Educational Science

Kęstutis Pukelis & Izabela Savickienė

Vytautas Magnus University, Lithuania

Abstract

A brief history of the use of the term educology in the

world and Lithuania is presented. A comparative analysis

of various educational phenomena such as education, selfeducation,

pedagogy, andragogy, training, fostering,

teaching, learning and others is conducted. The difference

between educology (knowledge about education) and

education as process are identified. Three main processes -

child education, child partial self-education and adult full

self-education - encompassing education as phenomenon

are presented. A semantic analyis is made of the words

education and educology in Greek, Latin, Italian, English,

Russian and Lithuanian. The main finding of the research is

that educology can be understood as research on the three

levels of education, viz. child education, child self-education

and adult self-education. Educological research has as its

purpose the extension of knowledge about these processes.

Introduction

In Lithuania in the last decade of the 20th century, L.Jovaiša used the controversial term educology for the first

time in the history of Lithuanian discourse about the

educational process. Jovaiša introduced the term
educology

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

86

in the books
Introduction to Educology (1993) and ABC’s of

Educology (1993), but he did not indicate clearly the set of

phenomena about which educological investigation might

conduct inquiry and research. For example, he did not

explain clearly whether the term
educology refers to the

science of child education, i.e. pedagogy, or the

investigation of self-education, i.e. andragogy or to the

inquiry into effective coordination among educational

systems, i.e. studies of the management of education.

Jovaiša defined the term in a rather controversial way. He

stated there is no “… doubt [that] both words - educology

and pedagogy - have the right to exist. The Lithuanian

equivalent
should be [our italics] the “science of child

education” (L. Jovaiša, 1993, p. 9). According to S.

Šalkauskis, “pedagogy is the science of child education, or

theory” (S. Šalkauskis, 1992, p. 2). The question is whether

it is necessary to have two different terms with the same

referent, i.e. the
science of child education. Using the words

“should be” L. Jovaiša obviously held reservations about the

usage of the term educology, since in another part of his

book he stated that educology is not pedagogy because “the

concept of pedagogy is too constricted to express the reality

of education.” Jovaiša argued that the science of education

which encompasses the scientific study of the educational

process as it functions throughout the entire lifespan of

human beings needs a new term to refer to that science. A

term which does the job is
educology. That is why it is

possible to define educology as “. . . the science exploring

permanent human and group education”1 (L. Jovaiša, 1993,

p. 14). Having asserted the necessity of a new term, Jovaiša

paradoxically does not use the term in the main text of his

book, but keeps to the traditional term of
pedagogy.

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

87

Nevertheless, Jovaiša inaugurated the use of the term

educology in the Lithuanian language.

Despite the odd circumstances in which the term had

appeared, academic society started using
educology rather

widely. Its wider usage was related to the fact that the term

educology instead of the term pedagogy was registered in

the national register of sciences as one of the domains of

social sciences (such a domain does not exist in any other

country). And only the successive scientific discussion

about the meaning of the concept of the term
educology

started the search for its more precise definition and its place

in relation to inquiry and research about the set phenomena

which constitutes educational reality. However, different

scientists treat the term
educology differently and give

different definitions. That is why there is no wonder the

word
educology is included neither in the Vocabulary of

International Words nor in the Vocabulary of Contemporary

Lithuanian since there is no clear and widely accepted

answer as to what its research object is. The question

remains as to what specific set of phenomena is researched

by educology which is not studied by pedagogy, andragogy,

or studies of management of education or other educational

sciences.

Thus the
problem arises that if educology is a distinctive

set of research and inquiry, then to what kind of inquiry and

research does the term
educology refer and which set of educational phenomena does educological research and

inquiry investigate? Equivocal definitions of the term

educology prove that different different advocates of theterm educology are intending different referents of the term.

In order for fruitful, meaningful progress to be made in

scientific discourse, research and inquiry about educational

phenomena, a situation in which the term educology is used

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

88

equivocally can not be tolerated. The strong implication is

that it is very important to identify the kind of inquiry and

research which is referred to by
educology and the set of

educational phenomena which is inquired about and

researched by educology.

The
goal of our investigation is to clarify whether the

term educology refers to or can be made to refer to any

inquiry and research about any as yet unexplored

educational phenomena. If the answer is “yes,” then the

related question is which set? We set ourselves the

following
research tasks:

1. To conduct a brief review of the origin and uses of

the term educology.

2. To analyze the development of the meaning of the

term
educology as it is used in the works by

Lithuanian authors.

3. To analyze the structure of the concept of the term

educology and carry out a short logical analysis of

the concept.

The
methods we used in our investigation were those of

literature resource analysis and comparative analysis.

A Brief Review of the Origins

and Uses of the Term Educology

In analyzing the use of the term educology in historical

terms, it is important to note it is not used widely in the

works by foreign authors. The more common and accepted

term is educational science or educational psychology or

foundations of education or educational studies or simply

Educaiton In the USA, science of education is an

uncommon term as well, although the term social sciences

is widely used.

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

89

J. Fisher (2001) states that the term
educology originated

from the works of several scholars in Europe, North

America, and Australia almost 50 years ago. One of the

first to use the term was Professor Elizabeth Steiner Maccia,

who taught philosophy of education at Indiana University.

She initially coined the term “educatology” (in her paper,

Logic of Education and Educatology: Dimensions of

Philosophy of Education, 1964
). Later, in response tocriticisms from her colleagues, she used the term educology.

Earlier, in 1951, the term was used by Professor Lowry W.

Harding of Ohio State University. He treated the use of the

term
educology as a joke in witty anecdotes about

education.

Others who worked independently of E. Steiner Maccia

included Rachel Elder of the University of California,

Berkeley, who wrote the paper
Three Educologies, 1971),

Professor Diana Buell Hiatt of Pepperdine University (Los

Angeles, California), John B. Biggs of Newcastle University

(Australia,), who wrote
Educology: The Theory of

Educational Practice, 1976), Wolfgang Brezinka (Konstanz

University, Germany, in his book Metatheorie derErziehung,1978), and Professor Anton Monshouwer

(University of Nijmegen, The Netherlands, in his

publications
Educational Theory as Science of Education,

1978, 1979).

Many other scholars have worked on the problem of the

concept of the term
educology. They include George S.

Maccia, David Denton, James E. Fisher, James E.

Christensen, William E. Eaton, Gregory J. Pozovich, Jerome

A. Popp, Richard Snow and others. After 1980, the term

educology was introduced not only in discourse about the

educational process, but also in the names of organizations.

In 1981 the publishing group, Educology Research

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

90

Associates, was formed by James E. Christensen in

Australia. In 1989. Educology Research Associates/USA

was established in South Carolina by James E. Fisher. An

international conference,
Educology ’86, was held at

Australian National University in Canberra in 1986.

Educology Research Associates published the proceedings

of the conference in 1986 (
Educology ’86), and ERA

commenced publication of the International Journal of

Educology in 1987. At least two universities, Vytautas

Magnus University, Lithuania, and Stockholm University,

Sweden, have established Departments of Educology.

Especially noteworthy are the works of Professor J.

Fisher, one of the few overseas scientists of education who

uses the term
educology in his works. Fisher notes themeaning of the term education in the English language

depends on the context. The term has at least two common

referents: (1) the educational process as it functions in any

social and cultural setting for all ages and (2) knowledge

about that educational process. The term education

is ambiguous by equivocation, in that at one time the word has the

meaning to reference the scope of the process of education, as

conducted in some setting, and another time to name a domain of

knowledge that references the scope of the process of education. [J.

Fisher, 2001, p. 175]

To resolve the ambiguity, Fisher and other English

speaking scientists of education (Steiner Maccia,

Christensen, Biggs, etc.) argue that the term
educology be

used to name knowledge about the educational process and

that the term
education be used to name the educational

process itself in all of its manifestations. In addition, E.

Steiner Maccia, G. Maccia, J. Fisher, and J. Christensen

argue that the referent of the term
educology is not only

scientific knowledge about the educational process, but also

historical, philosophical and praxiological knowledge about

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

91

the educational process. Historical educology, in their

conception, describes and explains past educational

practices. Scientific educology describes and explains

current educational phenomena. Praxiological educology

describes effective practices within the educational process.

And philosophical educology addresses issues such as the

meaning of discourse about educational phenomena, the

ethics of conduct within educational processes and the

value and merit of educational outcomes, goals and aims.

These researchers refer to themselves as educologists,

and they use the term
educology to refer to the entire fund of

knowledge about the educational process, including

philosophical, historical, scientific and praxiological

knowledge. They eschew the name scientists of education

because they at times conduct research and inquiry about

education which is other than scientific. They argue, that

their inquiry about the educational process may be

historical, philosophical, scientific or praxiological,

depending on the kinds of questions being asked in the

research. But whatever the kind of inquiry, if it is about

educational phenomena, then in their conception, they are

conducting
educological research and inquiry.

The discussion about the proper use of the term

educology among Western scientists of education (and

historians, philosophers and praxiologists of education) has

carried on since 1951. However, even today, after more

than 50 years, despite logical argumentation from the

semantic point of view academic society has not reached

consensus on the referent of educology, and the term

educology has not been accepted into common usage among

educational scientists.

Here the diverse nature of scientific culture of

Lithuanian and Western scientists who conduct inquiry and

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

92

research about educational phenomena becomes important

to consider. It is also important to consider what scientific

discussion has occurred in Lithuania about the appearance

and use of the term
educology. And it is important to ask to

what new inquiry and research about phenomena within

educational reality does the term
educology refer. Inrelation to educological research, is it unique? Is there any

set of educational phenomena which is not studied by

pedagogy, andragogy, studies of management of education,

and other categories of studies about educational

phenomena?

I. Kant has warned that the proliferation and delineation

of scientific boundaries “is not expansion of sciences, but

their deformation” (I. Kant, 1996, p. 36). This is a telling

point, and it should be heeded. In general, what are the

implications and what are the benefits or otherwise of

bringing a new term such as
educology into the discourse of

science of education?

Analysis of the Concept of Educology

in the Works of Lithuanian Authors

The term educology started to become more clearly

defined and described more accurately when a few scientists

of education initiated the discussion typical for any

scientific discourse. They asked the obvious question as to

what is the object of
educological research? What are its

differences compared to child education (studied by

pedagogy), adult self-education (studied by andragogy),

studies of educational management and studies of other

phenomena which are researched by educational sciences?

Various scientists have tried to answer the question. The list

includes K. Pukelis in the books
Teacher Training and the

Culture of the Nation (“Mokytojų rengimas ir tautos

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

93

kult
ūra”, 1995), and Teacher Training and Philosophical

Studies (“Mokytojų rengimas ir filosofinės studijos”, 1998),

and in the article Educology: What is it? (“Edukologija: kas

tai?”, 1999); B. Bitinas in the article Actual Problems of

Development of Educological Science (“Aktualūs

edukologijos mokslo vystymo klausimai”, 1996); P.

Jucevi
čienė and the joint authors in the book ComparativeEducology (“Lyginamoji edukologija”, 1997) and The

Development of Educational Science: From Pedagogics to

Modern Educology (“Ugdymo mokslo raida: nuo

pedagogikos iki šiuolaikinės edukologijos, 1997), V. Jakavičius in Human Education: Introduction to

Educological Studies (“Žmogaus ugdymas: įvadas į

edukologijos studijas”, 1998) and other scientists of

education.

As mentioned above, L. Jovaiša in 1993 grounded the

use of the term educology on the idea that the term

pedagogy refers to inquiry and research about the set of

phenomena which is included in the processes of children’s

and young people’s education. The referent of pedagogy

does not include inquiry and research about adult education.

On the other hand, the term
andragogy refers to inquiry and

research about the set of phenomena included in the process

of adult education.

So, Jovaiša argues, that both terms pedagogy and

andragogy are too narrow and exclusive in their meanings

to refer to inquiry and study about the whole of the

educational process, in all social and cultural settings and

throughout the lifetime of all human beings.

It is Jovaiša conclusion that research and inquiry about

human education, including life-long education, needs a

new term to refer to it, i.e.
educology meaning the science

for permanent human and group education. But in his

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

94

argument, Jovaiša uses the word
education in the sense of

child education (“ugdymas”), and not in the broader sense

of education (“švietimas”).

To translate properly into English, the definition which

Jovaiša advocates for educology would read like this:

Educology is the science of permanent human and group

child education.

In his understanding of the term educology, Jovaiša intendsthe concept of educology to encompass research and inquiry

only about the period of childhood education and not the

whole of the educational process. In Diagram 1, a more

detailed explication is presented of the structure of the

educational process and the referents of the Lithuanian

terms within the educational process.

At first glance, it could seem educology is the science

which includes pedagogy and andragogy. However, a very

simple and important question to ask is whether it is correct

in a scientific context to speak only about adult education.

Is andragogy only research and inquiry about adult

education? Is it proper to research and inquire only about

adult education, or it is more proper to develop scientific

discourse about self-education? To what extent does the

process of education differ from that of self-education? In

other words, are education, child education, child selfeducation

and adult self-education identical to each other?

If they are different, what measures need to be taken to

conduct fruitful research and inquiry about the different sets

of phenomena within the educational process?

We take the position that child education (the referent of

the term
ugdymas), child self-education (the referent of the

term ugdymasis) and adult self-education (the referent of the

term saviugda) are all part of the larger general process of

the development of human maturation.

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

95

Diagram 1.

Structure of process of education (“švietimas”) through

human ontogenesis

In the Lithuanian language, the etymological structure of

these words indicates their differences. The term
childeducation (ugdymas) has no semantic part pointing to a

child’s autonomy because the child’s education is specific

and fully influenced by a teacher. The teacher’s proper role

is to manage the child’s educational process, to nominate

educational goals for the child, to choose teaching methods

and aids. The teacher must perform these tasks on behalf of

the child because the child is not able to do these tasks or to

conceive of what needs to be done. Education (the referent

of the term
ugdymas) is “conveyance of specificallygeneralized historic experience of humanity” (K. Pukelis,

1995, p. 31), but not conveyance of all the knowledge to a

child without consideration of the child’s age and the

content of teaching material. The child’s behavior in the

educational process takes on mainly the features of

reproductive activity.

“Ugdymas”

Child education

(pedagogy)

“Ugdymasis”

Child partial self-education

(on the boundary between

pedagogy and andragogy)

“Saviugda”

Adult full selfeducation

(andragogy)

Education (“Švietimas”)

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

96

The term
child self-education (ugdymasis) has at the end

of the word a semantic meaning of me, fixed by the particle

self (denoted by the suffix of -is), which indicates a certain

level of personal autonomy in education. Child selfeducation

(
ugdymasis) means a child is an active participant

in the educational process, but the leading role is reserved

for a teacher. A child chooses methods and aids for

achievement of a set of educational objectives, but the child

does not formulate educational and self-educational goals.

In this stage of child self-education, however, the child’s

behavior already has some features of limited creativity.

Adult self-education (
saviugda) implies that the learner

himself or herself nominates and clarifies self-education

goals, and a teacher assists the learner to attain the learnernominated

goals. In the word
saviugda, the self (savi) is at

the beginning of the word. It points to the priority for adult

decisions with regard to the adult’s educational goals,

methods and learning outcomes. In this stage, an adult has

full freedom of educational creativity. It means it is not

correct in a scientific context to speak about permanent

human and group education (
ugdymas), since it is

impossible to educate an adult. Mentioning only the term

education suggests the unrealized essential mission of

education, viz. its transformation into personalized full selfeducation.

It is the reason why the concept of educology

presented in the last work of Jovaiša is problematic.

Jovaiša writes: “The object of educology has been defined

as human education for a long time” (2001, p. 8).

It is telling that Jovaiša does not refer to any discussions

among scientists about the meaning of the term
educology.Moreover, the ending -logy of the word educology points to

the scientific mission of educological research activity. The

activity relates to the research about all the educational

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

97

processes which are included within the set of educational

phenomena, including child education or
ugdymas, child

self-education or ugdymasis and adult self-education or

saviugda.

Jovaiša’s evasion of a clear definition of the term

educology raises doubts about the possibility that there can

be any sound and clear argumentation mounted to establish

what is the object about which educology might research

and inquire. Child partial self-education and adult full selfeducation

are not mentioned at all. If educology is a

“science of education,” what is pedagogy? Jovaiša treats

educology and pedagogy as the same science – science of

education. It seems as if Jovaiša tries to substitute the term

pedagogy with the term educology, but this is not justifiable.

B. Bitinas and P. Jucevičienė also analyze the concept of

the term educology, but they do not ignore child selfeducation

and adult self-education. B. Bitinas rightly notes

that a person develops continuously and that is why any

individual human being is both an object and subject at any

period of life, so “self-education exists in all the levels of

education” (1, p. 53). However it is odd B. Bitinas does not

distinguish child self-education and adult self-education as a

separate components of education. Are they not different

and independent phenomena of educational reality?

P. Jucevi
čienė, in defining the concept of educology,introduces child self-education (P. Jucevičienė, 1997a, p.

22). In her other work the author does not mention child

self-education, but presents adult self-education: “educology

is the science of human education and adult self-education,

and organization of educational systems” (P. Jucevi
čienė,

1997, p. 11). This definition relates to the concept of

pansopfia (universal wisdom) expressed by J. A. Comenius.

This conception of educology implies that educology has no

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

98

independent research object, but at the same time it studies

everything which belongs to pedagogy, andragogy and

educational management. Later P. Jucevi
čienė partly

withdraws this definition (especially the concept of adult

full self-education), and accepts L. Jovaiša’s ideas by the

definition: “educology is human education through all

his/her life, and the science of assuring such education by

formal and informal educational organization” (P.

Jucevi
čienė, 1998, p. 5). This definition has the sameshortcomings of pansophia and other flaws related to

disregard for child self-education and adult self-education,

which should be encompassed in permanent human

development.

V. Jakavi
čius’ (1998) conception of educology, similar

to L. Jovaiša’s, is expressed in the title of the book –

“Human Education: Introduction to Educological Studies”.

On the other hand, the author introduces the concept of

“
educatio”, identifying it with child education: “process ofeducation (“pedagogy” – K.P. and I.S.) should be called

process of educatio, and its components should be

pedagogical and andragogical processes” (V. Jakavi
čius,

1998, p. 83). It should be understood as if educology is the

science of child education (“pedagogy”), and process of

education is the process of child education (“pedagogy”).

Then it is not clear why it is necessary to have the two terms

for the same science and process. Besides, it means child

education (pedagogy) involves child education (pedagogy)

and adult self-education (andragogy). Is it logical to assert

that A (child education or pedagogy) is equal to A

(pedagogy) plus B (self-education or andragogy)?

One of the authors of this article, trying to clarify the

conception of educology, has not avoided mistakes either.

He identified educology with andragogy: “educology can be

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

99

the science of adult self-education analyzing preconditions,

goals, consistent patterns and educational assistance for

permanent physical and spiritual development of a mature

person in various periods of his/her life” (K. Pukelis, 1995,

p.48). Later, in 1998, the author suggested the two concepts

of educology for the discussion: 1) educology is equivalent

to andragogy, encompassing the science of full selfeducation

or 2) educology is formalized (specialized)

education, and andragogy is non-formalized education (K.

Pukelis, 1998, p. 68). However, the author stressed both the

versions could be criticized.

Logical Analysis of the Concept of

Educology and its Place in Educational Reality

It has been mentioned that the concepts educology and

andragogy are included neither in
Vocabulary of

International Words (2001) nor in Vocabulary of

Contemporary Lithuanian (2000). The latter publication

gives only the definition of pedagogy. It could be explained

by conditional novelty of the two concepts in the Lithuanian

language, though foreign authors have used the concept of

educology for several decades, and the concept of

andragogy was introduced even in the 19
th century. The term educology has been derived from the two

different languages -- Latin and Greek. The Latin word

educatio is defined ambiguously in Latin-Lithuanian

vocabularies. In K. Kuzavinas’ Latin-Lithuanian vocabulary

(1996, p. 275) the term
educatio is translated as education,

upbringing. In K. Jokantas’ Latin-Lithuanian Vocabulary

(1995, p. 328) the term educatio is translated as

suavity/good training. In Italian-Lithuanian vocabulary (Petrauskas V., 1983, p. 250) the term educatione is

translated as upbringing, training; teaching, education. In

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

100

English-Russian vocabulary (1979, p. 429) the term

education is translated as obrazovanie, prosveščenie. Itmeans the Latin word educatio is translated controversially

in the context of educational sciences. There is no wonder

since the compilers of the vocabularies had no striving to

deeply analyze educational phenomena.

The Greek word “
logos” (λογος) means “language,reasoning, word, argument” (Dumčius J., 1989, p.299),

however it does not mean “science” as many researchers

often declare. On the other hand, reasoning is certainly an

element of scientific activity. That is why “
logos” can be

treated as science in a way. In Greek the word “science”

means
epistimi (έπίστήμη, Salnova A.V., 2000, p. 429). The

word education has several meanings in Greek: a) diafotisi

(διαφωτιση, Salnova A.V., 2000, p. 498); b) morfosi

(μορφωση, Ioannidis A.A., 1983, p. 559); c) paideia

(παιδεια, Ioannidis A.A., 1983, p. 559). Dumčius J. (1989,p. 259) translates paideia as upbringing. In the context of

educational phenomena it is not the most exact translation,

e.g. the combination of Greek words ministry of education

contains the word paideia for education - (Υπουργειο

Παιδειαξ).

The Russian word vospitanije into Lithuanian is

translated as upbringing, education (Lemchenas Ch., 1982,

p. 253), and in Greek - anatrofo (ανατροφή, Ioannidis A.A., 1983, p. 84). Hence, in Greek “child education” (ugdymas)

would be not paideia (education or švietimas) and not pais

(child or vaikas), but anatrofo. That is why science of child

education (ugdymas) in Greek would be anatrofo epistimi

(anatrofoepistimija); for formulation of this word in

Lithuanian the help of specialists would be important. –

K.P. and I.S.) or at least anatrofologos (anatrofologija), but

not paidos gogos, as it was suggested by S. Šalkauskis, the

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

101

great scientist of pedagogy, and many Lithuanian authors

keep to this explanation. Literally, paidos gogos means

guidance of a child, and this combination reflects education

as process. Figuratively, pedagogy could mean education

because a child is guided spiritually. But pedagogy cannot

be the science of education, which researches educational

process. Here we can make an important conclusion: the

Greek word
pedagogy could have the same meaning as the

Lithuanian word ugdymas (child education). But, what is

the Greek translation of science of education? Literally it

would be paideia epistimija or paideia logija. In Latin it

would be educatio science, in English – educational

science. Educology as a combination of the Latin and

Greek words should also mean educational science.

Literally, educology means educational science or

knowledge about education: educology = educational

science = education + logos.

Pedagogy in Lithuanian usually means science of child

education, and andragogy means science of adult self

education. Logical analysis of the concepts raises the

question of why the two terms are defined as a science when

the structure of the words does not contain the epistimi or

logos suffixes? The hint of inaccuracy of the concept

pedagogy can be found in the works of S. Šalkauskis:

Nowadays pedagogy is usually treated as a science. The object of

this science is child education [
ugdymas or child education – K.P.

and I.S.]. [S. Šalkauskis, 1992, p.2]

The doubt can be felt in the words of S. Šalkauskis about

whether the term
pedagogy is the most appropriate name for

educational science, since the author places two

qualifications in his definition. The first one is “nowadays,”

and the second is “usually.” It could seem the author allows

other interpretations, but the one mentioned was taken as the

basic one, and it was used for almost the whole of the 19th

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

102

century till the appearance of the term
educology in the

Lithuanian pedagogical culture. Besides, S. Šalkauskis

notes the root of
pedagogy contains the word child (in

Greek, the referent of the word pais is child, and the referent

of the term andros is human being). It is interesting that

Šalkauskis suggests that two other terms could be used

beside
pedagogy: pedagogija, meaning the art of education,or practice reflecting educational process, and pedalogy, or

child study (S. Šalkauskis, 1992). It means that S.

Šalkauskis understood pedagogy as educational science,

pedalogy as child study, and pedagogija as educationalprocess, since in Greek paidagogike(techne) stands for art of

upbringing, signifying process, and process of adult

education could be andragogy. According to the semantic

meaning of the word
educology, educational science should

not be pedagogy, but anatrofology, having translated

education into Greek and added the word -logos.

Andragogy, meaning “logos of self-education”, should be

andralogy. However, the terms pedalogy and andralogy are

not appropriate because pais stands for child, and andros for

human being, but science of child is not the same as

educational science, and science of human being is not the

same as science of self-education. That is why the

relationship of the concepts illustrated in Diagram 2 is not

valid in a scientific approach.

Meanwhile the scheme in Diagram 3 can be appropriate

in a scientific context. On the other hand, the concepts

presented below would bring chaos in conceptualizing and

discerning educational phenomena, and all of them should

be defined anew. But perhaps it is a necessary step to take

in order to create an exact system for classifying and

identifying all educational phenomena.

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

103

Diagram 2.

Process and subject are treated as the same dimension,

and it is not exact in scientific approach

Logical analysis of the concepts allows us to make the

assertion that the term
pedagogy should mean the process ofchild education, and the term andragogy has as its referent

the process of full adult self-education. It is important to

note that the set of all educational phenomena includes child

education, child partial self-education and adult full selfeducation.

Moreover, these processes are part of the larger

process of maturation of human beings. Children are

initially educated, then as they mature, the educational

process evolves into partial self-education, and as children

emerge into adulthood, the educational process transforms

into full self-education. Child education, partial and full

self-education comprise the set of educational phenomena

involving all the other educational phenomena, e.g. teaching

and learning, training and self-training, upbringing and selfupbringing,

etc.

PEDALOGY

(“child study”)

ANDRALOGY

(“study of human being”)

EDUCOLOGY

(educational science)

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

104

Diagram 3 Phenomena composing education as process

Conclusions

1. The analysis of the concept of educology shows this

term is not used widely, but it has been used from the

mid 20
th century.

2. The analysis reveals different scientists use the term

educology differently, and do not indicate specificity of

its research object.

3. Our analysis of the concept of
educology permits us tostate that educology means educational science, which

involves such phenomena of educational reality as child

education, child partial self-education and adult full selfeducation.

Distinctive branches of educational sciences

analyze aspects of the educational process, e.g.

pedagogy for child education, and andragogy for adult

full self-education. Hence, educology could be

understood as a science of education (
švietimo mokslas),

not as a part of it, e.g. science of child education

(ugdymo mokslas).

PEDAGOGY

(child education)

ANDRAGOGY

(adult education)

PROCESS OF CHILD EDUCATION/ CHILD

PARTIAL SELF-EDUCATION

PROCESS OF ADULT FULL SELF-EDUCATION

EDUCATION

(CHILD EDUCATION (PAIDEIA), CHILD

PARTIAL SELF-EDUCATION AND

ADULT FULL SELF-EDUCATION)

(processes)

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

105

4. It is an obvious necessity that e the concepts of pedagogy

and andragogy need revision. Semantically the do not

convey the meaning of science, which should be

expressed by the Greek words “epistimi” or “logos.” It is

possible to choose to set aside the term
educology infavor of educogogy (education as process) in order to

keep the same semantic paradigm. Then we would have

pedagogy for process of child education, andragogy for

process of adult self-education, and educogogy for

process of education in general. These concepts would

mean process, but not science. On the other hand, the

term
educology is a hybrid of the Latin and Greek

words, and merger of the two different cultures in one

word could indicate that the term is inappropriate

semantically and scientifically. Could it be more precise

to use the Greek word
paideia instead of the Latin

educatio, and to name educational science as

paideology? (The Lithuanian author J. Vabalas-Gudaitis

made such a suggestion many years ago).

5. Questions which need to be addressed within the

educational scientific community include the following:

Is the referent of the term educology a new,

undiscovered phenomenon of educational reality,

which has not been defined by any established

educational science?

Could educology (paidealogy) be treated as

educational science, which involves the three main

phenomena: child education (teaching, training,

upbringing, etc.), child partial self-education (limited

freedom in learning, self-training and selfupbringing),

and adult full self-education (learning,

self-training, self-upbringing and etc.)?

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

106

If educology has no specific research object, could it

be treated as science, which systematizes all the

knowledge about education and encompasses all the

research on educational phenomena (child education,

partial child self-education and full adult selfeducation)?

Would it not be worth organizing an international

discussion to decide on the main concepts describing

phenomena of educational reality, which could

become an “Esperanto” version in the science of

education, and be understood by the researchers in

all the countries? In such a case is it necessary to

decide which language should be the basic one for

the definition of the concepts. Greek? Latin?

English? Or is it possible to use the words of the

Esperanto language?

Notes

1 A more detailed explanation is given in Diagram 1.

Describing the concept of educology L. Jovaisa uses the

term
ugdymas, which in the Lithuanian language should

be understood as child education, but not as education,

encompassing child education (ugdymas), child selfeducation

or partial self-education (ugdymasis) and adult

education or full self-education (saviugda). Therefore

there is a logical contradiction in the definition since

permanent human education encompasses all the stages

of human life - from childhood to senescence.

International Journal of Educology, 2003, Vol 17, No 1&2

107

References

1. Bitinas B. (1996). Aktualūs edukologijos mokslo vystymo

klausimai.

2. Bitinas B. (2000). Ugdymo filosofija, Vilnius, Enciklopedija.

3. Bolšoj anglo-russkyj slovarj (1979), M.

4. Dabartinis lietuvi
ų kalbos žodynas (2000). Vilnius, Mokslo ir

enciklopedijų leidybos institutas

5. Dumčius J. (1989). Graikų kalba, Mokslo leidykla, Vilnius.6. Edukologijos idėjos Lietuvos švietimo sistemos modernizavimui

(1998), Kaunas, Technologija.

7. Edukologijos studijos Lietuvos mokyklai (1998), Kaunas,

Technologija.

8. Fisher J. (2001). Universal And Unifying Experiental Research

Methopdology In The Domain Of Educology//Pedagogika, t.51, p.

146-167 arba 168-189.

9. Ioannidis A.A. (1983). Russko-novogre
českij slovarj, M., “Russkij

jazyk”.

10. Jakavi
čius V. (1998). Žmogaus ugdymas: įvadas į edukologijos

studijas, Klaipėda, Klaipėdos universiteto leidykla.

11. Jokantas (1995). K. Lotynų-lietuvių kalbų žodynas, Aidai.12. Jovaiša L. (1993). Edukologijos įvadas, Kaunas, Technologija.

13. Jovaiša L. (2001). Ugdymo mokslas ir praktika, Vilnius, Agora.

14. Jucevi
čienė P. (1997). Lyginamoji edukologija, Kaunas,

Technologija.

15. Jucevičienė P. (1997). Ugdymo mokslo raida: nuo pedagogikos iki

šiuolaikinės edukologijos, Kaunas, Technologija.

16. Kantas I. (1996). Grynojo proto kritika. – Mintis.

17. Kuzavinis K. (1996). Lotyn
ų-lietuvių kalbų žodynas, Mokslo

enciklopedijų leidykla, Vilnius.

18. Petrauskas V. (1983). Italų-lietuvių kalbų žodynas, V., “Mokslas”.

19. Pukelis K. (1999). Edukologija: kas tai?, “Pedagogika”, t. 38,

Vilnius.

20. Pukelis K. (1998). Mokytoj
ų rengimas ir filosofinės studijos,

Kaunas, Versmė.

21. Pukelis K. (1995). Mokytojų rengimas ir tautos kultūra, Kaunas,

Aušra.

22. Salnova A.V. (2000). Gre
česko-russkij i russko-grečeskij slovarj,

M., “Russkij jazyk”.

23. Šalkauskis S. (1991). Rinktiniai raštai.

24. Tarptautinių žodžių žodynas (2001). Vilnius, Žodynas.


An Article in Philosophy of Educology

International Journal of Educology

2005 Lithuanian Special Issue


54

The Impact of Philosophical Trends on the Conceptualisation of an Educology of

Vocation (A Paper in Philosophy of Educology)

Eugenijus Danilevicius

Associate Professor of Educology

Vilnius Pedagogical University

Introduction by Co-Editors

This article is one in philosophy of educology in that it considers philosophical trends

in the conceptualisation of knowledge about vocational education and training, i.e. of

an educology of vocation. It philosophically inquires into the nature an educology of

vocation, finding: (1) existentialistic, humanistic, romantic, idealistic, and radical

humanistic; (2) materialistic, behavioural, and libertarian, and; (3) progressive,

pragmatic, post-modernistic, and critical thinking philosophical trends, as they relate to

personality development in vocational education and training theory, programs, and

curricula.

Introduction by Author

On the basis of psychologically and philosophically oriented scientific resources, this article

analyses philosophical aspects of personality development in the context of an educology of

vocation. A classification of philosophical trends of personality development in educology is

presented, as they are involved in vocational education and training. Also presented is an

investigation of the impact of philosophical trends in an educology of vocation, as these trends

are oriented toward persons and their productivity and skill development in problem solving.

Finally, perspectives for methodological research continuity in educology are foreseen and

conclusions are presented.

Part 1

Background

In the background of rapid economical, social, and technological changes, the paradigmatic

research of issues involved in an educology of vocation is advanced by exploring its

philosophical basis. Such research can enrich vocational education and training theory and give

impetus for new scientific investigations in educology. This enables vocational education and

training practitioners to enlarge their decision possibilities and help to reconsolidate

philosophical trends and main values that ground their working activities, in that “at an abstract

ideal level, the interchange of scientific and practical areas causes a more rapid provision of

knowledge than at a specific level of means and methods” (Astley and Zammuto, 1992, p. 444).

The development of an educology of vocation raises the following fundamental paradigmatic

issues: (1) What philosophical trends function as the bases for the development of an educology

of vocation? (2) Which direction of an educology of vocation should be chosen, one that is

oriented by personality development or one oriented by personality productivity? (3) What

aims should prevail in an educology of vocation, one giving priority to general- or one giving

priority to special-mono-professional skill development?

Lithuanian scholars Laužackas (1999), Pukelis (1998), Šernas (1997), Kavaliauskiene (2001)

and others emphasise the importance of a methodological and philosophical basis for an

educology of vocation. Pukelis (1998) investigates the relationship between educology as a

science and philosophy as a science and claims that trends in both of these sciences "try to

relate thought and activity and foresee the methods and perspectives of the latter.” (p. 204)

55

A great number of foreign researchers, Swanson (1995), Russ-Eft (1996), Kuchinke (1998),

etc., state that an educology of vocation, as an educology of vocational education and training

programmes, should include the exploration of paradigmatic and philosophical foundations of

vocational education and training.

The developers of vocational education and training strategy and of designs for curriculum

have to analyse current vocational situation, and what is of utmost importance, they have to

construct future perspectives for critically evaluating possible models of ideal systems for

vocational education and training. It is at this normative level that paradigmatic issues arise and

differences between alternative personality development trends originate from different

philosophical traditions.

However, an educology of vocation, as an educology vocational education and training

systems, lacks attempts to solve these paradigmatic issues with regard to a mature concept of

personality development.

Therefore, the purpose of the research in this article is to carry out the analysis of philosophical

trends of personality development in the context of an educology of vocational education and

training. The pursuit of this purpose was guided by the following educologically oriented

rationale:

(1) the classification of philosophical trends of personality development being

presented in the context of an educology of vocation as an educology of vocational

education and training;

(2) the investigation of the impact of person-oriented philosophical trends in educology

being based upon the development of vocational education and training;

(3) the exploration of the impact of productivity-oriented philosophical trend in

educology being based upon the development of vocational education and training;

(4) the examination of the impact of principal problem solving skill-oriented

philosophical trends in educology being based upon the development of vocational

education and training, and;

(5) in the context of an educology of vocational education and training reform, the

continuity in perspectives of methodological research being defined.

Within this educologically oriented research rationale, research methods were applied to

aspects of the analysis of psychological and philosophical research literature in respect to

information systematising, and structurising.

Part 2

The Classification of Philosophical Trends of Personality Development in the Context of an

Educology of Vocational Education and Training

The theoretical and practical areas of vocational education and training oriented educological

research are often grounded on various personality concepts that are difficult to define. A

critical analysis and verification of the application possibilities of these concepts are necessary

for theoreticians and practitioners developing the theoretical background of the curriculum in

order to find more possibilities to carry out thoughtful solutions and refine scientific and

practically oriented educological conclusions.

56

In vocational education and training educological theory, three alternative personality

development trends are distinguished, all of which derive from different philosophical

traditions, as follows:

(1) Person-oriented philosophical trend in educology raising self-realisation and

individuality issues as indicated by ideas originating in humanistic psychology and

liberalism;

(2) Productivity-oriented philosophical trend in educology concentrating on labour world

tasks as indicated by ideas originating in behaviourism and libertinism;

(3) Principal problem solving skill-oriented philosophical trend in educology directing the

development of active, critical, and cognitive thinking skills of a person as indicated by

ideas originating in cognitive psychology, progressivism, and pragmatism.

Every trend of personality development lays a constructive basis for the determination of the

role and functions in educology for the profession of vocational education and training.

Theory and practice of the profession of vocational education and training, as based on an

educology of vocation, can be related to one of these three different personality development

philosophical trends. These trends can further be classified according to the classical theories of

Kohlberg and Mayer (1972) which discern three different educologically oriented ideological

movements, i.e. the ideology of romantic, the culture transmitting, and the progressive

movements. Knowles (1984) expresses a similar idea emphasising the mechanical

behaviouristic, cognitive, and humanistic educologically oriented models, each of them being

related to a unique learning strategy and being based on “three different personality structure

concepts” (p. 6).

These philosophical trends of personality development complement an educological theory of

vocational education and training and each of them enriches the practice of the profession

based on this theory. On the other hand, new ideas that have emerged out of a vocational

education and training educological theory and practice can help to surmount the existing

limitations of philosophical trends and adequately respond to the challenges of the rapidly

changing world of work.

Table 1 illustrates the classification of different philosophical trends according to the core goal

of personality development, applying the method of information systematisation and

structuralisation. The core goals are those of person-oriented, productivity-oriented, and

principal problem solving skill-oriented personality development. Each of these trends

originated from different philosophical traditions and each creates specific assumptions about

human nature, the working world, and the development of society.

Table 1. Classification of personality development philosophical trends according to

educological goals

Feature of Personality development philosophical trends

personality

development

philosophical trend

Person-oriented

philosophical trend of

education

Productivity-oriented

philosophical trend of

education

Principal problem solving

skill-oriented

philosophical trend of

education

Major theses

defining personality

development

Competent and effective

self-education striving

for personal identity and

Personality

development is

ensured by acquisition

Personality development

is fostered by a “dialogue”

between personal

57

vocation discovery and

fully-fledged selfrealisation

(Maslow,

1979)

of knowledge,

abilities, skills,

attitudes and values

necessary to carry out

work activity functions

perfectly

cognitive structure and

elements comprising the

environment. Selfdevelopment

through

thinking stimulating

activity

Concepts

identifying a

philosophical trend

Needs hierarchy

Two factor theory

Role theory

Quality of work

activity

Problem solving

Cognitive thinking

Other parts of the article describe the relationship between each of these philosophical trends,

in an educology of vocational education and training systems, in regard to the determination of

the merits and demerits, as well as the analysis, of their inter-discrepancies.

2. Person-oriented philosophical trend in educology

Person-oriented concept of educology as originated from the philosophical traditions of

idealism, humanism, and romanticism (Fig.1).

Fig.1. Philosophical origins of person-oriented educology

Romanticism is an intellectual movement that reached the apogee at the end of the 18th century

and the beginning of the 19th century. (Flew, 1979) According to the followers of romanticism,

the major personality development principles are based on internal personal growth and on

strengthening the relationship with one’s internal reality in consideration of the imperative by

Kant (1724-1804) that a person should always be treated as an end in her/himself.

The founders of the humanism theory, Allport (1897-1967), Maslow (1908-1970), and Rogers

(1902-1987), under the influence of the ideas of existentialism, transferred the principles of

romanticism to contemporary educology, psychology, and sociology.

A great many Lithuanian researchers in an educology of vocation, as the educology of

vocational education and training, are in favour of postulates oriented by humanism. The

principles of this philosophical movement and attitude toward personality development are

expressed in central positions of the normative documents of (1) Lithuanian Conception of

Education (1992) and (2) Vocational Education and Training White Papers (1999). The major

goal of an educology of vocational education and training is to develop a conscious,

independent, active, and mature nature to meet national and state needs, lifelong learning needs,

and universally creative personality needs, while actively participating in the processes

involved in the development of a democratic society. (White Papers, 1999, p. 19) One of the

four educological principles of Lithuanian education is that of a principle of humanism, stating

EXISTENCIALISM

(Kierkegaard, Heidegger)

HUMANISM

(Maslow, Rogers)

ROMANTIC

IDEALISM

(Rousseau)

RADICAL

HUMANISM

(Aktouf)

PERSON-ORIENTED

PHILOSOPHICAL TREND OF

EDUCOLOGY

58

that it is necessary to create and implement “personal worthiness, respect for every

individuality, freedom of choice, humanistic relationships based on values peculiar to all

human beings at all stages of vocational education and training, and person-oriented teaching

programmes that satisfy human needs” (White Papers, 1999, p. 21).

Foreign scholars also ground the development of contemporary theories in humanistic

principles. Here are some of the major statements of these theories.

(1) Maslow (1970) as the founder of the human needs hierarchy theory that is based on

a latent developmental sequence of person’s internal life, i.e. of a latent personality

development, wherein, the goal of a person is self-actualisation;

(2) Herzberg’s (1966) two factor motivational theory as based on the model of cohering

contradictory internal needs and external tasks in persons, revealing the psychological

origin of the “major contradiction between the subjective and objective aspects of the

vocation;” (Laužackas, 1999, p. 26)

(3) Deming (1982) and others as representatives of a total quality management theory

grounded on the factual vocational preparation of their employees, wherein, their

motivation is expressed by internal intention to perform efficiently.

Person-oriented philosophical trends in educology discover and reveal the qualities of inborn

internal good, natural human health, and they search for methods of making personal sense and

personal expression actual. Personality is considered active, rational, self-aware, and complex,

having the empowered freedom to develop the awareness of dignity and the feeling of being

responsible for making sense of one’s life. A student is fully allowed to reveal herself/himself

in one’s work by whatever she/he has the potential to be. It is implied that every person tends to

positive values, emphasizing the importance of person’s internal states and feelings and the

importance of carrying out duties, aptitude, achievement, objectives, and responsibility. Other

life factors do not satisfy the person by themselves, in that they are only important to the extent

of internal personality growth and awareness and the experience of happiness and health.

With regard to educology of vocation institutions, the person-oriented philosophical trend in

the educology of vocational education and training demands the creation of an environment

that stimulates personality growth, in which every student can fully reveal and use her/his

internal experience, inborn aptitude, and externally trained skills. In this respect, educology of

vocation institutions fully perform their functions when all the obstacles for student’s selfexpression

are eliminated and a learning/teaching environment, based on openness and respect,

is nurtured in which individual creativity can manifest itself. However, applying these merits in

practice is bound to face the major hindrances of inertness and rigidity that are socially and

individually entrenched in existing vocational education and training systems for a long time,

hence, systems that are likely to resist new structural changes.

Aktouf (1992) maintains a radical humanistic point of view and insists that educology of

vocational education and training institutions aim to “develop student’s attitude to working

experience as a real self-continuation, a possibility for self-expression, and satisfaction of one’s

personal needs and interests” (p. 419).

This philosophical trend in educology is based on striving for human development in which

each person is responsible for her/himself, hence, responsible for developing her/his internal

potential and other inner life experiences. This is the basis for the development of self-control

and responsibility for her/his life experiences and independence in all spheres of work. Personoriented

philosophical trends in educology suggest accepting the disposition that students are

the core priority of vocational education and training systems.

59

Focusing on the subjective-personal aspect of an educology of vocation, this philosophical

trend in educology does not analyse the objective aspect, i.e. economic labour market demand

aspect, in vocations. After the ideas of the person-oriented philosophical trends in educology

have become methodological foundation of vocational education and training, the

contradictions between the subjective and objective aspects of vocations have become more

acute, as during the teaching/learning period a personal development goal is emphasised,

whereas having gained the qualification and started work activity, the graduate encounters

economic market laws which challenges he is not yet ready to accept. In the working world

where laws of competition prevail, personality growth is not the major goal.

Part 3

Productivity-Oriented Philosophical Trend in Educology

This educologically oriented concept derives from behaviourism and libertarism philosophy

(Fig. 2).

Fig. 2. Philosophical origin of productivity-oriented educology

If person-oriented philosophical trend of education focuses on personal needs and goals,

productivity-oriented philosophical trend of education raises a different goal for personal

development – enlarge the person’s productive capacities. Vocational educational and training

goal is to transmit knowledge, rules of social behaviour, develop skills and abilities necessary

to perform a vocational activity efficiently. Personal development is fostered by the acquisition

of knowledge, abilities, skills, attitudes and values necessary to react properly to the demands

and to satisfy external needs. This philosophical trend of education is closely related to role

theory (Stryker and Statham, 1985). Personal development is evaluated according to the degree

of correspondence of two factors – a measurable, valuable behaviour and expectations of the

performed role, whereas in case of person-oriented approach it was evaluated by person’s

feelings, thoughts or other internal states. Dooley (1940) expresses the position of productivityoriented

philosophical trend of education: “The purpose of vocational education and training is

to increase labour productivity, i.e. solve productivity problem through person’s education.

This method “helps a person to use what he has learnt in the work activity and acquire specific

skills” (Swanson, Torraco, 1995, p. 2).

According to productivity-oriented philosophical trend of education, the major goal of

education is to seek for personal development in order to satisfy working world demands.

Working world is understood as a purpose-oriented entity, constructed, organised and governed

to fulfil a set of objectives. A person’s goal is to help realise these objectives, whereas the goal

of vocational education and training is to provide a future worker with necessary knowledge,

abilities and skills to empower him to perform specific defined functions. The measure of

personal development is the necessary level the employee achieves to perform his role and to

help labour work institution to achieve its general goals.

MATERIALISM

(Darwin, Pavlov)

BEHAVIOURISM

(Skinner)

LIBERTARISM

(Smith, Friedman)

PRODUCTIVITY-ORI ENTED

PHILOSOPHICAL TREND OF

EDUCOLOGY

60

This philosophical trend of education helps to rapidly find answers to clearly determined

problems. Applying this philosophical trend of education, a vocational education and training

institution can provide a student with knowledge, abilities and skills necessary to perform a

clearly defined objective activity. Using productivity-oriented philosophical strategy of

education, vocational education and training institution can provide a necessary help to the

student by teaching; however, this requires necessary preconditions: clear aims, reliable and

well-known methods and accessible resources to achieve them. Science of management,

various theories of labour world development and industrial relationships are predominantly

based on productivity-oriented philosophy of education.

This philosophical trend of education, having its major goal to increase the person’s

productivity, in a single-sided way focuses on the objective aspect of vocation, i.e. on carrying

out the objectives of economic market, whereas the subjective aspect of the vocation is

examined only as far as the achieving of this goal concerns. Thus, in this case, a person is one

of the means necessary to carry out economic market objectives, i.e. a person is treated like an

object. This unethical and inhuman attitude contradicts a personalistic norm that states that a

person is a non-reductive subject and can never be treated like an object because of his innate

dignity and unique internal experience (Wojtyla, 1997). Ignoring this personalistic norm in

vocation-labour relationship creates theoretical assumptions for negative tendencies that open

up a possibility to use and exploit a person; it also causes deformation of vocation choice

motivation: On the one hand, it makes pure rational and pragmatic motives absolute; on the

other hand, it suppresses inner personal incentives, as well as the discovery of individual

vocation calling and self-realisation. When the ideas of productivity-oriented education become

the methodological basis for vocational education and training strategy, the major vocation

contradiction between a subjective and objective aspects of a vocation becomes more acute as

learning/teaching emphasises the performance of specific objectives of the economic market

and obtaining of knowledge, abilities and skills necessary for that purpose, whereas person’s

internal experience and needs are ignored.

Part 4

Principal Problem Solving Skill-Oriented Philosophical Trends in Educology

This educological concept was derived from philosophical trends of progressivism, cognitive

thinking, pragmatism and postmodernism (Fig.3).

Fig. 3. Philosophical origin of principal problem solving skill-oriented educology

Principal problem solving skill-oriented philosophical trend of education emphasises not

revealed, innate, latent personality features and possibilities; productivity-oriented model of

education stresses the importance of the tuning of person’s relationship with requirements of

CRITICISM

(Kant)

Progressivism

(Kohlberg)

Cognitive thinking

theory (Anderson)

Pragmatism

(Dewey, James)

Postmodernism

(Kincheloe)

PRINCIPAL P ROBLEM

SOLVING SKILL-ORIENTED

PHILOSOPHICAL TREND IN

EDUCOLOGY

61

external environment; whereas principal problem solving skill-oriented philosophical trend of

education aims at solving the demerits of the former two educational strategies giving priority

to the development of cognitive thinking.

The first component of the theoretical foundation of this educational philosophy is ideology of

progressive education which indicates “active thinking changes caused by problem solving

situation experience” (Kohlberg and Mayer, 1972, p. 455) as major personality development

factors. This postulate reveals and discloses the principal concept of progressive trend of

education. In a certain social problem-solving situation, progressivism emphasises the aspects

of interaction and dynamism. It gives priority to experiential learning method and concentrates

on active person’s participation in a problematic problem solving situation. A particular

importance is attached neither to internalisation of aims and values nor to immediate reactions,

impulses or emotions but to “models of actively changing reactions to problematic social

situations” (Kohlberg and Mayer, 1972, p. 455). In this case it is aimed at finding a solution

that would satisfy all the participants of the designed specific situation.

The second component of the theoretical foundation of this philosophy of education is

cognitive psychology and its main assumption that cognition as a mental personality structural

component internally organises separate systems, structurising the experience of our external

world. Cognition selects information about the environment that surrounds a person, acquired

experiences, the importance attached to this experience and the general perception of the world.

However, these cognitive structures are not fixed, they tend to change. Cognitive personality

development rises from a “dialogue” between personal cognitive structure and the elements that

comprise the environment. In every situation the priority is given to thinking that helps to better

integrate various needs of the participants and solutions and helps to discern the most important

and optimal ones.

Bandura (1986) advocates for a similar trend; his social cognitive theory (SCT) suggests an

alternative for traditional postulates, which base work activity on internal motives (e.g., various

needs, strive for self-actualisation, etc.) or externally governed factors (e.g., encouragements,

fear, etc.). According to that theory, person’s behaviour is determined not only by internal or

external factors, it is created in a dynamic and mutual interaction between personal,

environmental and behavioural factors. From the point of view of SCT, a person is an

independent and active agent seeking to achieve various goals: some of them coincide with a

concrete institution of the working world; some of them coincide with social, others with

economic or personal goals. A person sets goals and standards, manages the behaviour related

to the achievement of these goals, uses control and consciousness and displays human power

(Bandura, 1997).

With the use of critical thinking and problem solving, major goals of principal problem solving

skill-oriented education are formulated: functional optimisation of the situation; integration of

internal and external needs; balance of inter-competitive statements.

Instead of defending the importance of self-development and achievement of external goals in

the context of a certain problem situation requirements this educational method suggests a

continuous correction of various parameters, requires courage to review earlier solutions, and,

investigating the assumptions once more, constructively discuss the dynamically changing

needs of all the situation participants.

In the principal problem solving skill-oriented philosophical trend of education, vocational

education and training strategy merges with the concept of qualitative work activity, defined by

Kincheloe (1995) as oriented to democratic self-control and responsibility for himself and

others. In the social sphere, working world provides a possibility for every participant of the

activity to express himself in a creative and responsible way. In this context integrity and

62

relationship between essentially different personal, social and natural worlds of an individual is

an expression of humanism.

The major merit of this vocational education and training strategy is the preparation of the

student to creatively solve the challenges of the working world and its systematic nature. In a

rapidly changing world, a future employee, taking into account the resources, interests, and

needs of all the participants of the process, makes efforts to find the solutions to complex

democratic economic market problems and becomes capable of finding responses to the

questions of global social justice and implementation of democratic values. This philosophical

trend of education suggests solving complicated problems in a creative way and bears a

potential to create situations where everybody can win. When economic and social goals

intersect, a principal problem solving method represents value orientation. This vocational

education and training strategy suggests treating the student as a creatively thinking explorer

(Kincheloe, 1995) and aiming at ensuring real personality development and working potential

growth owing to learning and experimentation. Besides, this philosophical trend in educology

offers a new understanding of work activity, treating work as an interesting occupation that

provides satisfaction and that stimulates creativity and efficiency. The use of a principal

problem solving skill-oriented learning method can help find preconditions for reducing the

major contradiction in vocations.

A personality development model requires a long lasting commitment which is often relative

because of inert vocational education and training systems and traditions that have settled down

during many years. Not all the students can apply a time-consuming problem solving based

learning/teaching method in their pedagogical activity, on the other hand, not all the students

are intellectually capable or subject efficient to rationally develop their cognitive thinking.

Besides, some types of work do not require the use of broad-range high-level cognitive abilities

and rational problem solving skills. For these reasons it is possible to conclude that a principal

problem solving skill-oriented learning/teaching strategy can be applied in vocational education

and training selectively.

Part 5

Conclusions

1. Vocational education and training theory distinguishes three alternative personality

development strategic trends that derive from different philosophical traditions: (i) personoriented

education aiming at self-realisation and individuality and based on the ideas of

humanistic psychology and liberalism; (ii) productivity-oriented education focusing on working

world objectives and based on the ideals of behaviourism and libertarism, and, (iii) principal

problem solving skill-oriented education having the major aim to develop active, critical, and

cognitive thinking skills of a person. The theoretical foundation of this education lies in the

sources of cognitive psychology, progressivism, and pragmatism. Every trend of personality

development creates a basis for determining the importance of roles and functions of a

vocation.

2. The major goal of person-oriented education is to foster full-fledged dissemination of

internal needs, intentions, and experiences of a person to ensure the discovery of one’s identity,

vocational calling, and overall achievement of self-actualisation. The main merits of this

education are that favourable conditions are created for the student to reveal and use his inner

experiences, inborn talents, and trained skills. The main demerit is lack of examination of the

objective aspect of vocation, i.e. the aspect of economic labour market demand.

3. The major goal of productivity-oriented education is to increase the productive capacity of a

person by them striving for personality development as it involves acquiring knowledge,

abilities, skills, values, and social behaviour rules necessary in the vocation to satisfy working

63

world demands. The most important merit is education, i.e. the merit of a student becoming

equipped with knowledge, abilities, and skills that are demanded by actively defined objective

work activity. The major demerit is the single-sided focus on the objective aspect of the

vocation, i.e. on carrying out economic market demands, wherein, the person is treated like an

object, i.e. treated as one of the means necessary to fulfil the demands of the economic market.

4. The major goal of the principal problem solving skill-oriented education is to develop

person’s active, creative, and cognitive thinking skills for solving complicated problem

situations and enabling a person to creatively face working world challenges and experience

and to master the power of one’s inner, personal, and human potential. The most important

merit of such education is that of a student becoming prepared to creatively encounter and solve

working world challenges. The major demerit is that this philosophical trend in educology has

to be applied for vocational education and training selectively.

5. Vivid labour market changes, during the past years, demand more flexible employees who

are open to innovations; who have more universal skills, and; who are able to adapt to more

complicated technologies. With regard to these demands and changes, vocational education and

training reform in Lithuania is oriented toward conducing experiences in the European Union

countries, in which standards are designed, new strategies are created, and priorities are

foreseen. The solutions to these fundamental, paradigmatic problematic objectives call for

broad-range and more open methodological research of philosophical foundations in

educology.

References

Aktouf O. (1992). Management and theories of organizations in the 1990s: Toward a critical

radical humanism? Academy of Management Review, 17(3), 407-431.

Astley W. G., Zammuto R. F. (1992). Organization science, managers, and language games.

Organization Science, 3, 443-460.

Bandura A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory.

Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Bandura A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: W.H. Freeman.

Deming, W. E. (1982). Out of the crisis. Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Flew A. (red.), (1979). A dictionary of philosophy. New York: St. Martin's.

Herzberg F. (1966). Work and the nature of man. Cleveland, OH: World.

Kincheloe J. L. (1995). Toil and trouble: Good work, smart workers, and the integration of

academic and vocational education. New York: Peter Lang.

Knowles M. S. (1984). Adult learning: theory and practice. In L. Nadler (ed.), The handbook of

human resource development. New York: John Wiley and Sons.

Kohlberg L., Mayer R. (1972, November). Development as the aim of education. Harvard

Educational Review, 42(4), 449-496.

Laužackas R. (1999). Sistemoteorines profesinio rengimo kaitos dimensijos. Kaunas: VDU.

Baltoji knyga. Profesinis rengimas. (1999). Vilnius.

Maslow A. H. (1970). Motivation and personality. New York: Harper and Row.

Maslow A. H. (1979). The Farther Reaches of Human Nature. New York: Penguin Books.

Pukelis K. (1998). Mokytoju rengimas ir filosofines studijos. Kaunas: Versme.

Stryker S, Statham A. (1985). Symbolic interaction and role theory. In G. Lindzay and E.

Aronson (eds.), The handbook of social psychology, Vol. 1. New York: Random

House.

Swanson R. A., Torraco R. J. (1995). The history of technical training. In L. Kelly (ed.), The

ASTD technical and skills training handbook. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Wojtyla K. (1997). Asmuo ir veiksmas. Vilnius: Aidai.


An Article in Philosophy of Educology

International Journal of Educology

2004, Volume 18, Number 2

128

An Educology of Vocation on a Theological and Philosophical Basis

(An Essay in Philosophy of Educology)

Eugenijus Danilevicius

Associate Professor of Educology

Vilnius Pedagogical University

Introduction by Co-Editors

This article is one in philosophy of educology, i.e. in philosophy of knowledge about education, in

that it presents a theological and philosophical basis for such knowledge about vocational

education and training, i.e. for an educology of vocation.

Introduction by Author

This article delivers a theological and philosophical basis for an educology of vocation, using

educological, theological, and philosophical scientific resources. This scientific theoretical research

analyzes the contribution of theology and philosophy to an educology of vocation. Furthermore the

article investigates the practical methodical aspects of an educology of vocation.

Part 1

Goal of an Educology of Vocation

Present-day Lithuanian society stands ahead of the challenges that call for the preparation involved

in joining NATO and the European Union. Lithuania, as every country, needs more enterprisers,

teachers, doctors, officers, and others specialists, which may not be only good experts in their

profession, but are people who are working “from vocation” or in other words are “right persons in

the right place.” In the background of rapid economical, social, and technological changes,

paradigmatic research in an educology of vocation advances its exploration into its theological and

philosophical basis. Such research can enrich the theory of educology of vocation and it can give

impetus for new scientific investigations in educology.

The main goal of an educology of vocation is to provide support for the young people to find

themselves, including finding a purpose of life, through the concrete sphere of professional

activity. An educology of vocation gives the theoretical basis, and searches for the ways and

methods, of how to educate students to their capacity so that they can find and unfold themselves in

an individual vocation. A theology of vocation states that man formulates the answer to the

question of an individual vocation through a fateful dialogue with God. Man and God – two

liberties – are in a loving dialogue about individual man’s vocation. The art, in this dialogue, on the

man’s side, is to hear God’s call, to understand, to accept, to follow, and finally to incarnate it.

In Lithuania, the conception of vocation started to develop at the end of the XVI century. J.

Bretkunas (1536-1602) was the first who used the concept of vocation in written sources. This

author emphasizes the theological aspect of vocation by saying: “Our dear God wants that every

man may put on the load by his caste and vocation, that God destines him, and man may hold it as

a duty to put it on, first of all, for the glory of God and after, for service to the intimate.”

(Bretkunas, 1983 p. 323-324) Another Lithuanian classic, M. Valancius (1801-1875), emphasizes

the importance of giving sense to life through working activity.

Bishop K. Paltarokas (1928) discloses one more important aspect of the successful choice of

vocation, which “has considerable impact on the sense of the dignity of man’s life,” when he says:

129

“Man feels joyful just when he fulfils vocation, whereas, wrongly selecting a vocation leads to the

fall of honor, even sometimes, to inner rottenness.” (Paltarokas, 1928, p. 449) As a result, the

support of man in finding his vocation “depends on fosterage and education as the most important

tasks” and “necessary in this field it is necessary for common work to include three factors, i.e. the

family, school and Church factors.” (Paltarokas, 1928, p. 450)

In Lithuania, educology of vocation was dehumanized during the soviet occupational period (1940-

1990). The freedom of activity by theoretical and practical educologists of vocations was

constricted and the research in the conduct of educology of vocation was deformed by the

intervention of a materialistic ideology.

Now, in Lithuania, it is necessary to begin a truly organic educational programme for the

promotion of an educology of vocation for students. The young people of Lithuania live in a

culture that is pluralistic, ambivalent, "polytheistic," and neutral. On the one hand, they are

passionately searching for authenticity, affection, personal relationships, and wider horizons, while

on the other hand, they are fundamentally alone, wounded by afflictions, and some are deluded by

ideologies and confused by ethical disorientation. A pluralistic and complex culture tends to

produce young people possessing an incomplete and weak identity with consequent chronic

indecision in the face of vocational choices. In addition, many young people do not possess the

elementary knowledge of their existence. Educology of vocation is searching for ways to help

young people to find their identity and to endure being faithful to an individual vocation.

Educologists of vocation are aware of the difficulties of communicating with young people, of their

lack of real educational planning, and of the theological-anthropological weakness in certain aspect

of what they are being taught. The conception of vocation and strategy in an educology of

vocation is not developed enough.

Therefore, the purpose of the research in this article is to carry out the analysis of philosophical and

theological trends in an educology of vocation. The pursuit of this purpose was guided by the

following rationale:

1. Exploration of the essential cause of contradiction between strivings for personal selfrealization,

for completeness of the purport of life, and for the enforcements of personality

from the side of the system of the work market in the context of an existential

anthropology.

2. Exploration of the impact on the concept of man’s vocation that provides a personalistic

conception of personality.

3. Exploration of the impact on the concept of man’s vocation that provides a theological

conception of personality.

4. Discernment and presentation of a practical methodical subject matter and of the main

elements of an educology of vocation.

Part 2

The Conception of Vocation in the Context of Existential Anthropology

The question of the meaning of life, the striving to know one’s self and one’s place in history

comes into existence in the heart of every man. Every life has one’s exclusive and particular

vocation that is related to the reality of life and the actuality of existence. The completeness of the

purport of life and the essence of every vocation is Love.

130

John Paul II states: "The discomfort that reveals, through the world of young people, even in the

new generations, pressing questions on the purport of life, is confirmation of the fact that nothing

and no-one can smother in man the demand for meaning and the desire for truth. For many, this is

the field in which the vocational search is placed." (John Paul II, 1997, p. 4).

St. Thomas Aquinas analyses the dualism of human being and determines it as standing on the limit

between two worlds – time and eternity. The world of time is the reality of nature (body) and the

world of eternity is the actuality of spirit (soul).

Apostle Paul defines the contradiction in man that involves his body and soul. It is the

contradiction that comes as the consequence of the first Fall, as the spiritual struggle between Evil

and Good: “For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want. Now if [I] do what I do

not want, it is no longer I who does it, but sin that dwells in me” (Rom 7, 19-20).

The contradiction between body and soul, which is inside man, reflects his existence. Therefore,

many scholars of synergy call man’s existence as the struggle between opposites. However, a

person seeks the reconciliation of these opposites in his existence. The inner contradiction (that is

inside of personality) between the involvement of the material body and the spiritual soul projects

itself in the exterior sphere of life and assumes the image of the contradiction between the strivings

of the personal self-realisation, i.e. the completeness of the purport of life, and the enforcements of

the personality from the side of the system of the work market.

Lithuanian scholar J. Girnius (1991) introduces ontological and theological elements, when he

analyses the concept of man’s vocation. This author excludes the dual character of man’s existence,

i.e. the existence of the carnal body that depends on time, and the existence of the spiritual soul that

depends on eternity. This scholar defines two aspects of vocation:

1. Temporal or universal: “In the world of time, our task is the striving of the cultural

mastering of earth and the subordination to man’s will the power of it.” (Girnius, 1991, p.

248)

2. Eternal or spiritual: “The dependence on the spiritual world obliges concern about our

spiritual perfection or speaking in theological terms – the salvation of soul.” (Girnius,

1991, p. 248)

When this author analyzes the correlation between these two aspects of man’s vocation, he

signifies that eternal-spiritual man’s vocation “particularly incarnates in the temporal vocation.”

(Girnius, 1991, p. 248) Therefore, the first aspect of vocation is an end, whereas the second aspect

of vocation is a means to an end. Basically, there is given for us only one vocation, i.e. the vocation

of seeking and struggling for our spiritual perfection.

This scholar concludes: “The truth of the oneness of human vocation is this, that eternal vocation is

immanent (interior) and, at the same time, it is transcendental (exterior) for temporal vocation”

(Girnius, 1991, p. 248).

Another Lithuanian scholar A. Maceina (1990) states that two factors determine every vocation:

1. The nature of man that frames the faculties to to some kind of work.

131

2. In society, the life of man highlights those faculties, which allow for man to selfactualize

himself and turn his life in some kind direction.

This author names the discovery of the individual vocation as the discovery of the essence of self.

He calls the rejection of this vocation as the suppression of the destiny of individuality, the

noncompliance of his duty, and the disregarding of a universal ideal.

A. Maceina (1985) emphasizes that, essentially, personality is called to freedom and only in it man

finds his existential meaning and the opportunity to seek his basic vocation – the eternity.

V. E. Frankl (1959) calls the search of the purport of life as the core of personality. When the

pathfinder of logo-therapy researches the uniqueness of the man’s vocation and the importance of

its discovery, he states: “The searching of the abstract meaning of life should have no use.

Everyone has his particular mission of life that must be embodied, consequently nobody could

change it, and nobody can repeat his own life. Therefore, the task of every man and the opportunity

to actualize it is identically unique.” (Frankl, 1959, p. 102) This author states that, an existential

vacuum can originate in man’s inner life, if the person does not comply or bow to his vocation of

life. This existential vacuum frustrates personality, causes aggression, depression, the formation of

addictions, and could lead to drug habits, crimes, or suicide.

Russian philosopher V. Solovjov (1922) defines vocation as a particular idea, “which the divine

thought prescribes to every moral being”, this idea (vocation) manifests itself in consciousness “as

the highest task,” i.e. as the acting “real force,” which determines “all life of moral being.”

(Solovjov, 1922, p. 181) This author states that vocation should not be treated as a privilege or

predominance, but vocation should be understood as a duty or service.

The Lithuanian contemporary scholar V. Šernas (1995) presents the picture of a mature and ideal

personality (Fig. 1) and prescribes eight characteristics, from which can be framed the picture of

the development of man’s existence.

(Fig. 1) The conception of mature and ideal personality (Šernas, 1995, p. 65)

This given model of a mature and ideal personality (Fig. 1) reflects the main objectives that consist

in the existence of a man and the interior life of a person:

a) to search for truth, wisdom, and harmony;

b) to be creative and moral;

PERSONALITY

Social man

(homo socialis)

PAŠAUKIMAS I

AMŽINAJI GYVENIMA,

TOBULUMA)

s

omenini

mog

PRIEMONES

cialis

(PAŠAUKIMAS

PAŠAUKIMAS I

AMŽINAJI GYVENIMA,

TOBULUMA)

I AMŽINAJ

Man-assessor

(homo valens)

Harmonious man

(homo concoris)

Man-creator

(homo creator)

Luminous man

(homo lucens)

Man-producer

(homo faber)

Moral man

(homo moralis)

Wise man

(homo sapiens)

132

c) to reason and assess;

d) to participate in the social life and share the cumulated light experiences with other

people.

Part 3

The Personalistic Conception of Personhood and Man’s Vocation

The personalistic conception of man is the essential opponent of the materialistic ideology that

asserts that the essence of man is defined, in its entirety, by social relations and does not belong to

personality.

The materialistic understanding of reality negates the interior-spiritual aspect of personhood and

every vocation involves only the simple result of physiological and psychological circumstances.

According to these purely materialistic and naturalistic presumptions, vocation loses the basis of

subsistence and is understood merely as a particular necessity that is rooted in body, sex, and the

nature of personhood.

In the works of the famous personalists E. Mounjer (1930) ir K. Wojtylos (1970), we can find

many significant features of personhood, though the main personalistic attitude being that

personhood is indeterminable and a person can never be treated as an object. The main features of

personhood are subjectivity (interior-spiritual life) of the person, freedom, and creativeness.

Personhood is the dynamical coherence of body and soul. Personalists realize that existence is a

permanent struggle in which persons discover courage.

Personalistic norms state that a person is always a subject and a human being can never be treated

as an object.

A person has the need to be in the community and create the society together with other persons:

“The subject nourishes not one self (autodigestion), but he has only that which he gives or this to

whom he devotes. The person cannot escape, socially or spiritually, by himself.” (Munje, 1996, p.

84)

It is not enough to identify man as an individual of the species “homo sapiens.” There is something

more in man, which can only be brought out by the term “person” and which may indicate that man

is a rational being. But, K. Wojtyla (1996) goes on to bring out more fully the implications of this

rationality by introducing the element of interiority. He introduces a new theoretical development,

when going beyond the cosmological understanding of man. In the works of this scholar, all

features of personhood, i.e. subjectivity, consciousness, free will, self-determination, self-mastery,

experience, etc. are related to the interior-spiritual life of a person. The reference to the interiority

of a person frames a methodological and hermeneutical element in K. Wojtyla’s analyses. The

capacity of possessing himself from within, in acts of self-determination, is what makes a person

something more than individual.

The personalistic ethic of this author extends the conception of the interior-spiritual life of

personhood. Foremost, this scholar states that persona, as a subject, differs even from the most

consummate animal by the interiority and individual life or interior life, a difference which later

author defines as spiritual life.

K. Wojtyla introduces two important characteristics of personhood:

133

1. The ability to self-determinate, i.e. choice by free will. The Latin sentence that the

person is sui juris (master of himself) illustrates this characteristic.

2. The feature of personhood that the person is alteri incommunicabilis (irreducible and

irreplaceable) manifests itself in relation with other people.

Therefore we have the personalistic clarification of the antic in the Latin sentence: “Persona est sui

juris et alteri incommunicabilis.” The person is an irreducible subject, which never can be treated

only as the result of the emotional conditions that are under the sway of external and inner

circumstances. The person is not only the substance (subiectum), but also is the bond with other

persons, the truth, and God.

The dimension of the subjectivity of the person always implies the inner experience that signifies

the originality, the uniqueness and the unrepeatablility of personhood. K. Wojtyla’s contribution to

phenomenology is a phenomenology of experience and the explicit grasp of interiority as a

defining dimension of consciousness and personhood.

The transcendental concept of the person (the mastership of himself or of one’s dynamism) means,

that man is “beyond” his acts and “beyond” his object of acts.

According to the personalistic theory, man’s vocation is self-knowledge, self-discovery, and selfdonation

to others.

K. Wojtyla (1997) states that man’s vocation – conscious self-donation – is possible when man is a

self-master. Man can consciously donate himself exclusively to what he has mastered. This scholar

defines the structure of self-mastery and “having self,” i.e. having personhood, when he analyses

the proper meaning of the concept of actus. This concept, related to self-determination and selfrealization

through action, has not only an exterior-temporal aspect, but it has an interior-persistent

aspect. Therefore, when a person performs an action, thanks to conscious self-determination, man

is led to a true completeness and actualization of the structure of self-mastery and the “having of

self” i.e. the having of personhood. In such a dynamic cycle, man’s vocation exists as an

axiological reality that consists in the deeper layer, i.e. in an ontological reality of self-realization

through action that is the privilege of man.

The concept of vocation is closely related to the personal world and the order of Love. It has no

meaning in the world of objects. There are no vocations, in the natural order, in which reigns

determinateness and instincts, but not the abilities to choose or make resolutions. The concept of

vocation implicates the ability to personally be disposed towards an end, i.e. the attribute implying

the existence of a rational and conscious being. Therefore, vocation is the exclusively personalistic

concept that uncovers the deep range of man’s interior life. At the level of perception, the reduction

of the meaning of the concept of vocation diminishes the possibility of discovering links within this

range. Commonly, the concept of vocation is associated only with the administrative and juridical

field, i.e. vocation is associated with a certain post or vocation to be a member of a certain

organization, etc. As such, vocation is treated exclusively as the calling to accomplish a particular

work or office. The inner world of personality is ignored absolutely. Such an exterior, i.e. such an

“institutional,” conception of vocation reduces the significance of man, especially the significance

of his inner life. In the search guided by the problem of a conception of vocation, educological

researcher should include both meanings of the concept of vocation, i.e. the exterior and interiorpersonal

meanings.

134

The mood to dedicate all life to the nurturance of particular values is the par direction of the

dissemination of every man’s potencies. Every person must exactly define that direction. On the

one hand, man should consider what he himself has and what he can contribute to others, and, on

the other hand, the man should understand what the environment expects of him. One of the most

important factors in the formation of personality is that of ascertaining the possibilities of one’s

activities and appropriate disposition, not so much in regard to presence among persons, but in

regard to the inner life. Where man is called, he should not only love somebody, but more, he

should act by “giving away himself” with Love. Such self-giving could be the most creative act for

a person, in that the more he self-gives the more he self-realizes.

Personalists admit that considerable stress exists in the meaningfulness of activity. In this point we

can discover the spiritual community between a personalistic philosophy and an educology of

vocation, in that both branches of knowledge “attempt thought to relate with action, to anticipate its

methods and perspectives.” ( Pukelis, 1998, p. 204)

However, personalists are inclined to reduce the significance of professional vocation in the

development of personality. K. Pukelis (1998) concludes: “Personalists are right, when they do not

confine only with professional vocation, but they are in principle not right, when they are ignoring

the significance of professional vocation in man’s life.” ( Pukelis, 1998, p. 198) This scholar gives

a warning that the attempt to introduce the abstract conception of vocation into an educology of

vocation could become a faulty phenomenon. He says: “Without this (professional vocation)

category the conception of vocation becomes abstract. Vocation of personality cannot be

“abstract”. The person reaches to concretize vocation, because only in this case man finds that he

lives meaningful. Man is like the birth: the one wing of it is beloved man, the other wing –

favourite work. Family and profession are these two fields, where man concretizes his vocation.”

(Pukelis, 1998, p. 198)

Vocation contains the basis of subsistence only in the personalistic understanding of the existence

of man, when the conscious discovery of vocation provides to a person the direction of life and

activity.

Part 4

The Theological Conception of Man’s Vocation

In searching to form the comprehensive conception of personality’s vocation, in an educology of

vocation, it is necessary to involve the theological aspect.

The dignity of man characterizes the facts that he was created in the image of God and that he can

follow free will in his decisions. The person is irreducible and irreplaceable (alteri

incommunicabilis), he is self-master, and, additionally, man belongs only to his Creator, the

belonging grounded in the fact that man is God’s creation: “For we are His handiwork, created in

Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.”

(Eph 2, 10) “The person transcends the natural world and the order of the person does not contain

itself in the natural order.” (Wojtyla, 1997, p. 327)

The evangelical vision of man’s existence bases vocation no only from within, but it defines itself

as the call of God. Thanks to Love, the demand to ascertain the direction of the dissemination of

man’s potencies emerges from the inside of persons. This demand accords with God’s call to be

perfect through Love. Every man of good will should apply this common call to himself and at the

same time the person should concretize it by choosing the main direction of his life and by

ascertaining for what he is called. Personality should develop this direction in consideration of

135

what man has himself, what he can give, and what the others – people and God – are anticipating

from him.

Man “unites” and “self-realizes” then, when he loves he affirms the value of the addressee of his

act.

Every man is calling to search perfection (holiness): “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is

perfect.” (Mt 5, 48) “God created man from Love and now He is calling man to love that is main

and inborn vocation of every man.” (Kataliku Bažnycios Katekizmas (CCC), 1996, p. 341) “God is

Love” (l Jn 4, 8).

The ways to realize this main theological vocation could be different (Fig. 2).

Fig. 2. The spectrum of the realization of theological vocation of every Christian

(cf. CCC, 1996)

“Society is necessary to the realization of man’s vocation. If we want to achieve this end, we

should stand to the right hierarchy of values, in which the material and controlled by instincts fields

should be subordinated to the inner and spiritual fields of man” (CCC, 1996, p. 395). Society must

form the possibility for all of its members to realize his vocation. Common good especially

manifests itself by using the natural freedom that is necessary to the spreading of vocation, i.e. by

using the right to act according to his truthful conscience, the right to the security of private life,

and the right to freedom in the field of religion.

All Christians, in disregard to theirs incumbent or social status, are called to the complete Christian

life and perfect Love.

Family is the natural community and vocation in which to love and share and in which man and

woman are called to devotion to each other and to donate the life that is man’s vocation to

fatherhood and motherhood. Parents must obey the vocation of child and help him to develop it.

The part of the vocation of laity is the participation in the political activity and the organization of

social life. The laity believers are called with the Christian devotion to animate the earthly reality

and be the witnesses and founders of peace and justice.

Vocation to

the

Priesthood or

Monkhood

The Main Theological Vocation to Perfection (Holiness) Mt

5,48)

Realization of

Professional

Vocation

realizacija

Social and

Political Activity

Vocation to

Family

ALL CHRISTIANS ARE CALLED TO CHOOSE:

136

The motive of Love to God and neighbor sometimes is so strong that man transcends one’s natural

needs to make family and have a favourite profession, and he embraces supernatural vocation to

become a priest or monastic by the determination of free will. This is really not the way of many

people. Life, according to this way, means the response to God’s call, the self-donation to others,

and the sacrifice of one’s personal life for others.

Decalogue is the light of the conscience of every man that exposes for him God’s call and that

protects him from evil. Vocation to the eternal life is supernatural, because “Revealing Himself,

God reveals himself and man’s vocation.” (CCC, 1996, p. 431) The first vocation of a Christian is

to follow Jesus. (cf. Mt 16, 25) Grace is God’s help to man to fulfill his vocation.

Man’s vocation to the eternal life does not cancel, but increases man’s responsibility to use all,

from the Creator that is received and that strengthens the means to be in the service for justice and

peace in the world. All religions are testaments that the search for God is man’s essential subject

(cf Acts 17, 27), but God calls
, by name, every man. (cf. Iz 43, 1; Jn 10, 3) God is the spring of

every comfort and the Author of every vocation. Man could find his personal vocation so, that he

“[people] might have life and have it more abundantly.” (Jn 10, 10) If man might keep his ears

open and he might respond to God’s call, he might have trust in the Creator.

In regard to vocation, every period of life is significant, especially the moments when a child opens

himself to life and when later he wants to understand the purport of life, i.e. when questions arise in

him about his role in life. Every man has an intended individual vocation from the moment of birth,

wherein, really he is called to a vocation in life. The ideal model of education of man, who is open

to vocation, is presented in Fig. 3. This model reflects the main direction of vocation as the seeking

of perfection (holiness), thanks to Love.

SOCIAL FACTORS

MASS MEDIA

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

THE CHURCH

CHILD

VOCATION TO LIFE IN THE

WORLD

GOD (LOVE)

(VOCATION TO THE ETERNAL

LIFE, THE PERFECTION)

FATHER MOTHER

G O D

(LOVE)

M WITH LOVE

E

I

L

E

WITH LOVE WITH LOVE

WITH LOVE

137

Fig. 3. The ideal model of education open to the vocation of man

In theology, vocation could be defined by the John Paul II words, when he says: “The history of

vocation of every Christian is the history of the beyond expressible dialogue between God and

man, the history of dialogue of liberty between calling God’s Love and responding man with

Love.” (Jonas Paulius II, 1996, p. 75) The new evangelization should again proclaim the powerful

sensation of life as vocation in the fundamental calling to perfection (holiness). The new

evangelization should renew culture and become beneficial to various vocations. Every Christian

vocation is particular, because of the question of freedom of every person. This question requires

an especially personal response.

For man, who has the sensation of faith, the law that works in the spiritual sphere is relevant in

which the more a person approaches the Creator by decision from his free will, the more the

selection of the way of life is fitting with God’s plan and man feels fulfillment for his appointed

mission. This law provides the person with the experience of comprehensiveness and

meaningfulness of his actions and earns him the flight of creativeness. Thus, in the theological

sense, professional activity assumes aspects of the response to God’s call and the purporting of life.

Lithuanian scholar R. Laužackas (1999) analyses the subjective aspect of profession with reference

to the four types of vocation, i.e. the theological, indirect, individual and social vocations. (Fig. 4).

Fig. 4. The interaction between the subjective and objective aspects in the conception of profession

(R. Laužackas, 1999, p. 27)

R. Laužackas (1999) analyzes this typology of vocation and states that all other vocations (indirect,

individual, and social) were originated from a theology of vocation and only later, in the

developing of the history, “the significance of individual and social vocations was strengthened in

the place of the understanding of vocation as the God’s call” (Laužackas, 1999, p. 25).

Part 6

Educology of Vocation

The educological part is developed within the theological aspect of vocation and is dedicated to

practical methodical subjects. From the theologically oriented educological perspective, the main

educators of vocations are the parents, mentors, teachers, catechists, and priests. The main

educological bodies are the groups, communities, oratories, schools, and above all, families.

Educology of vocation uses education that is underlying vocation and is grounded by the

accompanying method, and conforms to the method of the creative witness of personal vocation.

THE CONCEPTION OF PROFESSION

THE SUBJECTIVE ASPECT THE OBJECTIVE ASPECT

Theological vocation

Indirect vocation

Individual vocation

Social vocation Social significance

Individual significance

Functional significance

138

The educology of vocation is founded on Gospel and is inspired by Jesus who is the example of the

extraordinary vocational promoter-educator. This is the educology that every vocations promoter

must know how to implement, the recognition of the Lord who calls, in order to lead the young

persons to respond to Him.

Theology contributes, to an educology of vocation, five precise evangelical educological elements,

i.e. to sow, to accompany, to educate, to form, and to discern.

(1) To sow

This element of an evangelically oriented educology of vocation is founded on the parable of the

sower (Mt 13, 3-8) that reflects these characteristics of vocation:

(i) Christian vocation is the dialogue of Love between two between two liberties – God’s

and man’s. God always holds in respect the decisions of man’s free will.

(ii) Educators of vocation follow the principle to sow the call to discover and develop his

vocation into the heart of everyone without preference or exception. Every human being is

a creature of God and he is also the bearer of the gift, of a particular vocation which is

waiting to be recognized.

(iii) Educators of vocation follow the principle of sowing and proclaims, proposes, and

arouses, with identical generosity. It is precisely the certainty of the seed, placed by the

Father in the heart of all creatures that gives the strength to go everywhere and sow the

good seed of vocations, i.e. of not remaining within the usual limits of a social

environment but of confronting new social environments in order to attempt different

approaches and to address all persons.

(2) To accompany

In order to describe the educological expression of accompanying, as an element in an

evangelically oriented educology of vocation, as it implies the elements of educating and forming,

the story of the two disciples of Jesus on the road to Emmaus is relevant. (Lk 24, 13-16) In the

story of these two disciples it is not difficult to recognize the image of so many young people today

in that they are a little saddened and betrayed and seem to have lost the desire to look for their

vocation. Therefore, the first step in an educology of vocation is to approach and support young

people to realize the seed of vocation that was sown in their heart. The second step is to further

intelligence in young people in their accompaniment.

In the way of discovering vocation, the educator, first of all minds the journey of Jesus’ disciples

towards their maturity of faith. When doing this, the educator of vocation gives witness to his own

choice, or rather, his own being chosen by God, i.e. he recounts — not necessarily with words —

his own vocational journey and the continual discovery of his own identity in the vocational

charisma, and therefore recounts, also, or allows to be understood, the difficulties, the newness, the

risk, the surprise, and the beauty in this journey.

(3) To educate

From an evangelically oriented educology of vocation perspective, after conducting the stages of

establishing the elements of sowing and accompanying, in respect to young people, then, comes the

stage of educating young people in the way of vocation. Educologically speaking, educating, as

139

the leading out from nothing, in the etymological and semiotic sense of the word, is e-ducere or

drawing out truth, as it exists in the hearts of young people, but, as yet they do not know, especially

truth as knowledge about themselves, i.e. knowledge about their weaknesses and aspirations that

encourages in them the desire to know the freedom of the vocational response. So, in the semiotic

sense, educating means e-voking the truth of the I. This evocation arises precisely from the

praying invocation.

In this third stage, educating is self-knowing involving: (1) the acceptance of the mystery of the

part of the I that has to be discovered, and; (2) the knowledge for interpreting life and invocation

(e-vocare).

Educating is the invitation of young man to self-actualize and to continuously seek self-identity,

and to the preparation of him to accept that he does not know, i.e. that he cannot know completely.

(4) To form

The fourth stage is that of formation of a young person and is, in some way, the top of the

educological process, in that it is the moment in which the young person is proposed with a form,

i.e. a way of being, in which he himself recognizes his identity, his vocation, and his norm. The

person who is the formator of vocation places himself beside the young person to help him

"recognize" his call, and to allow himself to be formed by it. In the stage of formation, the young

person is asked for the best he can be so that he can become and be himself.

The principle of the formation of vocation is to educate the anthropological truth that life, by its

nature, is a gift and could be complete, if the direction of the self-donation dominates in life. This

principle is founded on the evangelical encouragement: “You received without pay, give without

pay.” (Mt 10, 8)

(5) To discern

The fifth stage, involving the principle of discernment, is the last stage on the way to vocation, i.e.

on the way to the effective choice of the one called. The choice of vocation indicates newness of

life, but in reality it is also the sign of a recovery of one's own identity, i.e. almost a return to the

roots of the I.

From the evangelically oriented educology of vocation perspective, it is very important, in the

preparation for the choice of vocation, to reaffirm the idea that the choice represents the condition

necessary for being oneself and realizing oneself according to that singular project that can only

give happiness.

On the way to one’s vocation, the link between the experience of God and self-discovery is very

important. The feature of maturity of vocation is when the act of faith manages to connect the

Christological recognition with the anthropological self-recognition, then being when the seed of

vocation is already mature.

Vocational maturity is decided by an essential element that truly makes sense of all existence, i.e.

the element of the act of faith. The authentic vocational option is, in all effects, the expressions of

believing and adhesion, with the more genuine the expression is, the more it is part of and a

conclusion to a journey of formation in the maturity of faith.

Part 7

Conclusions

140

From the above, the following conclusions follow.

1. The contradiction between the strivings involved in personal self-realization, i.e. the

completeness of the purport of life, and the enforcements of one’s personality, from the

side of the system of the work market, is the projection of the inner conflict, as a state

inside of one’s personality, that exists between the springs of the material body and the

spiritual soul. The main task of an educology of vocation is the task involved in the

discovery of man’s vocation, and is one of the essential components necessarily involved

in the reduction of this contradiction.

2. The personalistic conception of personality provides to an educology of vocation the

basis of subsistence, as the personalistic norm that a person is irreducible and irreplaceable,

i.e. the norm that provides the summary that the ultimate decision in life depends on man

making the choice involved in the existential questions in life as questions about the

purport of life, the discovery of self-identity in life and the vocation in life.

3. From the theological perspective, in an educology of vocation, the dignity of man

characterizes the facts that he was created in the image of God and that he has the calling to

seek absolute perfection. The evangelical conception of man’s existence, from the

perspective of an educology of vocation, not only involves the inside of a person, but, and

as to God’s call to be perfect through a donating Love.

4. Educology of vocation uses the education that underlies a vocation and is grounded by

the methods of accompaniment and conformation as methods that involve the creative

witness of personal vocation. Theology contributes to an educology of vocation by five

precise evangelical educological elements, i.e. the elements to sow, to accompany, to

educate, to form, and to discern.

References

Bretkunas J. (1983). Rinktiniai raštai. Vilnius.

Frankl V. E.(1985) Žmogus ieško prasmes. Vilnius.

Girnius J. (1991). Raštai. T. 1. Vilnius.

Jonas Paulius II. (1996). "Pastores Dabo Vobis". Vilnius.

Laužackas R. (1999). Sistemo-teorines profesinio rengimo kaitos dimensijos. Kaunas.

Lietuvos Vyskupu Konferencija. (1996). Kataliku Bažnycios Katekizmas. Kaunas.

Maceina A. (1985). Dievas ir laisve. Chikago.

Maceina A. (1990). Pedagoginiai raštai. Kaunas.

Munje M. (1996). Personalizmas. Vilnius.

Paltarokas K. (1928). Pašaukimo parinkimas. Tiesos kelias, Nr 7-8.

Popiežiškoji dvasiniu pašaukimu globos draugija. (1999). Nauji pašaukimai naujajai Europai (In

verbo tuo…). "Bažnycios žiniu" lietuviškas vertimas (teksta internetui parenge Kataliku interneto

tarnyba). http://www.lcn.lt/b_dokumentai/kiti_dokumentai/nauji_pasaukimai.html

Pukelis K. (1998). Mokytoju rengimas ir filosofines studijos. Kaunas.

Solovjov V. (1922). Nationale und politische Betrachungen. Stuttgart.

Šernas V. (1995). Profesine pedagogika. Kaunas.

Šventasis Raštas. (1998). Vilnius.

Wojtyla K. (1997). Asmuo ir veiksmas. Vilnius.


An Article in Educology
International Journal of Educology

2005 Lithuanian Special Issue

 
51

Creativity: Can it be Trained?

A Scientific Educology of Creativity
Daiva Karkockiene

Assistant Professor of Psychology

Vilnius Pedagogical University
Introduction by Co-Editors

The intention of the introduction by the co-editors adheres to the meaning of the following

statement from the first paragraph in the Recurring Editorial that started in the 2005 issue of cd-

IJE.

“The format for future content recognizes the existence of the newly forming body of knowledge, i.e. philosophy of

educology, as knowledge about educology, and the existence of the already developing body of knowledge, i.e.

educology, as knowledge about education.”

The author’s paper, in accord with the Recurring Editorial, is in educology and directly inquires,

using quantitative methods of research, with the scientific educological question:

“Can creativity be taught in the educative experiences that organically inhere in the teacher education program at

Vilnius Pedagogical University?”

The author, from the editorial’s perspective, does not directly inquire with the axiologic and

praxiologic educological questions, respectively, as:

“Ought students be taught creativity in educative experiences that organically inhere in the teacher education

program at Vilnius Pedagogical University?”

nor

“How can students be taught creativity in educative experiences that organically inhere in the teacher education

program at Vilnius Pedagogical University?”

Also, from this perspective, the author does not directly inquire with the philosophy of educology

questions:

What is knowledge about educative experiences organically inhering in educational processes, i.e. what is

educology?

and

What is the significance of educology?

Introduction by Author

Over the course of half of the last century, psychologists have had a particular focus on creativity

abilities training. Developing educational programs that help to enhance students’ creativity is

among the most important goals of our educational system. The present study was undertaken to

explore: (1) the university student’s creativity ability, and; (2) the possibility of developing an

effective program for enhancing this ability.

cd-International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special Issue

52

The research deals with problems of how to deliberately develop and systematically stimulate

students’ abilities to think creatively as well as to evaluate the dynamics of this ability on their

own. The study reported in this article is based on humanistic and creative psychology theories.

The Conception of Creativity

Creativity is one of the most complicated concepts in psychology. “There is no universal

agreement on what creativity actually is.” (Wallace, 1986, pg. 68) Definitions of creativity differ,

but they have in common their emphasis on people’s ability to produce products that are not only

high in quality but also novel. (Sternberg, 2001)

Thus the concept of creativity is defined differently but nevertheless many authors agree with

creativity involves characteristics connected with the ability to find or do something new. The

realization of the creative ability depends, not only on knowledge and skills, but also on the use of

quick and different kinds of information found in tasks requiring this ability.

The literature on creativity discusses two main approaches: the cognitive approach (creativity as a

cognitive process) and the personality approach (personal characteristics of creative persons).

Life span development and social context influence are often discussed, also.

Humanistic Approach to Creativity

Humanistic theories claim that the human capacity for growth is central. Creativity, according to

humanists, is a part of being a healthy human being. Human nature is understood as being

conscious, self-direct, self actualizing, and healthy.

A. Maslow (1971) suggested that creativeness and the concept of the healthy, self-actualizing,

fully-human person seem to be coming closer and closer together, and may recognize that

creativity takes place in a social context. In the 1980s a social psychology of creativity emerged

by recognizing the cognitive, differential, and developmental perspectives. (Simonton, 2000, pg.

154)

D. K. Simonton argued that socio-cultural environments (especially political environments)

impact the degree of creativity. Warfare and anarchy depress the output of creative ideas. On the

other hand, nationalistic revolts against oppressive rule tend to have a positive way for increasing

the amount of creativity. Many nations have experienced golden ages after winning independence

from foreign domination. An open society and cultural heterogeneity tend to facilitate creativity.

(Simonton, 200, pg. 155)

Complex and Holistic Views of Creativity

Some scholars understand creativity in a more holistic view. R. Sternberg, L.A. O’Hara, and T.

Lubart (1997) proposed an “investment theory of creativity.” The basic notion of their theory was

that in making any of kind of investment creative people “buy low and sell high.” To develop

creativity we need to understand what the resources of creativity are and help people to develop

them. In other words, creativity is buying low and selling high. (Sternberg, O’Hara, and Lubart,

1997)

cd-International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special Issue

53

Research into creativity often focuses only on creative thinking. But creative thinking is only one

of six resources of creativity. In summary, creativity training requires investing in six distinct

interrelated resources, all of which must be present in some combination to get a positive result.

* knowledge: knowing what is new, not just reinvented;

* intellectual abilities: generating, evaluating, and executing ideas;

* thinking styles: a preference for thinking in novel ways by one’s own

choosing;

* motivation: making a move, having fun;

* personality: determination and persistence in overcoming obstacles;

* environment: one that supports the investment game and spreads risk.

K. Urban (1990) developed a “components model of creativity” constituted of six elements: three

cognitive elements -- (1) divergent thinking (problem sensitivity, fluency, flexibility, originality,

and elaboration); (2) a general knowledge base, i.e. broad perception, convergent, logical

thinking, analyzing and synthesizing, thinking, and memory); (3) a specific knowledge base/skills,

and; (4) personality elements; (i) motives (drives to knowledge, curiosity, need of novelty,

playfulness, self-actualization, communication, devotion/duty, need of control, and instrumental

use); (ii) task commitment (perseverance, concentration, object/product/topic, devotion, and

relaxation, and; (iii) tolerance to ambiguity (risk taking, non-conformism, openness for

experience, adaptation and resistance, and humor).

There are different definitions of creative thinking in that: (1) creative thinking involves the

collaboration of a person’s imagination, cognitive abilities, and the whole personality (Morgan,

Forster, 1999); (2) creative thinking is a dynamic mental process and includes both divergent and

convergent thinking (Guilford, 1956), and; (3) creative thinking involves different “facets” of

creativity including the creative process, the person, and a solution. (MacKinnon, 1965)

Many scholars agree that creativity is a complex phenomenon and involves the collaboration of

different components. (Gardner 1983; Amabile, 1996; Sternberg, Lubart, 2005; Urban, 1990)

The Effectiveness of Creativity Training

Can creativity be trained? The belief that creativity an be enhanced is discussed and common

consensus holds that creativity can be enhanced because human potentials can be fulfilled. Efforts

to enhance creativity will not expand one’s inborn potentialities but they can insure that

potentialities are maximized. (Plucker, Runco, 1999) Different components of creativity such as

the cognitive, affective, attitudinal, interpersonal components can be enhanced through a

stimulating environment that induces ideas and creates solutions to problems.

Many programs and courses in creativity have proposed ways of seeking to deliberately stimulate

and develop an individual’s creative productivity and achievement. Differences in the

understanding of creativity influence the kind of training strategies applied. Scholars who see

problem solving as a central aspect of creativity use techniques based on heuristics. If the main

aspect of creativity is associational mechanisms, imagery techniques are suggested. There have

been identified a number of general approaches applied in the development of creativity training

including: (1) cognitive approaches; (2) personality approaches; (3) motivational approaches, and;

(4) social interaction approaches. (Scott, Leritz, Mumford, 2004, p.4)

cd-International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special Issue

54

Creativity-development programs attempt to remove two major blocks to creative achievement.

First of all they try to help individuals understand the influence of background, experience, and

habits on present behavior. They help people to perceive themselves as creative beings and to get

rid of internal blocks to creative functioning. Second, these programs provide present conditions

that encourage creative functioning. They remove external blocks (environment, cultural

influences) to creative behavior. (Parnes, 1999)

J. A. Plucker and M. A. Runco (1999) argue that everyone, no matter at what intellectual level,

can enhance his/her creativity if they find, develop, and practice the right tactics. Tactics can be

personal and interpersonal; they can focus on the problem, as a kind of assimilation (e.g. “turn it

on its head”), or on the person who is dealing with the problem, as a kind of accommodation (e.g.

“change of perspective”).

Training programs should include consideration of knowledge, process skills, metacognitive

skills, personality, and attitudes as “motivators” and of environment as context. (Goh, 1993, p.

10) Optimal conditions for creative performance have to pay attention to motivational orientation,

the classroom environment that is conducive to stimulating thinking that is receptive to original

ideas, and personality traits such as willingness to take a risk and having a sense of humor.

(Morgan, Forster, 1999, pg. 31)

The most effective programs are those that try to influence different aspects of creativity –

cognitive, personality, attitudes, behavior, interpersonal, affect, and environmental. Creativity

training, then, can be effective. Sizable effects can be observed using the four major criteria

applied in evaluating training – divergent thinking, problem-solving, performance, and attitudesbehavior.

(Scott, Leritz, Mumford, 2004)

Theoretical Issues and the Goals of the Study

Creativity in this study is understood in terms of cognitive abilities that are involved in creative

thinking expressed by the divergent thinking components of fluency, flexibility, and originality.

(Guilford, 1950; Torrance, 1974; Sternberg, O’Hara, 1999, and; Scott, Leritz, Mumford, 2004, pg.

4)

Divergent thinking is the one component of creative thought understood as the distinct capacity to

generate multiple alternative solutions to problems as opposed to the one correct solution.

Divergent thinking is assessed through open-ended tests that acces thinking about consequences

and alternatives, with responses being scored for influence (number of responses), flexibility

(category shifts in responses), and originality (uniqueness of response).

In this study a special program was created to provide students with creativity capacities training,

including how to make subjective evaluations of their own creativity features (creativity,

originality, ability to generate ideas, and curiosity). The theoretical background of the program is

based on creative psychology and humanistic psychology concepts.

The relevance of this study is that it will begin to establish relatively effective methods for a

creativity training program developed by the author of this research. This program is one of the

first such programs that seeks to know the possibility of enhancing students’ creativity in

Lithuania.

cd-International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special Issue

55

The purpose of this study was: (1) to reveal the changes of students’ creative abilities, and; (2) to

investigate the possibilities of enhancing students’ creative abilities using the author’s program.

Focused on in the study was interactions between students’ creative abilities variation and

subjective evaluation of their own creativity.

Methodology of the Research

Subjects: There were 160 students of Vilnius Pedagogical University (VPU) involved in the

research. All subjects were 22-25 years old (mean age 23). The subjects were randomly assigned

to two experimental (n=80) and control groups (n=80). These students were VPU students who

took part in the seminar “Psychology of Creativity.”

Training Methods: The students participated in a method involved in a special program of

creativity once a week for four months (32 hours). The program was developed in consideration

of students’ cognitive abilities in creative thinking (fluency, flexibility, and originality) as well as

personal aspects. Special (cognitive, personality, imagination, techniques such as brain storming,

drama, and problem solving were used to develop students’ creative abilities. The experimental

group (n=80) took part in the creativity training program, whereas, the control group did not.

Assessment Methods: The level of creative abilities (originality, flexibility, and fluency) was

assessed by using the Torrance Test (TTCT, verbal, form A, 1974). The Torrance Test helped to

distinguish the students’ cognitive parameters of creativity, i.e. originality, flexibility, and fluency.

For evaluating ones own creativity, curiosity, originality, and ability to create ideas, the Dembo-

Rubinstein Method (DRM) was used. The students were asked to evaluate their own (present and

expected) creativity, originality, curiosity, and ability to create ideas.

Results

The study tried to evaluate the program’s effectiveness on students’ fluency, flexibility, and

originality and how the program changed the students’ subjective evaluations of their own

creativity.

A positive effect was observed immediately after the completion of the program. The

comparative analysis, between the experimental and controls groups, in the cognitive parameters

of creativity (fluency, flexibility, and originality) as evaluated by TTCT, Verbal A Form, as well

as subjective evaluations of one’s own creativity by DRM has showed that the special program

was effective, in that:

· All differences between evaluations of creative abilities, arithmetic average of

declarative and control investigations were statistically significant (fluency – t = 5,23;

flexibility – t = 6,28, and originality – t=7,03); p<0.001.

· All cognitive parameters of creativity (fluency, flexibility, and originality) were

improved significantly. The significant effects of the creativity training program on

components of divergent thinking involved all of the parameters of creativity

(originality – t=7,03; flexibility – t=6,28, and; fluency – 5,23); p<0,001

· The creativity training program hanged the students’ evaluations of their own

creativity. The most significant influence was on students’ present creativity

cd-International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special Issue

56

evaluation (p=0,004); expected creativity evaluation (p=0,033); present originality

(p=0,001), and; expected curiosity (p=0,024).

The program was considered very useful by students who pointed to the fact that the program

contributed to the development of their own creative abilities and changed their view of their own

abilities to be creative and original and to create new ideas, also it awoke their curiosity to know

more about creativity.

It was observed that while students from the experimental group perceived themselves as more

creative after completing the program, the students from the control group perceived themselves

to be at the same or even less creative level the second time they were requested to classify

themselves on a scale of creativity, originality, ability to creat ideas, and curiosity. Most students

emphasized the importance of and their interest in the program.

Conclusion

1. There are real possibilities to develop students’ creativity during the learning process in the

university. The program used in the research could be effective for the development of students’

creative abilities and for making an impact on students’ evaluations of their own level of

creativity, originality, ability to create ideas, and curiosity.

2. The data suggested the need to rethink education in universities in order to promote better

conditions for the recognition and development of creative potential. The high demand for

creative persons by society makes a claim for change in all educational systems to make possible

creative talent development and expression. It is especially important to teaching to

pedagogically profile students who will educate the young people in the future. Creative teachers

are able to nurture creative persons who will be responsible for the future of the world.

References

Amabile, T. M.: The social psychology of creativity. New York: Springer – Verlage, 1983.

Amabile, T. M.: Creativity in context. Boulder, CO: Wetview, 1996.

Barron, F: Creativity and personal freedom. New York: Van Nostrand, 1968.

Childs, M: “Father of Creativity” E. Paul Torrance Dead at 87: The College of Education: online

News, The University of Georgia, Monday, July 14, 2003.

http://www.coe.uga.edu/coenews/2003/EPTorranceObit.html

Girese, S: Guest a search for self. New York: Rinehart and Winston, 1977.

Getzels, J. W. and Jackson P.W: Creativity and Intelligence: Explorations with Gifted Students,

New York: Wiley, 1962.

Gardner, H: Frames of Mind. The theory of multiple intelligence, New York: Basic Books, 1983.

Goh, B.E: Developing creative talent: Guidelines for Training Programs // Gifted International,

1993, 8 (1), p. 9-14.

cd-International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special Issue

57

Grakauskaite-Karkockiene, D: Kurybos psichologija, Logotipas, 2003.

Guilford, J. P: Creativity // American Psychologist, 1950, vol. 5. p. 444-454.

Guilford, J. P: Traits of Creativity // Creativity and it Cultivation. New York: Harper, 1959, pg.

142-146.

Karkockiene, D. and butkiene, G: Some Possibilities to Diagnose Students Creativity. In:

Baltische Studien Zur Erziehungs-und Sozialwissenschaft. Buildung im Zeitalter der

Informationsgesellshaft, t. 8. Peterlang, 2003, pg. 203-215.

MacKinnon, D.W: The nature and nurture of creative talent. American Psychologist, 1962, 17, p.

484-95.

MacKinnon, D.W: Personality and the realization of creative potential // American Psychologist,

1965, 20, p. 273-281.

Maslow, A.H: The Further Reaches of Human Nature, New York: Penguin Books, 1971.

Morgan S. and Forster J: Creativity in the classroom // Gifted Education International. Vol. 14, N

1, 1999, p. 29-43.

Plucker J. A. and Runco M.A: Enhancement of Creativity. // M.A. Runco, S.R. Pritzker,

Encyclopedia of Creativity, San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 1999, p. 669-675.

Rogers, C.R: On becoming a person, Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 1961.

Scott, G, Leritz, L.E, and Mumford, M.D: The effectiveness of Creativity Training: a quantitative

review. Creativity Research Journal, 2004, Vol. 16, Issue 4, p. 327-361.

Sheehy, N, Chapman, A.J. and Conroy, W.A: Biographical dictionary of psychology. New York:

Routledge, 2002.

Simonton, D.K: Creativity: Cognitive, Personal, Developmental, and Social Aspects // American

Psychologist, 2000, Vol. 55, 1, p. 151-158.

Sternberg, R.J, O’Harra, L.A and Lubart, T.I: Creativity as Investment // California Management

Review, 1997, Vol. 40, N. 1, p. 8-21.

Sternberg, R.J: What is the Common Thread of Creativity? Its Dialectical Relation to Intelligence

and Wisdom // American Psychologist, 2001, Vol. 56, 4, p. 360-362.

Sternberg, R.J, Lubart T.I, Kaufman J.C. and Pretz, J.E: Creativity // Holyoak K.J., Morrison G.

(Eds.). The Cambridge Handbook of Thinking and Reasoning, 2005. New York: Cambridge

University Press.

Torrance, E.P: Norms – Technical Manual, Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. Bensenville, IL:

Scholastic Testing Service. 1974.

cd-International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special Issue

58

Urban, K.K: Recent Trends in Creativity Research and Theory in Western Europe. // European

Journal for High Ability, Vol. 1, 1990. p. 99-113.

Wallace, B: Creativity: Some Definitions, the Creative Personality, the Creative Process, the

Creative Classroom // Gifted Education International, 1986, 4 (2), p. 68-73.


An Article in Educology


International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special Issue

38

What Motivates Students to Choose the Teachers’ Profession

A Scientific Educology of University Students

Manefa Miskiniene, Professsor, and Emilija Rodzeviciute, Graduate Student

Vilnius Pedagogical University, Lithuania

Introduction by Co-Editors

The intention of the introduction by the co-editors adheres to the meaning of the following

statement from the first paragraph in the Recurring Editorial that started in the 2005 issue of

cd-IJE.

“The format for future content recognizes the existence of the newly forming body of knowledge, i.e. philosophy

of educology, as knowledge about educology, and the existence of the already developing body of knowledge, i.e.

educology, as knowledge about education.”

The authors’ paper, in accord with the Recurring Editorial, is in educology and directly

inquires, using quantitative methods of research, with the scientific educological question:

“What motivates students to enroll in the educative experiences that organically inhere in the teacher education

program at Vilnius Pedagogical University?”

The authors, from the editorial’s perspective, do not directly inquire with the axiologic and

praxiologic educological questions, respectively, as:

“Ought students be motivated to enroll in educative experiences that organically inhere in the teacher education

program at Vilnius Pedagogical University?”

nor

“How can students be effectively motivated to enroll in educative experiences that organically inhere in the

teacher education program at Vilnius Pedagogical University?”

Also, from this perspective, they do not directly inquire with the philosophy of educology

questions:

What is knowledge about educative experiences organically inhering in educational processes, i.e. what is

educology?

and

What is the significance of educology?

IntroductionbyAuthors

Relevance of the Topic. Youth, its objectives, readiness for life, education are the future of

Lithuania. One of the major solutions of a young person is related to the choice of a future profession,

and this solution is influenced by many factors: certain demands, calls and interests, capabilities

and intellect, character and temperament, goals and values.

The results of professional activities of a human being depend on his/her attitude towards the

chosen profession and the motivation behind that choice. The motives of learning through which

cd-International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special Issue

39

the goal and meaning of the activities is perceived sprout up from different needs that first of all

occur in the family, and later - at school. Thus, the primary role of the school is to assist a person

in finding oneself, in creating one’s future. A personality must be fully mature to be able to make

an informed decision, including choosing a profession. A deliberate choosing of a profession is

related to the rating of such a profession. It is related to the endeavour to comprehend what

mental qualities or personal features (capabilities, calls, character) are necessary for the future

profession.

The word “motivation” is used to describe the incentive of certain behaviour, actions, activities

caused by different motives (Cloninger, 1996; Colman, 2003). Motivation is a psychophysiological

process regulating the activities of a personality and its relation with the environment

on the basis of the change in motives. In case of the wish to change the activities or behaviour of

pupils for some reason or other, first of all the motivation of such a pupil should be changed.

Analysis of literature reveals that scientists see the motivation as the whole of motives and a motive

is determined by needs. The dictionary of psychology defines motives as the activity stimuli

related to the satisfaction of person's needs: external and internal factors inducing activity of a

person and the direction of his/her activities; material or ideal goals of a person; the reason for

choosing actions and deeds of a person which is comprehended by a person himself/herself

(Colman, 2003).

A motive not only causes an action but also - which is most important — sets a direction and

certain intensity or force for it. The following are the factors (sources) of a motive: calls,

inclination, interests, needs, values, attitudes, approaches, ideals, beliefs, knowing, emotions,

willpower, and intentions. When at least one factor is experienced, it could be stated that a person is

motivated.

Motivation explains what might serve as a backup for behaviour and orientation towards the goal,

and why one or another task is given a certain span of time. Motivation is related to the results

of studies by causal relations - it is also a means for aspiring at progressive learning and, at the

same time, a final result of the process of teaching. It is of importance not only due to the fact

that it determines the factor able of intensifying the behaviour but also because the behaviour is

oriented towards the goal: single actions form a certain totality having a clear goal (Gage, Berliner,

1998).

Theories of the source of motivation distinguish between external and internal motivation to study.

External motivation is any motivation caused by environmental factors, having tangible/observable

rewards such as a monetary award or a high grade. Internal motivation is behavior resulting from

some innate drive, without apparent reinforcement from the outside, that appears to be unaffected by

environmental factors (Biggs, 1999).

It is important, that a child feels a human being when playing, learning and working and that

he/she is able of each time taking four steps: to realize himself/herself (feelings, actions,

things to be avoided, wishes for further acting or inaction), to make an independent decision of

what to do further; to feel responsibility for his/her own choice and the outcome of such a

choice; to feel an important person aiming at self-realization in life.

As it is revealed in the analysis of scientific literature, an activity is induced by various motives

sprouting up from needs. On the basis scientific papers, it could be stated that a child since his/her

early childhood is accompanied by the motive of curiosity, later - by that of cognition.

Motivation is important for professional self-determination, too. Without motivation a human

cd-International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special Issue

40

being would not be able to anticipate the meaning and goal of his/her activities related to his/her

personality and attitude towards life.

Choice of profession is one of major decisions in the life of a person. It is its soundness upon

which a sense of fullness and self-confidence coming about when being engaged in work, meeting

the calling, depends.

The most important factor is for people to be happy and satisfied with their work, and if they

are, they generally do well, and, if they do well, they will probably succeed financially. Five

important considerations are these (Bell, 2003):

1. The condition of the job market;

2. An idealistic commitment which strongly influences a person’s direction;

3. Ability;

4. Interests;

5. Most important, temperament.

Professionalization is a process whereby occupations have become, or seek to become,

publicly recognized as professions according to the degree to which they meet the alleged

criteria. Professionalization can be seen as having two strands. One strand is concerned with

the improvement of status. The other strand is concerned with the improvement of the

capacity of members to enhance the quality of service which is provided (Hoyle, 2002).

Professional orientation is a science fully analyzing the conditions and regularities of rational

choice of profession and getting positions in it. Irrespective of the fact that professional orientation

is crucially influenced by other sciences, it is an independent and integrated science with its research

object, namely a person choosing a profession. The research object of professional orientation

is conditions and regularities related to scientifically grounded professional self-determination

(Kregžde, 1998).

J. Guichard suggests another model-that of human development founded on the following

basic principle: to help individuals achieve their own humanity by helping others to achieve

theirs, fully and each in their own way (Guichard, 2003).

C. P. Chen explores the possibility of theory integration in career development and

counseling, focusing primarily on bridging the gap between objectivist/positivistic and

constructivist approaches. This framework proposes 3 possibilities: career as self-realization,

growing experiences, and context conceptualization (Chen, 2003).

A special place in professional orientation is taken by pedagogy, which integrates and

consolidates information related to and regularities of sciences, and presents them in a fo rm popular

for an adolescent or a youngster choosing a profession, at scientifically grounded consistency, by

the way of teaching and upbringing, often directing it towards self-education, self-analysis and

other forms of active refining on professional issues (Kregžde, 1998; Pukelis, 1996). A

teacher assisting pupils in choosing a profession has to find out whether their calling for a certain

field of activity is real and whether general education, capabilities, skills, experience in current

activities will be sufficient studying at a vocational school as well as to get into other major

issues related to a profession. First of all, this expertise should be possessed by a teacher of a

higher school, then by a student - a future teacher - who will impart them to his/her pupils.

cd-International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special Issue

41

The main task of both parents and teachers is to fully mature a personality capable of taking

deliberate decisions. Efforts of a person himself/herself are of crucial importance, and the freedom

of choice, responsibility for the choice and competence should be given special consideration.

An essential quality of a person on which behaviour and activity depend is thorough selfknowledge

and self-estimation, i.e. efforts to realize whether the possessed mental and personal

qualities (capabilities, character, calling) suit in a certain chosen activity. Only lasting self -

exploration and self-education will help to disclose those qualities which will direct to a certain

activity. The competence to give a fair self-estimation depends on the possessed knowledge,

proficiency, skills, experience, and testing one’s own strengths in the chosen activity.

Purposefulness of a personality is the main sign conditioning the nature and meaning of human

life and his/her activities. That is why it is necessary to raise a human being in such a way that

he/she has a good understanding of the world, sees his/her place in life, is an active and creative

personality.

According to K. Pukelis and other scientists, teachers trained at the pedagogical university have

direct influence on what future teachers will come to the university from general education

schools. This is seen in the scheme below. (Pukelis, 1996):

Future teachers Pedagogical studies Teachers

School

By its social and individuality-related importance, the teacher's profession is very vivid among

others, as its calling is to educate and mature a human being for all kinds of professions and

specialties, posts and positions.

The teacher is the cornerstone of educational development and the crucial role he or she plays

in determining quality, effectiveness and relevance of education has been recognized as a

prerequisite to achieving poverty eradication, sustainable human development, and equity

(Maclean, 1999).

As it is revealed in the analysis of scientific literature, responsibility and enthusiasm are two

most important teacher values, and teacher value is most important in teachers’ relationship

with students (Lin, 2002).

According M. Scriven, the following are the qualities of teachers (Scriven, 1990):

1. Sound knowledge of subject matter, the across-the-curriculum subjects (literacy,

social/personal/study/work skills, computer competence);

2. Solid competence with and understanding of testing and/or structured observation;

3. Classroom teaching ability, including classroom management skills;

cd-International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special Issue

42

4. Teaching-related intellectual and personal qualities (professionalism, a lively intelligent

mind, punctuality, conscientiousness, willingness to help other teachers, and commitment

to teaching);

5. Worth (often includes such factors as versatility, familiarity with the type of community).

The personality of a future president or prime minister, minister or member of parliament,

businessman or banker, physician or engineer depends on the teacher's calling, his/her

competence, professionalism, devotion to his/her work.

“Many studies have been conducted in different countries to discover what motivates people to go into teaching. In

general the motives can be divided into three categories - extrinsic (matters such as remuneration, such as long holidays

and other benefits), intrinsic (the enjoyment of teaching and the school environment, a desire to help society improve)

and altruistic (such as a desire to help children succeed). Studies carried out in the past have shown that not all of these

three factors affected the motivation of an individual, that each factor carried a different emphasis and that there were

gender differences (Reid & Caudwell, 1997; Kyriacou & Kobori, 1998; Chuene, Lubben & Newson, 1999; Kyriacou,

Hultgren & Stephens, 1999; Moran, Kilpatrick, Abbot, Dallat & McClune, 2001).”

Scientists have been getting into the motivation of learning and profession choice of young

people and their professional aspirations.

As early as at the end of 19th century and beginning of 20th century, N. Karejev, a professor of

Saint-Petersburg University, was the first author interested in the issue of profession choice of

young people. He was examining the conditions, motives and other issues of professional selfdetermination

but his results have not been published. This problem has been dealt with by A.

Ornstein, D. Levine (Ornstein, Levine, 1989), A. Karle-Weiss (Karle-Weiss, 1989), D. E. Dutton

(Dutton, 1994), A. M. Isaacs (Isaacs, 1997), R. Ch. Jackson (Jackson, 1992), K. C. Soh (Soh,

1998), D. A. Whitbeck (Whitbeck, 2000), R. J. Oppenheimer (Oppenheimer, 2001), G. Ch. Goh , L.

Atputhasamy (Goh & Atputhasamy, 2001), I. Reid, J. Caudwell (Reid & Caudwell, 1997) and

many others.

Thus, scientific researches show that the issue of choosing a profession has been relevant since late

19th century.

The objective of the paper is to examine the motivation of entering Vilnius Pedagogical

University.

The tasks of the research: 1. To find out whether the motives for entering Vilnius

Pedagogical University reflects pedagogical purposefulness of students. 2. To examine the

motives for choosing a teacher's profession. 3. To compare the criteria of the choice of different

faculties of Vilnius Pedagogical University. 4. To compare the criteria for choosing different

specialities.

The methods of the research: 1. Analysis of literature sources. 2. Questionnairing of Vilnius

Pedagogical University students. 3. Mathematical-statistical analysis of the data obtained.

The research was carried out at three faculties of Vilnius Pedagogical University: Natural

Science Faculty, Foreign Language Faculty, and Mathematics and Informatics Faculty. The

research covered 477 first year students, including 399 female students and 78 male students. The

respondents were given 45 motives and each of those motives had to be given certain rating by

importance: of high importance, of importance, and of minor importance.

cd-International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special Issue

43

Research Results and Their Discussion

The data of our research (Table 1) have revealed that the respondents consider the motive of

seeking for higher education as the motive of high importance for entering Vilnius Pedagogical

University. Consequently, their decision to enter Vilnius Pedagogical University was mostly

influenced not by their calling for teaching but by the result of the studies, i.e. the certificate

of higher education (96,0 %), importance of the certificate of higher education (94,1 %), desire

to improve one's social position (70,0 %), seeking for a career (69,0 %), desire to be useful (60,8

%). Comparing the data with the results of researches carried out by other scientists, it has been

noticed that the motives of students entering a higher educational institution are similar. The

main of them is a desire to get higher education or seeking for higher education (Šešciliene,

1999; Barkauskaite, 1999).

Cognitive motives also have a great influence on entering a higher educational institution. Most

important of them are the following: desire to study (90,8 %), desire to acquire better knowledge

in the chosen speciality (79,9 %), desire to get deeper and wider knowledge of the subject (71,3 %).

This shows that pupils desire and seek to widen their knowledge and scope. The above-mentioned

results of our research also confirm the results obtained by other scientists (Rupšiene, 1998),

which also show the interest of students in the subject studies, desire to gain knowledge

enabling their improvement.

The research has revealed that the motives related to professional purposefulness have been

given the following rating: 38,5 % of students think of them as of high importance, 28,0 % -

of importance, 33,5 % - of minor importance. The students who on entering Vilnius Pedagogical

University considered this group of motives as of high importance have chosen this profession

deliberately - they desired to get higher education in teaching and not in any other field. It could be

stated that motivation to become a teacher is rather weak. The answers given show that most

students have low professional purposefulness, if any, and only some of the questioned have entered

the university to acquire a profession of a teacher.

The data of our research are at variance with the conclusions of some foreign and local

scientists (Karle-Weiss, 1989; Isaacs, 1997; Goh, Atputhasamy, 2001; Reid, Caudwell, 1997;

Soh, 1998; Rupšiene, 1998; Whitbeck, 2000), which state that love for children, desire to work

with children, teach and educate them, desire to be a teacher are the motives of highest importance

for students choosing a profession of a teacher.

Analysing the data, it has been observed that decision to enter Vilnius Pedagogical University

is at a certain extent influenced by lessons in the subject that was favourite at school (63,3 %) and

by a good teacher of the subject (50,3 %).

Although love for children has been mentioned as the motive of very high importance by 187

respondents, a great desire to become a teacher was mentioned by 11,3 % students less - 133 of

477. S. Kregžde has also been getting into the motives for a profession choice. At Vilnius

Pedagogical University, he has carried out a research the results of which have revealed that

“desire to work with children” is the main motive of entering higher educational institutions. The

motive of those who failed to enter other higher educational institutions is “to get the certificate

of higher education” (Kregžde, 1998).

Questioning of students has demonstrated that in choosing a profession an important role is

played by inclination and interests, their intensity and power. This motive seems of high

cd-International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special Issue

44

importance for 58,3 % of students, of importance - for 24,7 % students. These data reaffirm the

results of previous researches of some foreign scientists disclosing that personal perfection is one of

the main motives for the studies of a teacher. For these teachers, it is important to make their

life meaningful (Dutton, 1994).

Personal motives have hardly any influence on entering a higher educational institution, if any. Of

this group of motives, the motive “possibility to be near one's beloved person” (of minor

importance for 89,7 % of students), “friends residing in Vilnius who can provide with

accommodation” (of minor importance for 89,3 %) are of least importance. This means that

students care little about their personal needs and intentions, and the main motives for entering

Vilnius Pedagogical University are the certificate of higher education, cognitive motives, and

professional purposefulness.

Entering Vilnius Pedagogical University, the influence of other persons - parents, relatives, friends,

teachers, professors -are of least importance. As many as 69,6 % of respondents think this group of

motives to be of minor importance, 16,6 % - of importance, and only 13,8 % - of high importance.

The results of our research have demonstrated that a considerable part of the questioned students

entered the university by chance (27,7 % of students thought this motive to be of high

importance, 17,4 % - of importance) or due to the failure to enter another speciality (37,9 % of

respondents thought it was of high importance, 16,6 % - of importance). This evidences that a rather

big number of students did not intend to study the speciality they have entered.

Summing up the results of questionnaires, it could be stated that the motives of highest

importance for entering a higher educational institution are related to higher education (66,4 %)

and cognitive motives (63,2 %). The influence of other people (69,6 %) and personal motives (55,4

%) are of least importance. This is demonstrated in Figure 1.

cd-International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special Issue

45

The research has been aimed at revealing the rating of motives by students in different faculties:

Natural Science Faculty, Foreign Language Faculty, and Mathematics and Informatics Faculty.

Researching the motives related to seeking for higher education it has been discovered that the

respondents from Foreign Language Faculty experienced greater influence of seeking for a career

(c˛=10,139; df=4; p<0,05) and a possibility to go abroad while studying (c˛=68,872; df=4; p<0,0001),

students of Natural Science Faculty desire to be useful (c˛=18,541; df=4; p<0,001) at a greater extent

than the respondents from other faculties. Almost all cognitive motives (desire to get deeper and wider

knowledge of the subject (c˛=41,334; df=4; p<0,0001), interest in the subject (c˛=38,052; df=4;

p<0,0001), desire to acquire better knowledge in the chosen speciality (c˛=27,132; df=4; p<0,0001),

favourite occupation (c˛=11,501; df=4; p<0,05)) are the motives statistically of higher importance

when entering the university for the students of Foreign Language faculty, except research work

carried out by Vilnius Pedagogical University (c˛=11,457; df=4; p<0,05) (this motive is of greater

importance for the students of natural Science Faculty). The students of Natural Science faculty are of

greater professional purposefulness. For them, the motives related to professional purposefulness

(desire to become a teacher (c˛=25,247; df=4; p<0,0001), love for children (c˛=19,123; df=4;

p<0,001), organizational capabilities (c˛=12,408; df=4; p<0,05), need for self-expression (c˛=18,834;

df=4; p<0,001)), are of higher importance than for the respondents of other faculties. Of personal

motives, inclinations and interests (c˛=23,819; df=4; p<0,0001) and desire to live in town (c˛=9,516; df=4;

p<0,05) are of higher importance for the students of Foreign Language faculty, and the possibility

to participate in the social life of the youth (c˛=11,856; df=4; p<0,05) and traditions of the cultural life of

Vilnius Pedagogical University (c˛=11,658; df=4; p<0,05) - for the students of natural Science Faculty.

The respondents from Mathematics and Informatics Faculty think that they have entered the faculty

because of the failure to enter other specialities (c˛=15,973; df=4; p<0,01). The students of Foreign

Language Faculty saw greater possibilities in studying at Vilnius Pedagogical University than at other

higher educational institutions (c˛=18,162; df=4; p<0,01). And the number of students thinking that

the studies at Vilnius Pedagogical University are easier than those at other higher educational

institutions is greater at Natural Science Faculty (c˛=17,473; df=4; p<0,01). The students of this faculty

consider the information on Vilnius Pedagogical University given in mass media of higher importance

(c˛=12,288; df=4; p<0,05) than the respondents from other faculties.

Having analyzed the distribution of the motives for different specialities in Natural Science

Faculty, it is observed that the students of biology consider the interest in the subject (c˛=7,361; df=2;

p<0,05) to be of importance, and the respondents of the speciality of home culture considered

attractive life of students to be of importance (c˛=6,274; df=2; p<0,05).

Having analyzed the motives for entering Vilnius Pedagogical University of different speciality the

students of Foreign Language faculty, it has been disclosed that the students of English philology

considered possibility to receive a better job (c˛=9,844; df=4; p<0,05) and a favourite occupation

(c˛=10,610; df=4; p<0,05) to be of higher importance, and most of the students of French entered

the university by chance (c˛= 12,274; df=4; p<0,05) or thinking that studies at Vilnius Pedagogical

University are easier than those at other higher educational institutions (c˛= 10,393; df=4; p<0,05).

cd-International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special Issue

46

Table 1

Distribution of Motives for Entering a Higher Educational Institution by Importance (%)

Assessment

Motives

Of high importance Of importance Of minor

importance

Motives related to acquisition of higher education

Importance of the Certificate of Higher Education 94,1 4,2 1,7

Seeking for higher education 96,0 3,1 8,0

Desire to improve one’s social position 70,0 18,7 11,3

Possibility to advance 44,2 32,1 23,7

Possibility to receive a better job 56,4 28,5 15,1

Desire to be useful 60,8 24,7 14,5

Seeking for a career 69,0 19,7 11,3

Possibility to go abroad while studying 40,7 27,9 31,4

Cognitive motives

Desire to get deeper and wider knowledge of the subject 71,3 18,7 10,1

Interest in the subject 66,7 21,4 11,9

Desire to acquire better knowledge in the chosen speciality 79,9 14,5 5,7

Favourite occupation 59,1 27,3 13,6

Research work carried out by Vilnius Pedagogical University 11,7 21,6 66,7

Desire to study 90,8 6,9 2,3

Motives related to professional purposefulness

Desire to become a teacher 27,9 31,1 41,0

Love of children 39,2 32,3 28,5

Liking for managing people 25,4 27,0 47,6

Organisational capabilities 31,4 34,4 34,2

Need for self-expression 31,7 34,0 34,3

Lessons in the subject that was favourite at school 63,3 17,4 19,3

Good teacher of the subject 50,3 20,1 29,6

Personal motives

Inclinations and interests 58,3 24,7 17,0

Possibility to participate in the social life of the youth 30,4 42,1 27,5

Traditions of the cultural life of Vilnius Pedagogical University 10,5 30,0 59,5

Greater possibilities to make new friends 43,6 37,7 18,7

Possibility to find a husband/wife 9,6 18,2 72,1

Parents residing in Vilnius 13,0 4,8 82,2

Friends residing in Vilnius who can provide with 7,1 3,6 89,3

% 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Motives related to the acquisition of higher education

Motives related to professional purposefulness

Cognitive motives

Personal motives

Influence of other people

Other

Motives

Figure 1. Assessments of entering Vilnius Pedagogical University

Of high importance Of importance Of minor importance

cd-International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special Issue

47

accommodation

Desire to escape parental care 17,6 16,4 66,0

Possibility to be near one’s beloved person 5,9 4,4 89,7

Attractive life of students 34,6 37,1 28,3

Desire to live in town 24,9 16,8 58,3

Influence that other people had

Parents, relatives 24,5 21,6 53,9

Girlfriends, friends 12,8 16,8 70,4

Teachers, their advice 11,7 18,4 69,8

Lecturers of Vilnius Pedagogical University 13,6 15,7 70,6

The Open Door Day at Vilnius Pedagogical University 7,8 15,5 76,7

Family traditions 12,2 11,5 76,3

Other motives

Need to enter any educational institution 70,0 21,4 8,6

A chance 27,7 17,4 54,9

Failure to enter another speciality 37,9 16,6 45,5

Greater possibilities of education at Vilnius Pedagogical

University than at other higher educational institutions

24,9 32,9 42,1

Positive attitude of the society to students of Vilnius Pedagogical

university

15,7 35,2 49,1

It is easier to study at Vilnius Pedagogical University than at

other higher educational institutions

16,8 21,6 61,6

Information about Vilnius Pedagogical University presented in

the mass media

12,4 35,2 52,4

Conclusions

1. When entering Vilnius Pedagogical University, the following motives were of highest

importance: seeking for higher education (96,0 %); the certificate of higher education (94,1 %); desire to

study (90,8 %); desire to acquire better knowledge of the chosen speciality (79,9 %); desire to get deeper

and wider knowledge of the subject (71,3 %).

2. Motives of least importance are the following: possibility to be near one's beloved person

(89,7 %); friends residing in Vilnius who can provide with accommodation (89,3 %); parents residing in

Vilnius (82,2 %); the Open Door Day at Vilnius Pedagogical University (76,7 %); family

traditions (76,3 %).

3. For the students of Foreign Language Faculty cognitive motives, also motives related to

desire to acquire higher education were of higher importance; the students of Natural Science faculty

attached more importance to the motives related to professional purposefulness; most of the

respondents from Mathematics and Informatics faculty entered the speciality because of the failure

to enter other specialities.

4. Having analysed the distribution of the motives for different specialities in Natural

Science Faculty, it is observed that the students of biology consider the interest in the subject to be

of importance, and the respondents of the speciality of home culture considered attractive life of

students to be of importance. In the Faculty of Foreign Languages, it has been disclosed that the

students of English philology considered possibility to receive a better job (%2=9,844; df=4; p<0,05)

and a favourite occupation to be of higher importance, and most of the students of French entered the

university by chance or thinking that studies at Vilnius Pedagogical University were easier than those

at other higher educational institutions.

5. The research on the motivation lying behind first year students' entry to Vilnius

Pedagogical University has revealed that the currently existing procedure of students' selection to

the university does not reflect the single-mindedness of future teachers related to the teacher's

profession (only marks of the Certificate are taken into consideration). If those entering

cd-International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special Issue

48

pedagogical higher educational institutions do not have a calling, it would be good if they had at least the

inclination for the teacher's activity, and higher educational institutions should maintain not only

students motivated with professional regard but also should strengthen the motivation for the

pedagogical activity. The choice of future teachers should be given greater attention at a general

education school, as only a teacher may know his or her pupils well and can assist them in their

professional self-determination to become a teacher.

References

1. Barkauskaite, M. (1999). Pedagoginio universiteto studentu požiuris i švietimo reforma ir

mokytoju rengima. Švietimo reforma ir mokytoju rengimas: ugdymo kaita ir šiuolaikines

pedagogines technologijos: VI tarptautine moksline konferencija: mokslo darbai, I dalis (pp.

41-47). Vilnius.

2. Bell, B. (2003). Lessons in Lifemanship. Choosing a Vocation. Retrieved November 27,

2003, from http://www.bbll.com/ch28.html .

3. Biggs, J. (1999). Teaching for Quality Learning at University. P. 229-237.

4. Chen, C. P. (2003). Integrating perspectives in career development theory and practice. The

Career Development Quarterly, 51 (3).

5. Chuene, K., Lubben, F. & Newson, G. (1999). The views of pre-service and novice teachers

on mathematics teaching in South Africa related to their educational experience. Educational

Research, 41 (1), 23-34.

6. Cloninger, S. C. (1996). Personality: description, dynamics, and development. New York: W.

H. Freeman and Company.

7. Colman, A. M. (2003). A Dictionary of Psychology: Oxford University Press, 844 p.

8. Dutton, D. E. (1994). Motivation to teach in University extension (University of Alberta

(Canada)). Retrieved January 14, 2002, from http://wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations.

9. Gage, N. L. & Berliner, D. C. (1998). Educational Psychology. Boston: MA: Hougton Mifflin

Company.

10. Goh, K. Ch. & Atputhasamy, L. (2001). Teacher education in Singapore: What motivates

students to choose teaching as a career? National Institute of Education. Nanyang

Technological University. International Educational Research Conference, University of

Notre Dame, Fremantle, Western Australia, 2-6 December 2001.

11. Guichard, J. (2003). Career counseling for human development: An international perspective.

The Career Development Quarterly, 51 (4).

12. Hoyle, E. (2002). Teaching as a Profession: University of Bristol UK.Retrieved July 19,

2003, from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science.

cd-International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special Issue

49

13. Issacs, A. M. (1997). The motivations and satisfactions of teachers in Jewish education

(Loyola University of Chicago). Retrieved September 10, 2003, from

http://wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations.

14. Jackson, R. Ch. (1992). Motivation for teaching: an analysis of the motives for teaching

among selected university of Akron students (The University of Akron). Retrieved September

107, 2003, from < http://wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations>.

15. Karle–Weiss, A. (1989). Perceptions of teaching: their relationship to choosing teaching as a

profession (The University of Akron). Retrieved April 5, 2003, from

http://wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations.

16. Kyriacou, C., Hultgren, Ĺ. & Stephens, P. (1999). Student teachers’ motivation to become a

secondary school teacher in England and Norway. Teacher Development, 3 (2), 373-381.

17. Kyriacou, C. & Kobori, M. (1998). Motivation to learn and teach English in Slovenia.

Educational Studies, 24 (3), 345-351.

18. Kregžde, S. (1998). Profesinio kryptingumo formavimosi psichologiniai pagrindai. Kaunas:

Šviesa.

19. Lin, Y. (2002). Teacher value as a determinant of classroom climate: Spalding University.

Retrieved December 20, 2003, from http://wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations.

20. Maclean, R. (1999). Developments in teacher education in Asia and the Pacific: Issues and

prospects towards the Twenty-first century. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher education and

Development. 2 (1), 87-94.

21. Moran, A., Kilpatrick, R., Abbot, L., Dallat, J. & McClune, B. (2001). Training to teach:

motivating factors and implications for recruitment. Evaluation and Research in Education,

15 (1), 17-32.

22. Oppenheimer, R. J. (2001). Increasing motivation and facilitating learning (Washington).

Retrieved October 15, 2003, from http://www.il.proquest.com/pqdauto.

23. Ornstein, A. & Levine, D. (1989). Foundations of Education (Boston). Retrieved August 25,

2003, from http://www.il.proquest.com/pqdauto.

24. Pukelis, K. (1996). Busimuju mokytoju atranka – viena aktualiausiu mokytoju rengimo

tobulinimo salygu. Pedagogika, 32, 25 – 35.

25. Reid, I. & Caudwell, J. (1997). Why did secondary PGCE students choose teaching as a

career? Research in Education, 58, 46-58.

26. Rupšiene, L. (1998). Pedagoginio profilio specialybiu studentu mokymosi aukštojoje

mokykloje motyvacija. Pedagogika, 37, 80 – 87.

27. Scriven, M. (1990). Teacher Selection. The New Handbook of Teacher Evalution: assessing

elementary and secondary school teachers. – Corwin Press, p.p.76-103.

cd-International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special Issue

50

28. Soh, K. C. (1998). Who has come to teach and why? A cross sectional comparison of four

‘generations’ of teaching in Singapore. Journal of applied Research in Education 2 (1), 19-

34.

29. Šešciliene, I. M. (1999). Pirmo kurso studentu mokymosi motyvu ypatumai. Švietimo reforma

ir mokytoju rengimas: ugdymo kaita ir šiuolaikines pedagogines technologijos: VI tarptautine

moksline konferencija: mokslo darbai. I dalis (pp. 208-211). Vilnius.

30. Whitbeck, D. A. (2000). Born to be a teacher: What am I doing in a college of education?

Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 15 (1).

Abstract.

Youth, its objectives, readiness for life, education are the future of Lithuania. One of the major

solutions of a young person is related to the choice of a future profession, and this solution is

influenced by many factors: certain demands, calls and interests, capabilities and intellect, character and

temperament, goals and values. By its social and individuality-related importance, the teacher's

profession is very vivid among others, as its calling is to educate and mature a human being for all kinds

of professions and specialties, posts and positions. The article aims at surveying the motivation for

entering Vilnius Pedagogical University and at finding out whether the choice of the teacher's

profession reflects its purposefulness. The currently existing procedure of students' selection to the

university does not reflect the single-mindedness of future teachers related to the teacher's profession

(only marks of the Certificate are taken into consideration).

Key words: profession, motivation.


An Article in Educology


International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special Issue

1

Moral Education in Lithuania: An Educology of Teaching

Understanding and Caring versus Teaching Reasoning

Lilija Duobliene

Professor and Chairman

Department of Educology

Vilnius University, Lithuania

Introduction by Co-Editors

The intention of the introduction adheres to the meaning of the following statement from the

first paragraph in the Recurring Editorial that started in the 2005 issue of cd-IJE.

“The format for future content recognizes the existence of the newly forming body of knowledge, i.e. philosophy

of educology, as knowledge about educology, and the existence of the already developing body of knowledge, i.e.

educology, as knowledge about education.”

Professor Duobliene’s paper, in accord with the Recurring Editorial, is: (1) within the

phenomenological philosophy of educology perspective, and; (2) in contrast to the

experiential, rationalistic, and analytical philosophy of educology perspectives.

From the editorial’s perspective, the paper is considered to be based on a philosophy of

knowledge, i.e. on an epistemology, developed within the general philosophy of existentialism.

And, from this perspective, its epistemology involves the methodology, i.e. knowledge of the

method, of systematic phenomenology, as knowledge about a method for doing general

philosophy, i.e. doing ontology, metaphysics, epistemology, logic, ethics, and aesthetics, from

an existentialist perspective. Included in doing general philosophy, with this methodology, i.e.

with this knowledge of method, is the essential step of “bracketing off” all indirect knowledge

or “secondary knowledge,” that, from this perspective, is acquired through the mediation of

sensory and/or reflectively oriented reasoning, so as to retrieve direct knowledge or “primary

knowledge” through the immediacy of a non-sensory or pre-reflectively oriented “intuition.”

Through the step of “bracketing,” in the steps involved in conducting the systematic

phenomenological method of doing philosophy, an “epoch” can be retrieved in human

consciousnesses that is a retrieval of, i.e. a return to, a pure consciousness that is, then,

immediately intuited or grasped by an “uncluttered mind,” i.e. a mind unaffected by sensory

and/or reflectively reasoned “content knowledge.”

It is not this “bracketing” step involved in the retrieval of a pure consciousness, however, that

Professor Duobliene is interested in, for as she says:

“On discussing retrieval to pure consciousness, phenomenology philosophers speak about epoche or

bracketing of the content of experience. But our interest is the phenomenological point of primordial

experience which appeared later on and is related to radical reflection. What is it and how does it

correlate with other reflections used in education?”

Professor Duobliene’s interest, then: (1) is not in a “bracketing” methodology for doing

phenomenology, for it; (2) is in a “radical reflection” methodology for doing phenomenology,

and, whereby, a radical reflective oriented phenomenology is a “moral philosophy” dealing:

cd-International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special Issue

2

“with the possible application of phenomenology into education, with the way it makes the concept of

reflection change, and how in its very essence, this encourages a moral relationship with the world,

thus being fairly suitable for the ethics teaching.”

From the perspective of the Recurring Editorial, the meaning of the word ‘education’, as in

the phrases “reflections used in education” and “phenomenology into education,” can be

used: (1) to refer to a process, i.e. the educational process in which someone meets to manage

the teaching of someone to study, learn, and accept or not accept something, as educatively

experiencing something, somewhere, and; (2) to refer to knowledge about this process, i.e.

educology.

Also, from this perspective, then, the meaning of the word ‘educology’ is used to refer to

knowledge about the educational process and the meaning of the word ‘education’ is used to

refer to the process, whereby, then, Duobliene’s phrases: (1) “reflections used in education”

implies “reflections used in the educational process,” not, “reflections used in educology,”

i.e., not reflections used in the knowing process conducted for the purpose of knowing about

educative experiences that organically inhere in educational processes, and; (2)

“phenomenology into education” implies “phenomenology into the educational process,”

not, “phenomenology into educology,” i.e. not phenomenology used in the knowing process

conducted for the purpose of knowing about educative experiences that organically inhere in

educational processes.

Professor Duobliene’s article, then, is one in educology, whereby, from the perspective of the

Recurring Editorial, the meaning of the word ‘educology’ is used to refer to knowledge about

educative experiences organically inhering in educational processes as these processes are

conducted in developing democracies in the world. Specifically, from the experiential

philosophy of educology perspective of the Recurring Editorial, Professor Duobliene’s article

is oriented as one in axiologic educology of moral education, i.e. commonly known as

“philosophy of education,” more than it is as a scientific or praxiologic educology of moral

education, e.g. commonly known as “psychology and sociology of moral education,” in

Lithuania’s developing democracy. Its object of knowledge, from the editorial perspective, as

the subject on which the article is focused, is the existence of educative experiences

organically inhering in educational processes, quoting Duobliene, existing:

“in the didactic possibilities of phenomenology as moral philosophy,”

i.e., from the perspective of the Recurring Editorial, educative experiences in educational

processes that develop democratically healthy body, mind, psyche, and habit growth in

teachers and students in a developing democracy in the world.

Her article alludes to the existence of reflective thinking experiences, i.e. from the perspective

of the Recurring Editorial, experiences in knowing processes that develop democratically

healthy body, mind, psyche, and habit growth in educologists in a developing democracy in

the world, however, the allusion is made:

“with the way it makes the concept of reflection change, and how in its very essence, this encourages a

moral relationship with the world, thus being fairly suitable for ethics teaching.”

This “way,” from Professor Duobliene’s perspective, makes the concept of reflective thinking

experiences change from experiences conducted by “reflection on action” and “reflection in

cd-International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special Issue

3

action” to experiences conducted as “reflection as action,” i.e. to reflective thinking

experiences “correlated” and conducted “radically.”

From the editorial’s perspective, by phenomenologically orienting her axiologic educology,

Professor Duobliene implicitly has asked the question:

“What are good, worthwhile, or valuable educative experiences organically inhering in educational

process conducted in developing democracies in the world, specifically, the one in Lithuania?”

And, Professor Duobliene, from the editorial’s perspective, by intention, does not account for

“radical” reflective thinking experiences, as experiences of “reflection on, in, or as action,”

being oriented epistemologically by philosophy of educology, i.e. as being oriented by the

question:

“What is knowledge?”

and, more specifically,

“What is knowledge about educative experiences organically inhering in educational processes

conducted in developing democracies in the world, specifically in Lithuania?”

or

“What is educology?”

In short, by intention, Professor Duobliene, in doing axiologic educology, though alluding to

the method of phenomenology to be used in educative experiences organically inhering in

educational processes involving the step of “bracketing,” does not account for the method, as

such. She accounts for the method of phenomenology to be used in educative experiences

organically inhering in educational processes as a method involving “radical reflection,”

whereby, then, students using this phenomenological method can and will become morally

educated.

Author’s Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present the didactic possibilities of phenomenology as moral

philosophy. It deals with the possible application of phenomenology into education, with the

way it makes the concept of reflection change, and how in its very essence, this encourages a

moral relationship with the world, thus being fairly suitable for the ethics teaching.

The present analysis also points towards the applicability of the phenomenological method in

ethics lessons, especially in Lithuanian schools. Then follows exposition of the application of

the phenomenological method in secondary school ethics lessons, based on documents issued

by the Ministry of education of Lithuania, as well as approved textbooks and publications of

other Lithuanian authors.

Author’s Introduction

Phenomenology, one of the schools of modern philosophy, has a peculiar feature that appeals

to education philosophers: it aims at bringing the person back to the natural and existential

sources of his being in the world.

cd-International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special Issue

4

The application of such philosophical aspect presents no misinterpretations when dealing with

human morality, life meaningfulness and harmony amongst human beings.

For the utter surprise of the author of the present paper, Lithuanian educologists have left an

absolute vacuum in the scientific research of phenomenology as applicable to education, in

spite of the fact that phenomenological education has been widely popularized in many

countries through numerous publications and Lithuanian philosophers, for more than a year,

have been expanding this philosophical school. Lithuanian education philosophers and

practitioners simply avoid phenomenology, giving priority to other education systems, such

as: realistic, pragmatic, behaviorist, and re-constructionist. And this is not a mere

coincidence. This confidence in the above-mentioned schools is based on their comfortable

point of view to the world, as it can be known, measured and valued according to specific

criteria, and on their basis makes the pertinent changes. Contrastingly, the phenomenological

method, which denies the possibility to comprehend the world, seems unsuitable and difficult

to apply to education. Nevertheless, considerable attention is given to this paradigm in several

countries and it is even suggested to educators.

The author of the present paper thinks it is quite a paradoxical occurrence, and thus worth a

deeper study, to see that though there are no theoretical works in this field, the

phenomenological method is slowly ‘making its way’ into the educational system of

Lithuania. Education philosophy is forced to admit what is already happening. Therefore, this

study aims to go deeper into reflection of Lithuanian experience and diffusion but in a wider

context.

As the object of study is the phenomenological method in ethics teaching, it seems relevant to

provide some background information as to what the situation is in teaching ethics in

Lithuania.

In Lithuanian secondary schools most subjects were taught following the principles of

realism, and this was the case of ethics as well, usually integrated into other disciplines. The

teaching and learning methods were memorization, logical analysis, and some interpretation.

This was the teaching style in the period between the two world wars, and it continued to be

so even afterwards, during the Soviet occupation. (Duobliene, 2000). The difference lies in

the fact that during Soviet times there was a kind of ideological or soc-realistic shade.

Nowadays, more than 10 years after the restoration of our independence in 1991, the situation

has changed. Ethics is now a school subject of its own, no longer included within the syllabus

of other disciplines, and even three different trends can be found in the teaching of this subject

(Duobliene, 2002). The first one, developed by J. Baranova, offers interpretation of

philosophical texts and is based on conservative hermeneutics, sometimes capturing

existentialist insights. The second one is L. Degesys’s oriented to J. Dewey tradition on the

teaching from experience and logical thinking. And there is a third one, presented by T.

Sodeika, who proposes an authentic relationship with the world, applying the

phenomenological method. The latter seems especially progressive if we take into account the

students’ attention, aesthetical practice and dialogical relationship with the world. How is this

method adopted in Lithuania?

To be more precise, the aim of the present study is to analyze the phenomenological method

as the most suitable for moral education, grounding this research on the insights of

cd-International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special Issue

5

phenomenology philosophers and education philosophers, as well as on their practical

application. Then a reference can be made to the Lithuanian experience in ethics teaching.

With this clear aim in mind, this research makes several points: it presents the idea that

phenomenology by its very essence leads us to a moral relationship with the world. Then it

shows that the application of the phenomenological method and the phenomenological

reflection is well in keeping with the development of social skills and the responsibility for

the others and the world. Finally, it exposes the already evident cases of application of the

phenomenological method to ethics teaching in Lithuania.

For this purpose, philosophical, and educational literature, as well as Lithuanian textbooks

education documents have been analyzed.

Moral Relationship with the World

When talking about morals, we use the following concepts: responsibility, care, generosity,

friendship, and others. We usually understand them as values that society considers worth

seeking, values which can be passed on to others, and which can also be instilled in the

educational process. We tend to associate them as clear, intentional and rational actions of the

person. However, phenomenology philosophers see these values as something completely

natural to the way human existence expresses itself. This perception of such values as

something ordinary to be found and cherished in everyday life provides a different way of

being in the world.

One of the first philosophers to study care for the world was the existentialist Martin

Heidegger. He stimulated the human conscience by inviting man to care for the world, which

is dominated by oblivion. Only an authentic relationship with the world, “being-in-the-world”

or simply “being-in” as such (Dasein), can be real and valuable, as it is full of generosity.

(Heidegger, 1999). This is said when for the first time one experiences the place where the

truth of the being lies. M. Heidegger’s existentialist phenomenology is further developed by

E. Levinas and M Merleau- Ponty. They direct the existentialist’s care for the world towards

the care for the other and the sense of responsibility for the other.

M. Merleau- Ponty develops the meditations on care but drawing a turn towards social

relationships, where there will always be the other (Merleau - Ponty, 2000). Man’s existence

cannot be disconnected from the existence of the other. Any person’s experience and that of

the other, their impressions intersect, therefore subjective meanings are inseparable from

inter-subjectivity.

M. Merleau- Ponty dwells not only in the conscience, but also in the body. In his opinion, the

world is given to us through bodily structures. Then the body adjusts the projects created by

the conscience. In the words of A. Sverdiolas, a Lithuanian scientist, the body is the border of

our conscience or at least the limit of its field (Sverdiolas, 2002, p. 228). When describing the

structures of the will, we discover and reveal the body’s spontaneity, we uncover the veal of

our body’s intrinsic intentionality, uncontrolled by conscience.

In bodily actions M. Merleau- Ponty perceives manifestations of certain pre-reflective,

primordial or natural relationship to the world. In our actions there is always something

primordial, previous to our consciousness and our already accepted and learnt norms of

behavior.

cd-International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special Issue

6

In the philosophy of M. Merleau- Ponty, morality is a bodily responsiveness to an obligation,

an imperative sense of responsibility, felt unconsciously, expressed through body language,

responding in a pre-personal, pre-conventional way, as if awakened by the other, responding

to his look, and at the same time, to his humanity. This is very precisely presented by

D.M.Levin (Levin, 1998). This moral imperative also captures the traces of the past. It is

embodied in the person as a natural gift. When he discusses body language, M. Merleau-

Ponty constantly refers back to the description of babyhood. The first stage in the formation

of the person is based on natural sensory reactions. The child still does not know nor

distinguishes social or moral order, he responds to everything with a sort of rudimentary

feeling, and is full of primordial solicitude, compassion and genuineness, quite different from

adults, who stick to universally accepted moral principles and consensus. M. Merleau- Ponty

invites us to reawaken the restrained primordial responsiveness and, following the example of

the childlike stage, to retrieve to the stage of natural responses to the world. (M. Merleau-

Ponty, 2000). A similar description of such primordial responsiveness in the formation of

personality can be found in the works of other phenomenology philosophers such as M. Buber

and E. Levin, though each of them would take it from a particular angle.

E. Levinas criticizes M. Heidegger’s authentic experience “there is” (es gibt), on the grounds

that this would mean an impersonal care and therefore, amoral. E. Levinas instead suggests

turning from existence toward the One who exists (Levinas, 1995) as he places the most

importance in the care for the other, the face of the other and responsibility for him. The

relationship with the other begins as a sense of responsibility. By turning to the other, the

person experiences moral order. Responsibility involves the person and this responsibility

goes beyond the limits of what the person does. Responsibility already begins at the very

moment when the other sees me. And this means giving no matter whether the other person

knows or recalls that. In brief, E.Levinas does not establish ethics norms, but he creates an

ethics philosophy.

The moral philosophy of E. Levinas, M. Merleau- Ponty and other phenomenology pursuers

is a philosophy based upon moral responsibility, care, and openness to the other. Moral

relationships demand solicitous look and sensitivity in the perception of moral traces that are

manifest though indescribable in words.

When discussing moral education, it is important to bear in mind the latent potentiality that

can be expressed through the body (Levin, 1998). Then D.M. Levin put forward the following

question: how should the technical aspect of education be combined with the development of

that potentiality? And he answers: “If there is a ‘proto-moral’ predisposition already ordering

the nature of the body, then the task of moral education, its ‘civilizing’ work, will not need to

be impositional, forcing on the body an order that is entirely alien; it can afford to work

hermeneutically, bringing forth and developing a potential intimated by the traces.” (Levin,

1998, p. 365)

Phenomenological Method and Phenomenological Reflection in Lithuanian Education

One of the significant factors in the formation of personality during the educational process is

the student’s way of thinking. Every educational system has its own thinking and reflection

paradigm.

On discussing retrieval to pure consciousness, phenomenology philosophers speak about

epoch e or bracketing of the content of experience. But our interest is the phenomenological

cd-International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special Issue

7

point of primordial experience which appeared later on and is related to radical reflection.

What is it and how does it correlate with other reflections used in education?

Reflection is traditionally understood as reflection on action, widely discussed as such in J.

Dewey’s works (Dewey, 1933) and for many years already being implemented in schools.

Such reflection, related to critical thinking and identified with rationalism, is especially

popular in Lithuania as well. This teaching method grew quite remarkably after the fall of the

Soviet Union, with the restoration of the independence, as a whole wave of innovation flowed

into Lithuania.

Another concept of reflection, this time reflection in action, is the one offered by Donald A.

Schon (1983) and it is applied to creative work, design and construction. This is a rather

intuitive reflection in which thinking and doing are, as much as possible and simultaneously,

comprised in time. This reflection is usually applied to unexpected situations that call for

flexibility in planning, arranging and performing technical operations. In Lithuania there is

hardly any mention of such reflection, or none at all.

In order to promote the existentialist and phenomenological stance, the Lithuanian

philosopher T. Sodeika suggests that it be aimed at existentialist understanding, instead of

reflection, as the former is quite different from critical thinking or D.A. Schon’s thinking-anddoing

(reflection in action). It would rather be a way of life and in such case “activity of

understanding can be grasped exclusively as an aspect of being, i.e., as an aspect which can be

only experience” (Sodeika, 1995, p.45.). T. Sodeika shares M. Heidegger’s and G. Steiner’s

emphasis on the living contact with things, because reflective knowledge is secondary.

Critical reflection is confusing; it is based on something not articulated. From Sodeika’s texts

it is obvious that he definitely sees reflection as a kind of critical thinking that reflects upon

things of the past, which means presenting a secondary product from something already

given.

In contrast with the Lithuanian philosopher, the phenomenology pursuers of other countries

do not refuse the use of reflection in education, but give it a different sense and meaning. A.

Bleackley follows phenomenological insights and presents yet another kind of reflection with

the name of reflection-as-action, not a conquest of the world or the formation of the world

through structural constructions, but rather an active “immersion” into the world, a natural

relationship with it, as M. Heidegger would put it. This means an aesthetical action rather

than a functional or technical one. (Bleackley, 1999). Reflection-as-action is then an

instantaneous sensitivity or responsiveness based on the model of the body intertwining with

the world. According to him, the focus is no longer on the ego-logical relationship with the

world but on the eco-logical. Such reflection provides a continuation of the aesthetical

relationship through an ethical one, full of care for the surrounding world.

In the phenomenology of M. Merleau -Ponty reflection is defined as reflection on the

unreflective, in other words, reflection comes across a content that is not subject to reflection,

as reflection cannot be separated from the unity of action of body and conscience. Otherwise,

it would become a second product deprived of the naivety to be found in the primordial stage.

Paraphrasing M. Merleau – Ponty, within such reflection the world appears as strange and

paradoxical, since reflection pulls us with intentional strings that join us to it, thus making

these ties visible to our eyes (Merleau- Ponty, 2000). This reflection is also evident in the

social relationship when responding to the other, and therefore it is of vital importance in the

process of social and moral education.

cd-International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special Issue

8

If we compare the phenomenological reflection of M. Merleau-Ponty and Bleackley with the

denial of reflection of T. Sodeika, we may see that both philosophical trends deal with the

same issue, the difference lying in the fact that T. Sodeika follows M. Heidegger and analyses

reflection in the context of his minding. According to T. Sodeika, theoretical knowledge

based on critical thinking can only be considered a second product, if compared to the

empirical perception. However, T. Sodeika ‘s existential perception, as other famous

philosophers understand it, should correspond to phenomenological or existentialist reflection.

Phenomenological reflection -- whether radical- or post- Heideggerian -- is one of many

others. Together with phenomenological reflection, we can mention reflection on action,

reflection as action; there are still other forms suggested by some theorists, such as reflection

for action, and reflection as postmodern maneuver, developed by education philosopher R.

Uscher. Unfortunately, none of these conceptions is developed in Lithuania, except reflection

on action.

Forms of Phenomenological Education in the Teaching of Ethics

and its Application in Lithuania

Phenomenological reflection and phenomenological method are inseparable from experience,

the same way as J. Dewey’s defined reflection is related to experience. Therefore, teaching of

reflection methods and forms are very similar. The same importance is given to conversation,

dialogue, creative activity, dramatization, interpretation, etc. It is not a mere coincidence that

M. Green often quotes J. Dewey in his own works meant to be used for the implementation of

phenomenology in education. Nevertheless, the common elements of these systems are

evident only when discussing teaching forms, whereas the main difference lies in the aims

they pursue and the emphasis places in those forms. Let us go deeper into these aspects.

The first source should be M. Green, whose philosophy of education and its application has

already been developed for years. As part of the methods applicable to moral education he

includes dialogue and creative activity, for he considers moral education as an inseparable

process within social education. Therefore it is of great importance to be able to communicate

with others and to feel empathy for them. We can find something of this sort in Lithuania.

The general syllabus for teaching Ethics in secondary schools has been recently approved in

Lithuania and the themes included in it corresponds to the study of philosophical Ethics, such

as wisdom, love, suffering, responsibility, the meaning of life, and so on (General Curricula,

2000). The general syllabus for Ethics in general schools has also been approved and it

consists of four themes or parts: I - I, I - You, I -We, I - It (General Curricula, 2003). The

second and third parts include topics that are devoted to develop the social and moral

relationship with the world and others. In the guidelines of these topics, it is clearly stated that

the theme “I -You” should be understood under the light of M. Buber’s concept of dialogue (I

– Thou), which means that it should encourage a special relationship with a friend, an

acquaintance or any other and E.Levinas concept of the other. The topics are presented in

such a way that the student who follows this syllabus should constantly feel the need of caring

for the other, the world and its creatures. Obviously, the respect for others is also an important

element in the other topics to be discussed, but this phenomenological aspect of special care,

conscientiousness and need of dialogue is particularly fostered in the second part of the

syllabus. The remaining parts focus their attention mostly on the social commitment and

active participation.

cd-International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special Issue

9

The syllabus is presented together with a set of achievement standards, which in fact have

nothing to do with phenomenological education, let alone, with the teaching of Ethics. To

justify the idea of including them it could be explained that these established standards are by

no means used as assessment criteria of the students’ performance, but rather serve the

purpose of setting example as to what should be emphasized and attained. One of those

principles states that one of the most important skills to be developed is the ability to

experience the existential relationship, to undergo an authentic being in, called ordinary or

everyday experience. As the students pay attention to authenticity, they get an insight of the

harmony existing within themselves and the surrounding world, of the unity of body and

intellect, in a word, a natural relationship. Another skill to be fostered as listed in those

principles is called descriptive, also attributed to phenomenology. It implies the ability to

describe and retell the experienced phenomena in one’s own way, thus developing an open

rather than a normative approach to the surrounding world, which means that there may be

several and different points of view and ways of expressing them. Apart from these mentioned

skills, the list includes analytical, problem-solving, and normative skills, these three last ones

not being part of the phenomenological education. Admittedly, it could be said that such a

mixture of different skills and attitudes towards education is fallacious as it disrupts the

balance of a growing personality, but on the other hand it could be justified by stating that

when those standards where under discussion, the authors (among them the author of the

present paper) had in mind the need of a gradual transition of the teaching of ethics out of the

purely rationalist thinking in vogue at that moment. These are the very first steps that will lead

to a change in the way of approaching and relating with the world, first of all in the teachers

and later on in the children. Ultimately, it will be an alternative for those who feel the lack of

an authentic sense of living.

Phenomenological education cannot be dissociated from teaching how to choose; however,

this requires granting a certainty variety of choices. (Denton, 1970, Green, 1990).

Reconsidering M. Green’s position, will power and the ability to choose guarantees the

intentionality of an action, that is, aimed at a certain goal. It is precisely by choosing how we

realize our lives, create ourselves and form the morality of the self.

The representatives of phenomenological education propose to integrate the use of narrations,

artistic creation and imagination in the process of teaching moral principles, as this helps to

establish an aesthetical and ethical relationship with the world. When students tell each other

their own impressions and experiences, whatever the case may be, they will have the

opportunity to reflect on the values sorting them with a personal hierarchy or scale. (Green,

1990, 1991) They will make choices by themselves and this will give ground to their moral

decision. For this education it is useful to make resort to Literature lessons, interpretation of

fiction books, comparing the experiences of the depicted characters with one’s own. The

philosopher of education David E. Denton claims that literature lessons should give the

students the chance to learn metaphorical language, since metaphors hold much more than the

precise concept the words express, because their aim is not just to provide information for

reasoning (Denton, 1970). He also affirms that we are not supposed to teach how to explain

things but to understand them, because teaching how to explain implies that there already is a

premise stating the existence of objective information that do not depend on the person’s

involvement in the world or the present situation where that information is under discussion.

In contrast, understanding is just the activity of body and intellect applied to an already

determined situation (Denton, 1970). So he offers another concept: explanation – as –

understanding.

cd-International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special Issue

10

In Lithuania, soon after the declaration of the independence, it was J. Baranova who gave a

start to this trend, with her manuals and lectures where she proposed a gradual transition from

old realism. Her works encourage existentialist experiences and insights instead of logical and

universal normative values (Baranova, 1998) She arranged a selection of texts complemented

with illustrations and poetry. She suggests beginning from everyday life experiences, insights,

poems, and metaphors and then take some fiction and philosophy texts. In this there is a

passage from existentialist hermeneutics to a more conservative stance. Another of

J.Baranova’s suggestion is the study of works of art, such as paintings, sculptures,

photographs and films, from a moral philosophy point of view. This partly corresponds to the

proposals of some representatives of phenomenological education as regards the use

metaphorical language when teaching literature and other branches of the humanities, as

metaphors allow the reflection on the unreflective. Most probably this gradual study presented

by J. Baranova nurtured the appearance of new methods and practices.

The method that offers the closest correspondence with phenomenological education in

Lithuania is presented by T. Sodeika, who also cooperated with J.Baranova in the

arrangement of the Philosophy manuals for XI-XII grades, where there are some visible

elements of phenomenological education (T. Sodeika, J. Baranova, 2000). The texts presented

in this manual are meant to be not just analyzed but used for another purpose: to “hook” or

catch the reader’s concern with a certain thought and lead him further, towards the

consideration of his own experiences, reflections, and eventually to experiences themselves.

Such manual should really encourage an authentic relationship with the world. In the preface

the authors offer an original conception of the world compared to the traditional

understanding of the world taught in schools. They suggest comprehending the world by

entering it, grasping its meaning by being-in and experiencing it, rather than rational way to

acquire knowledge about it. That is why the selected texts deal with topics such as what is

conversation (M. Montaigne); meditation (J.B. Lotz), discussion (K. Jaspers) and they serve

as methods for class-work. They should lead to understanding rather than explain, which

reminds of D.E. Denton’s suggested change in educational methods. Following this scheme,

work takes place moving in a triangle: interpretation, discussion, and meditation. The

selection of texts was grounded on phenomenological anthropology, and many of them are

devoted to the consideration of the body and the senses. Besides, the manuals also have

illustrations (R. Magritte, S. Dali, P. Klee, P. Bruegel, and others), photographs, film shots,

which incite a personal grasping and interpretation of moral issues. The questions that come

together with the texts are open to free and metaphorical thinking, to make each one express

his experience and insights about the topics discussed.

T. Sodeika has offered the method of meditation to Lithuanian teachers and students for

around a decade; however, it was not possible until now to make an exposition of its

principles and arranged them in a manual available for all wanting to learn it. There are 10

principles for meditation listed in the preface of the manual.

T. Sodeika has still one more method for schools: film reviews with interpretations. Such

sessions are usually part of the programme of seminars with teachers of ethics and

philosophy; nevertheless, there is no clear methodology published for this yet. So, this visualaesthetical

teaching material is yet to come to light in the future, to supplement the already

existing set of phenomenological methods.

cd-International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special Issue

11

Phenomenological education requires special preparation and significant effort on the part of

the teachers. D.E. Denton relates educational method with motivation, which arises from the

dissonance between feelings and notions, the empirical and the rationalist. (D.E. Denton,

1970). The teacher must be ready for such dissonances and “grab” them so as to lead to

students to comply with the requirements of the given situation: to go on a trip, to solve an

exercise, to dance, to sing, or draw. In this way, there is relation between and combination of

feelings (bodily reactions) and understanding (whether personal or guided), all in all

enhancing the unity of the person. But still, there must be more than one alternative way of

understanding and reacting. In this point the already mentioned Philosophy manuals for XIXII

grades proved successful in their choice of questions that come with texts or pictures, for

they “awaken” several moods or reactions which should lead the students to sort them out and

make them match the demands of the environment by searching within his relationship with

the world and the others using their experiences on the light of suggested texts. What is more,

the manual presents more than one text for each topic, but instead the student is given the

opportunity to choose, to create his own personality and experience a sense of fulfillment. It

could be claimed that there is a wider choice of texts than other alternatives.

Summarizing what has been said so far about moral education, we can resort to Green’s

statement:

“It is there that I think moral education ought to culminate, there that Conscience is formed.

Perhaps we can invent a pedagogy for responsibility and interexistentiality and critique – and,

always, the renewal of hope.” (Green, 1991)

Conclusions

Following the assertions of philosophers, the phenomenological relationship with the world is

essentially ethical, as it encourages the care for the other, it makes us turn towards the other

and be responsible for Him, which means being social. A new point of view develops with

reference to reflection, this being understood as an aesthetical and ethical relationship all in

one. The phenomenological reflection- reflection as action- is directed to the evaluation and

understanding of both personal and common experiences, to a communal activity, and the

formation of values. Thus, action has a clearly social and moral dimension.

The Lithuanian pedagogical literature there is no study of the phenomenological education,

whereas in most general and secondary schools of Lithuania the phenomenological method is

already being applied in the teaching of Ethics.

There is a textbook called “Philosophy manual for XI- XII grades”, with encourages a clear

phenomenological relationship with the world and study of the suggested texts and

illustrations, which are to be understood rather than explained. There is a series of questions

leading to an open discussion of experiences, impressions and thoughts.

The syllabus of ethics for general school is arranged in such a way as to foster a caring

relationship with the other in response to the phenomenological approach of turning towards

the other.

The priority of the syllabus of ethics for secondary school is philosophical ethics and the

interpretation and comprehension of philosophical and literary extracts.

cd-International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special Issue

12

Phenomenological skills, such as everyday experience and the sense of being interwoven with

the surrounding world are fostered in both general and secondary school and guidelines for

moral education.

Some examples of the application of phenomenological education can already be found in

Lithuanian schools; however, the further development of this trend will depend upon the

future conceptions of education.

References:

Bendrosios programos ir išsilavinimo standartai profilinei mokyklai. (2002) [Genelal

Curricula and Education Standarts for Secondary Schools]. (Vilnius, SMM Press ).

Bendrosios programos ir išsilavinimo standartai pagrindinei mokyklai. (2003) [General

Curricula and Education Standarts for General schools] (Vilnius, SMM Press ).

Baranova, J. (1998) Filosofines etikos chrestomatija XI-XII kl. [Selection of texts of Ethics

philosophy for XI –XII grades]. (Vilnius, Alma littera).

Bleakley, A. (1999) From Reflective Practice To Holistic Reflexivity, Studies in Higher

Education, 24, issue 3, http://search.epnet.com/cpidlogin.asp?custid=s7839291.

Denton, D.E. (1970) The Language of Ordinary Experience: A study in the Philosophy of

Education. ( New York, Philosophical Library).

Dewey, J. (1933). How We Think: A Restatement of The Relation of The Reflective Process

(New York, Heath).

Duobliene, L. (2002) Sokratiškojo klausimo metodas mokant etikos: galimybes ir ribos

[Teaching Ethics with Socratic Method of Questioning: Possibilities and Limits], Pedagogika

(Vilnius Pedagogical University Press) 58, pp.70 – 75.

Duobliene, L. (2002) Mokymas mastyti postmodernios filosofijos požiuriu [Post – Modern

Philosophical Point of View Towards the Teaching of Thinking], Acta paedagogica vilnensia

(Vilnius University Press), 9, pp. 248 -255.

Duobliene, L. (2000) Filosofijos propedeutika tarpukario Lietuvos skirtingu tipu mokyklose

[Philosophy Teaching in Lithuania School Between Two World Wars], Pedagogika (Vilnius

Pedagogical University Press), 47, pp.138 – 148.

Green, M. (1990) The Passion Of The Possible: Choice, Multiplicity, And Commitment,

Journal of Moral Education, 19, issue 2,

http://search.epnet.com/cpidlogin.asp?custid=s7839291.

Green, M. (1991) Values Education in The Contemporary Moment, Clearing House, 64, issue

5. http://search.epnet.com/cpidlogin.asp?custid=s7839291.

Heidegger, M. (1999) Being and Time ( Oxford UK and Cambridge USA, Blackwell).

Levin, D. M. (1998) Tracework: Myself and Others in the Moral Phenomenology of Merleau

– Ponty and Levinas, International Journal of Philosophical Studies, 6 (3), pp.345 -392.

cd-International Journal of Educology, 2005 Lithuanian Special Issue

13

Levinas, E.(1998) Entre Nous/ on Thinking of The Others (London, The Athlone Press).

Levinas, E.(1995) Existence and Existents (Dordrecht/ Boston/ London, Kluwer Academic

Publishers).

Merleau – Ponty, M. (2000) Phenomenology of perception ( Routlege and Kegan Paul Ltd).

Parker, S.(1997) Reflective Teaching in the Postmodern World (Buckingham, Open

University Press).

Sverdiolas A. (2002) Buti ir klausti [To Be or to Ask] (Vilnius, Strofa).

Sodeika T., Baranova J. (2002) Filosofija XI-XII kl. [Philosophy manual for XI –XII grades]

(Vilnius, Tyto alba)

Sodeika T. (1995) On Reflection and Experience in Philosophy, in (Ed. Pekka Elo and Rainer

Korhonen) Inquiries concerning Philosophy Teaching (Helsinki, Hakapaino Oy) 1, pp. 39-49.

Schon D.A. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner ( New York, Basic Books).

R.Uscher, R.Edwards (1996). Postmodern and Education ( London, Routledge)


The Institute of History and Philosophy of Educology for Developing Democracies in the World (The Institute),
an Initiative of Educology Research Associates/USA (ERA/USA)

Website powered by Network Solutions®