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[German Version] I. The Term The psychology of learning is a subdiscipline of psychology that also developed as a science during the 20th century. It is guided by the definition of learning as an object of study that deliberately casts a wide net; from the start, it has not …

[German Version] (Feb 27, 1863, South Hadley, MA – Apr 26, 1931, Chicago), son of pastor and homiletics professor Hiram Mead, studied at Oberlin College (until 1883) and Harvard (1887/1888), where he had contacts with J. Royce and W. James. Subsequently, he studied in Leipzig (with W. Wundt and others) and in Berlin (with, among others, W. Dilthey). In 1891, he became a lecturer in psychology at the University of Michigan (from that time, contact with J. Dewey); in 1894, he moved to the University…

[German Version] (Mar 14, 1903, Stettin – Feb 7, 1991, Tübingen) studied in Berlin, received his doctorate in physics in 1925 from Göttingen, with further studies of philosophy with Georg Misch and H. Nohl; he taught in the Odenwald School, habilitated in philosophy in 1931, became professor of pedagogy in Gießen in 1939, in Mainz in 1946, and he…

[German Version] I. Social Sciences – II. Social Ethics – III. Practical Theology I. Social Sciences Organization in the broadest sense refers to the activity of ordering, arranging, administering, etc., and in the sense of self-organization, autopoiesis, etc. the process by which systemic structures develop, including in nature or in the field of natural science. As a sociological and economic concept, organization denotes an insti-¶ tution that is characterized by specific features or elements. Mention is frequently made of defined membership, predetermined…

[German Version] The term school reform, or more broadly educational reform, is often limited to particular epochs, like the ambitious reforms of the 1960s. In fact the history of school reform goes back as far as the history of schools and the critique of schools: schools can and should get constantly better and are therefore permanently subject to reform. In school reform, currently age’s dominant notions of culture and education (Education/Formation) and of the life of individuals and society come to t…

[German Version] I. Concept and History – II. The Present – III. Religious Education and Theology I. Concept and History It has often been observed that the term learning is highly ambiguous, in large part because until recently it has only been used colloquially. Since ancient times, the shifting concepts of learning have derived from the concepts of teaching and instruction, as well as the concepts of education, formation (Education/Formation), ¶ and school. The concepts of knowledge and understanding (Epistemology) debated in Greek philosophy (Sophistic school, Plato, Aristotle) are still influential today. In the history of educational theory, efforts toward a scientific understanding of the nature of the learning process go back to J. Pestalozzi (elementary education, learning through sense perception and experience) and J. Herbart (educational instruction, learning by building on a base of…

[German Version] The theory of vocational or business education is a subdiscipline of educational theory (Education, Theory of). While its historical roots, for example in the various trades, can be traced to antiquity and above all the Middle Ages, it established itself as a scientific discipline only with the development of the vocational education system in the 20th century. Initially it focused on (trade) schools, but today it is being extended to social and operational settings.…

[German Version] (Aug 9, 1896, Neuchâtel – Sep 16, 1980, Geneva). Aft…

[German Version] I. Dogmatics – II…

[German Version] I. General It is generally recognized today that not just our everyday talk of “adolescence” and “youth” but also our concept of adolescent psychology involves a “social construct.” Psychology no longer views its specialized knowledge as a direct, veridical representation of the world. Psychologists are increasingly taking into account the fact that the “latest scientific conclusions” reflect a variety of assumptions in the particular underlying social and cultural circumstances an…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies The term socialization is used in various academic fields, especially sociology, (social) psychology, and the educational disciplines (Education, Theory of ). Already used by É. Durkheim in 1907, it experienced a wave of popularity in the 1960s and again in the 1980s. Initially it emphasized the formation of individuals by society; recently it has focused more on the interaction between individuals’ own activity and outside influences a…

[German Version] I.  History of Religion – II.  Biography and Religion – III.  Autobiography and Religion – IV.  Practical Theology and Education I. History of Religion …

[German Version] I. Concept, History of Doctrine – II. Science – III. Behavioral Research and Ethics, Practical Theology and Pedagogy I. Concept, History of Doctrine Today, behavioral research or ethology, which also includes behaviorism, represents an increasingly ramified field of research that is particularly determined by biology and evolutionary concepts (Evolution). Sub-disciplines include: behavioral physiology (neurological and endocrinological), behavioral…

[German Version] I. What Is Psychology? …

[German Version] I. Terminology – II. History – III. Philosophy – IV. Philosophy of Religion, Dogmatics, Ethics – V. Practical Theology and Education – VI. Social History I. Terminology This article deals with formative education, c…

[German Version] I. The Term – II. History – III. Present-Day Emphases – IV. Significance for Theology I. The Term The expression “theory of education” (or: “education theory and methodology” – Ger. Pädagogik) serves as a “collective term for all theoretical and practical endeavors in respect of education. As a theory, it refers to the essence of the teaching(s) or science(s) ‘about’ and ‘for’ education, and also to educationally significant reality (in the broad sense). Education theory as a practice is understood to be the totality of activities and processes through which education is carried out and optimized” (Weber 12). The parallel term “education science” (Ger. Erziehungswissenschaft) is found within the context of a social scientific and empirical turning point in the discipline. There is wide consensus today that scientific education theory may neither be thought of without normative precedents nor be constructed without empirical research. ¶ At the end of the 18th century, educational theory became a separate discipline, because (a) ecclesiastical and theological structures lost some…

[German Version] I. History – II. Practical Theology – III. Latin America, Asia, Africa I. History 1. Early Church. The verb κατήχειν/ katḗchein originally denoted the oral transmission of a message in the sense of “tell, inform.” In Paul and early Christian literature it usually means “teach, instruct” (Gal 6:6; Lat. catechizare); in contrast to glossolalia, it refers to intelligible speech (1 Cor 14:19; Luke 1:4) such as instruction in the law (Rom 2:18) or in the teaching (“the way”) of the Lord (Acts 18:25). In the context of baptism (III) – normally adult baptism in the Early Church –, catechesis (…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies 1. General. The words fo…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Bible – III. Dogmatics – IV. Education and Ethics – V. Law I. Religious Studies Emphasis on the phenomenon known as obedience varies among religions, but wherever human beings are understood as hearers of a divine or sacred word obedience plays an important role as the claim of a higher, transhuman power on human beings. The religious will to obey presupposes prevailing over one’s own self-will for the sake of God or what is holy. The Enlighten-¶ ment, which calls human beings to autonomy, led to a crisis of the religious concept of obedience, all the more acute because time and again the concept of obedience has been misused, all too transparently, to legitimize purely secular interests. The elevation of human truths to the status of unquestionable divine truths brings the danger of fundamentalism, an authoritarian religion of obedience, which must be protested against in the name of a “humanitarian religion” (with E. Fromm). But when the difference between human and divine authority is recognized and the reduction of religion to a purely worldly, political ideology is avoided, the concept of obedience can acquire a potential for protest critical of the world and the state, as in Acts 5:29. Religious history provides numerous examples of religiously grounded resistance to the authority of the state, so that religious obedience can definitely entail civil disobedience. A line can be traced from the mythological figure of Antigone through the protests of the Old Testament prophets and T. More to D. Bonhoeffer, M. Gandhi, and M.L. King. The phenomenon of martyrdom (Martyr), which transcends religious boundaries, is comprehensible only in the context of a religious obedience that demands civil and moral courage. It is therefore necessary to distinguish a conscienceless, slavish obedience given “blindly” (out of fear, convenience, thoughtlessness, etc.) from “mature” obedience that submits according to its own judgment and of its own free will to the stronger divine will. In the Bhagavadgītā, for e…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies Pluralism arises from the ineradicable diversity (Unity and diversity) of the world, whereas monism presupposes the unity of the world and views this diversity as nothing more than an illusion or an antecedent stage on the road to “ultimate” unity. Classical phenomenology of religion, following R. Otto, considered religious pluralism to reflect diverse manifestations of the singular Holy in various religions (Otto; Gantke, Begriff). This form of religious pluralism presupposes a common basis of all religions. Today’s plural…