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THE GENESIS OF THINKING ABOUT LIFELONG EDUCATION OF A MAN AND STAGES OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
K. Jakubiak
Thinking about and discussing the contemporary aspects and issues of development and education concerning childhood, growing up, adulthood and old age, it is worth asking a question since when these problems have been present in the history of the European pedagogical thought. Is it a result of research of contemporary developmental psychology or does it have a much richer, distant, chronological tradition? And maybe one should associate the first division of the stages of human development with the shaping of pedology at the beginning of the 20th century together with its then modern, empirical research instrumentation as well as an integral biopsychological and social cognition of a child in all stages of its development.1
The studies on the history of the European pedagogical thought allow to claim that the genesis of distinguishing the stages of human development in modern history should be found in the works of John Amos Comenius (1592-1670), who probably based on much earlier findings of Isidore of Seville (570-633) believed to be the greatest scholar of the turn of the 6th and 7th century. In the encyclopaedic work entitled Originum seu etymologiamm libri XX [The Etymologiae] that organised all knowledge of the time he divided the life and education of a person into six periods of six years: infancy (infantia), childhood (pueritia), adolescence (adolescentia), youth (iuventus), maturity (gravitas) and old age (senectus).1 2
John A. Comenius, preparing his truly original, the first in Europe, project of a uniform school system, accessible for everyone disregarding their social and financial status and sex, in his Great Didactic (1657)3, understood by the author as the didactic of the whole human life4, distinguished four periods of six years in the human development and applied to them four types of schools. Childhood - up to six years of age,
1
P. Z. Dqbrowski, Nauka o dziecku, Lvov -Warsaw 1928, pp. 1-3 and following
2 S. Litak, The history of education up to the French Revolution, v. I, Cracow 2004, pp. 53-54
3 J. A. Comenius, The Great Didactica, Wroclaw 1956, pp. LXXXIV -LXXXVI, 73-75
4 T. Bienkowski, Jan Amos Komenski o nauczaniu i wychowaniu, Puttusk 2000, p. 74
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corresponded to the mother school (schola materna) understood as upbringing and education at home. The author of ‘maternal school’ recommended taking care about a child already in the prenatal period. The Czech theologian and pedagogical thinker was the first to notice the educational importance of this early period of life emphasising the role of mothers in those years.
The second period from 6 to 12 years of age corresponded to six-year elementary school called the vernacular school (schola vernacula) with an object learning about things in the mother tongue. The program of this school according to Comenius went beyond the curriculum of the nonLatin schools and included: acquiring basic skills in reading, writing and arithmetic, grammar of the mother tongue, music, religion, history, geography and basics of economy and politics as well as general information about crafts.
The program of the vernacular school was to be gradually extended and developed in the Latin school for students at the age of 12-18. The subjects included Latin, Greek, Hebrew, physics, natural history, scientific discoveries, mathematics, ethics and logic.1
The fourth period of human development in the age range of 18-24 corresponded to the university, where only the most talented students of the Latin school could attend, "only select talents, the cram of the intelligentsia”1 2, who could choose one of the three faculties: theology, law or medicine.
The visions presented in the Great Didactic John A. Comenius developed and expanded in his School of Pansophy formulating an outline of curricula for each class separately.3
Establishing the four stages of human development and education Comenius emphasised that each school should teach everything "that can make humans really humans.”4 The basic principle of Comenius thinking about a human was his statement which said "It is only education that makes a human a human.”5 This rule of Comenius pedagogic was still in the 17th century the foundation of Some Thoughts Concerning Education (1693) by John Locke (1632-1704), which was based on a notion that
1 Ibidem, p.86
2 1
R. Alt, Postqpowy charakter pedagogiki Komenskiego, Warsaw 1857, p. 64
3 J. A. Comenius, The Great Didactic, Wroclaw 1956, Introduction - B. Suchodolski, p. LXXXVI
4 Ibidem, p. LXXXIV, chapter XXVII
5 Ibidem, p. LXXXV, chapter XXIX
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education shapes a person. This idea was alive and valid in the next centuries, it was also close to the most eminent philosophers of the modern times. In the 18th century Immanuel Kant tried to prove in his works that a man is a being that must be educated and also that a man becomes who they are only through education.
After many reflections, in his other great work Pampaedia Comenius acknowledged that adults and even old people should also be educated. Comenius in his Pampaedia distinguished eight stages of human life and characterised eight other ‘schools’. It was the first time in the history of pedagogy that this classification took into consideration the whole human life - starting with the moment of conception and ending with death. In this way Comenius formulated a pedagogical project of continuous education, lasting throughout the whole life, in modern terms: permanent. Pampaedia went beyond the horizons of the Great Didactic extending the notion of school for the whole human life, using the term ‘school’ in a more symbolic rather than a real way. Comenius was convinced that every age is suitable to learn and human life has no other goal but learning. Education understood by the Czech precursor of modern pedagogy as "universal education of the whole humankind” was at the same time "education of all people in humanity, that is leading them to the state which they can naturally achieve if only they make the appropriate effort.”1
‘University’ in Pampaedia was followed by ‘apodemia’ that is the school of travel and wander. Thanks to travelling the student was supposed to decide more consciously about the choice of occupation and acquire the ability to mix with other people. Next ‘school for young men’ was an appeal issued by Comenius for self-knowledge, reflection on life and planning one’s own life.1 2
The next stage was ‘school for men’ and concerned, as Comenius put it, "the middle part of life, which is marked by the height of life forces.”3 It involved years of professional work but, as the author emphasised, the main area and goal of education during this period is simply life.
The last period in the human life was referred to as ‘school of old age’. Comenius in this respect was convinced that "that which is weak has to be managed and supported. And since old age is the weakest period in
1
J. A. Comenius, Pampaedia, Wroctaw-Cracow-Gdansk 1973, Introduction
B. Suchodolski, pp. XV-XVI
2 Ibidem, p. XII
3 Ibidem, p. XII
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life it should not be neglected and left without help.”1 "The school of old age should teach how old people could, would be able to and would like to properly use the journey through life, spend the rest of life in a decent way, the earthly life end with dignity and cheerfully enter the eternal life.”1 2 Comenius encouraged the old people not to resign from their work to devote the time to inactivity and laziness, just the opposite, they should review their duties both completed and those to be completed in order to finish the tasks they have left.
As far as the ‘school of death’ is concerned Comenius hesitated whether such a stage should be postulated. However, he concluded that there should be an equivalent of the ‘school of birth’ as two poles of the human life - the beginning and the end. He also believed that "the art of good and happy dying is worth considering for every devout man and that it can even be salutary.”3
Pampaedia was definitely the first original theory of education of all people throughout their whole life based on the anthropological concept of a man in modern pedagogy. The human life was understood by Comenius as a continuous education of the humanity.
Another precursor of modern pedagogy, who distinguished the stages of development, was Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778). In his main pedagogical work entitled Emile or, on education (1762) he presented a fictional pedagogical experiment, which monitored the results of growing up and development of a boy under a teacher supervision. He claimed that the only regulator of the pace of development is nature, understood by Rousseau in two ways: "as child’s internal forces and as a natural environment influencing the child.”4 The novel, called by Rousseau himself a ‘pedagogical romance’ contains five volumes, based on freely determined stages of a child development. He believed that education must be progressive, adjusted to the natural, free (physical and mental) development of a child, which became a rule of pedagogy. Rousseau claimed, similarly to Comenius, that every stage of a human life has its own characteristic features. He distinguished four stages of development characterised by some spiritual features.
1 Ibidem, p. 267
2 Ibidem, p.269
3 Ibidem, p. 283-284
4 K. Bartnicka, I. Szybik, Zarys historii wychowania, Warsaw 2001, p. 125
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The first period presented in the first book of Emile is ‘education in infancy’ that is up to the three years of age. The parents are the educators during this stage, especially a mother, who is naturally prepared for this role since it is the mother with whom the child establishes a strong emotional bond as a result of breastfeeding. He appealed: "start with mothers and you shall be surprised what changes you will cause.”1 The child should be surrounded by kindliness and warmth according to advice given by Rousseau to adults (including parents and carers): "love childhood, surround with kindliness its play and joys, its instinct full of grace.”1 2
After the stage of infancy there was a period of childhood, which lasted up to the age of 12. The goal of a child education in this period was to shape a ‘full child’ and not its preparation for adulthood. Rousseau perceived this stage as the time to develop physical and mental strength of a child, to develop its senses in the contact with nature and through learning about the surrounding world.
The stage of ‘boyhood’ described in the third book concerned the years between the age of twelve and fifteen. J. J. Rousseau called it "the most precious period in life.” It was then that the most intensive education of the mind of Emile took place, allowing the boy to understand the surrounding phenomena. The teaching was to be practical and adjusted to the student’s abilities and mental capabilities. As a result of education Emile was also supposed to understand the meaning of social usefulness of agriculture and craft.
The last stage of education - ‘youthfulness’ starting at the age of sixteen and lasting up to the age of twenty concerned the social, aesthetic and religious education of Emile. It was also the time to get mature to start friendship and love. In this period Rousseau set two tasks for his son: "to get the ability to look at his attitude towards people and to have own view of the world.”3 The time of Emile’s education ended when he chose his life companion - Sophia.
It is since Emile that a new philosophy of education started in the modern European pedagogical thought. Since then, the educationalists of next generations will speak not about education and moulding but
1
J. J. Rousseau, Emile or, on education, introduction and comments by J. Legowicz, v. I, Wroclaw 1955, p. 21
2 Ibidem, p. 33
J. J. Rousseau, op. Cit., Introduction, p. XLI
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developing the body, character, mind and spirit of a child.1 Rousseau revolutionised the way of thinking about education and the process of education. He discovered childhood as a period in human life that is precious in itself, which deserves respect from adults. He was in favour of the child’s freedom and forbade any interference in its development. In his concept of natural education he advocated the need to get to know the child and pay attention to the identity of the child psyche. Rousseau discovered and tried to prove the relationship between the physical development of a person and their spiritual growth, between the sensual and intellectual life, between physical and moral health of a child.
As it can be seen on the basis of historiographical analysis, the thinking about lifelong human education and the stages of his development is well grounded in the tradition of modern European pedagogical thought dating back at least to the 17th century. As it has been proven, the works of John Amos Comenius and Jean Jacques Rousseau are ahead of their times in classification of developmental and educational stages of a man worked out on the grounds of pedology of the beginning of the 20th century and later studies of the empirical - experimental pedagogy as well as contemporary developmental psychology.
1
K. Poznanski, Wybrane zagadnienia z historii wychowania, v. 2, Warsaw 2006, p. 74
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