1.1. PEDAGOGY AS A SCIENCE Introduction to pedagogy

Pedagogy (/ˈpɛdəɡɒdʒi, -ɡoʊdʒi, -ɡɒɡi/), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as an academic discipline, is the study of how knowledge and skills are imparted in an educational context, and it considers the interactions that take place during learning. Both the theory and practice of pedagogy vary greatly, as they reflect different social, political, and cultural contexts.

In literal translation from the Greek, "pedagogy" means "child-breeding" or "child".

Currently, the term "pedagogy" has several meanings. They represent various ideas, views on education, training, education; the field of science related to research in education, training, education; academic discipline in the content of secondary, higher and postgraduate vocational education.

Pedagogy is often described as the act of teaching. The pedagogy adopted by teachers shapes their actions, judgments, and other teaching strategies by taking into consideration theories of learning, understandings of students and their needs, and the backgrounds and interests of individual students. Its aims may range from furthering liberal education (the general development of human potential) to the narrower specifics of vocational education (the imparting and acquisition of specific skills). Conventional western pedagogies view the teacher as knowledge holder and student as the recipient of knowledge (described by Paulo Freire as "banking methods"), but theories of pedagogy increasingly identify the student as an agent and the teacher as a facilitator.

Instructive strategies are governed by the pupil's background knowledge and experience, situation, and environment, as well as learning goals set by the student and teacher. One example would be the Socratic method.

It is necessary to distinguish between everyday and scientific pedagogical knowledge, which ensures the need of society in the upbringing and training of the younger generation. The first ones are based on practical experience, fixed later in proverbs, sayings, and fairy tales, transmitted from one generation to another. Scientific knowledge, as opposed to everyday ones, summarizes the disparate facts, establishes causal connections between phenomena. However, these forms of knowledge are interrelated, and everyday knowledge is still the basis of scientific pedagogical knowledge.

In determining the place of pedagogy in the system of scientific knowledge , three points of view were established:

1) pedagogy is an interdisciplinary field of human knowledge that studies the most diverse objects of reality (space, culture, politics, etc.). In fact, in this approach, the pedagogy of its field of study is denied;

2) pedagogy - applied discipline. Its purpose is to use data from other sciences (psychology, sociology, science, etc.) to solve problems of upbringing, training, or education. In this case, pedagogy is a collection of disparate ideas about individual aspects of pedagogical phenomena.

3) pedagogy is a relatively independent science with its own object and subject of study. This point of view, argued in the works of V. V. Kraevsky, is productive for science and practice, since it opens up the possibility of scientific understanding of questions

Based on the latter point of view, it is necessary to clarify the object and subject of pedagogy.

For the first time the idea of ​​the specifics of the object of pedagogy was formulated by A. S. Makarenko. In 1922, he noted that the object of scientific pedagogy is “pedagogical fact (phenomenon)”. Modern studies clarify that “the object of pedagogy are those phenomena of reality that determine the development of the human individual in the process of purposeful activity of society. These phenomena are called education ”[Slastenin]. Thus, the object of pedagogy as a science is education as a social (public) phenomenon.

However, education is a multidimensional phenomenon and therefore it is studied by various sciences. Thus, philosophy addresses questions about the purpose and purpose of education in the modern world. Sociology determines the compliance of the education system with the requirements of scientific and technological progress and social transformations. Pedagogy, in contrast to these sciences, considers the essential aspects of education. Therefore, the subject of pedagogy is education as a real holistic pedagogical process, purposefully organized in special social institutions (family, educational and cultural-educational institutions). [Slastenin].

Having specified the object and subject of pedagogy, it is possible to give a more complete definition of pedagogy as a science.

Pedagogy is a science that studies the essence, patterns, trends and prospects for the development of the pedagogical process (education) as a factor and means of human development throughout his life.

Based on the subject, scientists distinguish the theoretical and technological functions of pedagogy as a science. The theoretical function includes a description, explanation and prediction of pedagogical phenomena, technological or practical - the development of curricula, programs, their implementation in the real pedagogical process and evaluation of results. These functions are interrelated, ensuring the unity of educational theory and practice.

See also