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PEOPLE'S UNIVERSITIES - LIFELONG EDUCATION FOR BALANCED DEVELOPMENT T. T. Malishevsky
The tasks that modernity sets before us require a re-determination of the previous attitude and behavior in relation to education, including adult education [1]. It seems that in our untiring search for the "new”, we often forget about many important concepts that are well-known in history education, which have served many generations for decades, and with a very good result too. At the same time, creative transformation of the proved educational models of the past with the purpose of adapting them to the contemporary educational goals may have considerable social results.
Such “traditional” educational initiatives as: public universities, workers' universities, self-education circles or adult education societies can all play an important role in the harmonious formation of individual lives of citizens of various countries, as well as in the balanced development of diverse local groups, whole societies and finally international associations. One should add that in some educational fields it is hard to imagine institutions or organizations that could wholly substitute these forms of educational work that have been tested and perfected over many years of experience.
As an example of such an institution, we can mention people's universities (in some places in the world they are also called farmers' universities or people's higher education schools). The first of them appeared in the Kingdom of Denmark in 1844. So, this type of educational institution for adults has a tradition of 165 years.
When in the early 1840s, the 19th century Danish philosopher, theologian and pedagogue Nikolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig (1783-1872) published his essay “School for Life and Academy in Soro” in Copenhagen, nothing yet foretokened the appearance of one of the most interesting pedagogical innovations to emerge over the last two centuries on the whole European continent. But it turned out that the concept of adult education described by the prominent Dane years transformed in just a few years into an immense international movement of educational institutions for adults with the common name people's universities (Danish: folkehojskoler; English: folk high schools / People’s colleges/; German:
Heimvolkshochschulen, Polish: uniwersytety ludowe) which were attended by adult residents of the country districts of a few dozens countries of the
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world [2]. At the beginning of the 21st century the theses that were accepted back then are still relevant [3].
The principles of the new type of education that Grundtvig called school for life arose mostly from the denial of the usefulness of the Latin secondary schools of the time (schools/for/death) [4]. "The goal of the people's high schools is mainly the education of energetic people” - according to the author of a publication issued by the Polish Printing House in Moscow at the end of the First World War [5]. This energy was understood as achievement of such a level of awareness and general and professional competence that would make it possible to carry out various social functions (civil and economic) consciously and with full responsibility. Although, as it was noted hundred years ago, "these schools provide not professional but only general education; their goal is to inculcate in people a love for the sublime..., as well as for agriculture ” [6] -which means that the context of professional education that increases the competence of a good owner becomes very significant.
As for the forms and methods of work, it used to be said that the "living word” should be most useful in the didactic process, i.e. use of the students' life experience and complete cooperation on the teacher-student line. After all, Grundtvig spoke of "free, live and natural mutual influence: free from the pressure of the external authorities in the form of books and examinations, among other things, live - as opposed to cramming, natural because there is no compulsion for young people to acquire knowledge”
[7]. All of this was based also on common life experience. Kristen Kold (1816-1870), thanks to whom the philosophy of Grundtvig was indeed "translated” into the language of educational practice, additionally enriched the concept of people's universities with joint residence of the students in dormitories, elements of students' self-government, giving the educational programs a slightly more practical bent [8]. Thus, right from the beginning of the history of this innovation in the area of adult education, it has been possible to discern in it many elements which in the field of school and general upbringing pedagogy only appeared much later as part of the concepts of John Dewey, Celestin Freinet, Ellen Key, Janusz Korchak, Maria Montessori or Lev Tolstoy. Learning through experience, individualization of the student and democratization inside the institution became a striking feature of people's universities, which is still prominent even in the practice of contemporary centers of the same nature, and also in modern educational quests, because of its invariable relevance.
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It should not be forgotten that a certain contribution to the general acceptance of this idea in Poland was made by the publications of a Russian woman, Sophia Kovalevskaya (1850-1891). This famous woman, a professor of mathematics at the Stockholm University, made a trip of several days to one of the Swedish people's universities which “interested her a lot, [and] that visit was what first stimulated her to write an article about people's high schools in Scandinavia, which she later published in one of the Russian monthly editions” [9]. As early as 1891 an abridged version of this text in Polish appeared in “Przeglad Tygodniowy”, and a few years after her death, a Polish version of her work on Swedish universities was published in a separate book [10]. Thus, Kovalevskaya “furthered the dissemination of the Grundtvig's idea, which was conducive to the establishing of such institutions in the Kingdom of Poland” [11].
It should be made clear that even though owing to the realities of Polish life, people's universities never became such a popular educational movement as they were in Scandinavia, still throughout the entire 20th century there were at least several institutions of this kind on Polish territory. Some of them were adapted to meet contemporary requirements, are still active at present and have been responsible for true educational achievements in the area of balanced development of their local environments [12]. And it should be emphasized that they have never been uncritical imitations of their Scandinavian prototypes, as every time their founders tried to adjust the already established program organizational principles to the current needs of the environment in which they worked.
The potential of the use of the methodological innovation of these institutions consists to a considerable extent in the global vision of education of an individual. Among special tasks that can be formulated for contemporary people's universities, the following should be mentioned: (a) measures aimed at changing the situation of the social groups or individuals isolated or rejected by the society; (b) stimulation of civil education, local democracy and the idea of public interaction; (c) promotion of the idea of balanced social-economical development of the region, and practical decisions in this area; (d) realization of the tasks in the area of allround regional education and preserving the local natural and cultural heritage; (e) occupying spare time in a way that is conducive to the development of the individualized needs of the members of the society in which the institution functions [13].
In the perspective of more than a hundred years of history, and also from the analysis of the contemporary discussions on this topic, it follows
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that the concept of the people's university will be able to prove its usefulness in the future as well - for example, in relation to educational measures in the sphere of the broadly understood balanced development of diverse environments and dissemination of the idea of lifelong learning.
References
[1] См: также Wilson L.A. & Hayes E.R. (ред.) (2000): Handbook of Adult and Continuing Education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers; Александер Т. (2009): Андрагогика. Акдемический учебник. Радом-Краков: Изд. ITE, стр. 311-424, а также Рекомендации VI Международной Конференции „Образование в течение всей жизни: непрерывное образование для сбалансированного развития” (Санкт-Петербург 2008),
[в:] http://www.ipaeuroasec.org/docsdown/rec_obraz_060608.pdf (на день 24-03-2009).
[2] Christensen F. (1987): Nikolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig. Option. Journal of the Folk High School Association of America. Vol. 11, № 3-4, с. 2-8; Grundtvig N. F. S. (1991): Selected Eduactional Writings, ред. M. Lawson. Helsingor: The International People’s College, стр. 76-94; Dam P., Gaertner H. (2008): Николай Фредерик Северин Грундтвиг (1783-1872). Жизнь - мысль - произведение. Краков: Изд. WAM, стр. 59-77.
[3] Kulich J. (2002): Grundtvig’s Educational Ideas in Central and Eastern Europe and the Baltic States. Copenhagen: Forlaget Vartov, Byczkowski M., Maliszewski T., Przybylska E. (ред.) (2003): Folk High School - School for Life, Wiezyca: KFHS; Krivickiene V. (ред.) (2004): Folk High Schools in Europe - an important part of free Adult Education and personal growing, Kaunas: NAFHS.
[4] ^gidius K. K. (2003): Fundamental Ideas and Teaching Methods - Principles in the Folk High School - Adult Education in Denmark, (в:) Folk High School - School for Life..., стр. 29-31.
[5] Бжовский В. (1917): „Не бросим землю нашего рода!” Рассуждения об общественных экономических группах - братьям-изгнанникам перед возвращением на Родину. Москва: Польская Типография, стр. 113.
[6] Стемповский М. (1906): Внешкольная просветительная работа у чужих и у нас. Варшава: Изд. В. Лазарского, стр. 12.
[7] Тоборг К. (2003): Идеи народных университетов, (в:) Народный Университет - Школа для Жизни, ред. М. Бычковский и др. Вежица: Кашубский НУ, стр. 311.
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[8] Волерт В. (1930): Демократия и культура. Просветительная работа за рубежом. Варшава: Общественно-Воспитательный Отдел Союза Потребительских Кооперативов РП, стр. 279-281; Kulich J. (2002): Grundtvig’s Educational Ideas..., стр. 12-25.
[9] Ковалевская С. (1890): Три дня в крестьянском университете в Швеции. Северный Вестник № 11. По: Леффлер А. К. (1898): Биография С. Ковалевской, (в:) Дневник Софьи Ковалевской. Перевод И. Щавиньска. Варшава: Изд. G. Centnerszwer, стр. 240.
[10] Дыбец Ю. (1977): Формирование польских знаний о датских народных университетах, (в:) Изучение истории просвещения и культуры знаний в Польше XVIII-XX вв., ред. Р. Дуткова, Ю. Дыбец, Л. Гайдукевич. Вроцлав - Варшава - Краков - Гданьск: Ossolineum, стр. 270, а его фрагменты поместил также варшавский „Глос” - см.: Ковалевская С. (1891): Крестьянский университет в Швеции. Глос. Часть 1: № 6, стр. 62-63, часть 2: № 7, стр. 74-75; Ковалевская С. (1903): Крестьянский университет в Швеции. Варшава: Ксенгарня Наукова, стр. 47.
[11] Maliszewski T. (2008): Den svenska folkhogskolan. En betraktelse fran andra sidan Ostersjon. Серия: Vuxenutblidarcentrums skriftserie № 19, Linkoping: Linkopings universitet, стр. 159.
[12] Росальска М. (2004): Католические народные
университеты и современные изменения польской деревни. Познань: Издательская Мастерская „Garmond”, стр. 105-134 и стр. 161-172; Роснер А. (2004): Теремиски изменят мир, (в:) Куроно Я., Речь Посполитая для моих внуков. Серия: Стеклянные Дома, Варшава: Rosner & Wspolnicy, стр. 113-120; Малишевский Т. Т. (2008): Кашубский Народный Университет как пример новаторства в области просвещения взрослых, (в:) Инновационные процессы в профессиональном образовании, ред. А. В. Лунев и др. Москва: Российский университет кооперации - Калининградский филиал, стр. 22-29.
[13] Maliszewski T. (2002): Folk High School - School for Life. On Traditions of Adult Education in the Context of Educational Needs of the Future, (в:) Sapia-Drewniak E., Jasinski Z., Bednarczyk H. (eds): Adult Education at the Beginning of the 21st Century. Theoretical and Practical Contexts. Opole-Radom-Bonn: Opole University, стр. 144-153.
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