The Future of Education
Orientation in a Time of Upheaval. About a Democratic Social Order and the Connection to Learning, Knowledge, Expertise and Education
Carina Klement, University of Graz (Austria)
Abstract
In his book Der politische Mensch (translated ‘The Political Man’), the renowned social philosopher Oskar Negt poses the question of what a person needs to know in order to orientate themselves in a world of upheaval. According to current political, social and environmental challenges, the question arises once again as to how we will behave towards ourselves and our environment in the future. The basic foundation for this consists of six key competences, which form a kind of catalogue of competences and can be understood as a learning concept: Identity competence, technological competence, justice competence, ecological competence, economic competence and historical competence (Negt 2010). Negt thus assumes that people in civil societies must be equipped with orientational knowledge and thus have competences in which individual interests are combined with a view of society as a whole. The starting point for Negt's considerations is an understanding of politics that does not think of politics in terms of individual parts or constitutions but instead focusses on concern for the cohesion of human urban societies. A democratic social order cannot be taken for granted but must be learnt again and again. This involves learning processes that affect the entire lifespan.
In the planned presentation, the question mentioned at the beginning will be asked as to what people need to know in order to be able to orientate themselves in a world of upheaval. Current social developments, a democratic social order and people's scope for action are linked and reflected on with basic pedagogical concepts such as learning, knowledge, competence and education.
Keywords: Adult Education and Learning, Democracy, Competences, Oskar Negt
REFERENCES
[1] Negt, Oskar (2010): Der politische Mensch. Demokratie als Lebensform Göttingen: Steidl.
