Propozycje pedagogiczne Wojciecha Dzieduszyckiego

Abstract

Wojciech Dzieduszycki (1848‒ 1909) ‒ a philosopher, publicist, diplomat. In the times of political subjection he was active in the Austrian sector of the partitioned Poland (Galicia). In 1866 an opportunity arose there to develop a Polish school system (the National School Council was established). Dzieduszycki’s concern with the future of Polish society and the Polish nation caused his interests in pedagogical questions. He noticed that the programme of universal education, carried out within the Austrian model of education, might lead to the decline of the national spirit and to the extinction of aspirations for independence. He observed a disharmony between fostering an awareness of national identity and the education acquired in schools, and a disproportion between the intellectual and the physical development of children and young people in the process of education. With the aim of preventing that situation, Wojciech Dzieduszycki made several pedagogical proposals making use of his own philosophical views. He distinguished three elements in education: religious and moral education, intellectual education, and physical education. He emphasized their interrelatedness and the necessity for keeping balance between them. His criticism of the contemporary programmes, text-books, and methods of teaching individual subjects was accompanied by specific proposals; he suggested, for example, replacing the memory method with the visual method, he also suggested new programmes and a new arrangement of material in text-books. He recognized the most important role of the parents (especially of the mother) in bringing up and educating a child. By his activities Wojciech Dzieduszycki made an impact on the reform of Polish education in Galicia. He dealt with many educational problems which are still vital and very much discussed.