Invisible teaching
Søren Kierkegaard
pp. 243-257
in: Paul Smeyers (ed), International handbook of philosophy of education, Berlin, Springer, 2018Abstract
This contribution analyses Søren Kierkegaard's pedagogical principles within the framework of four significant questions that are part of modern pedagogical thinking. First, it analyses the "why' of education. In addition to legitimating the pedagogical praxis, this question gets to the purpose of education. Any pedagogy must have a justification and a purpose; if it does not, it will lack direction and arbitrariness will ensue. Secondly, it analyses the "who' of education. Who is the student who is to be the subject of the pedagogical praxis? Thirdly, it analyses the "how' of education. How is the pedagogy to be carried out in practice? Fourthly, it analyses the "what' of education. What should be the content of pedagogy? How does Kierkegaard, through his pedagogical perspectives, answer these questions convincingly? We know that he tried to solve complicated pedagogical issues, including the four questions this contribution analyses. Kierkegaard provides an original contribution to pedagogy, in part because he relies on ideas about irony and deception, and this contribution argues that his pedagogy or invisible teaching can be highly relevant to modern pedagogy, at least in some areas.
