On some historical and pedagogical aspects of the formation of pedagogical psychology as a science (John Amos Comenius, Adolph Diesterweg, Vasilii Zenkovsky, Sergei Hessen)

Abstract

The article focuses on the issue of the formation of educational psychology as a science in the classic works of John Amos Comenius, Adolph Diesterweg, Vasiliy Zenkovsky and Sergei Hessen. The significance of their works: Comenius’s “Labyrinth of the World and Paradise of the Heart”, Diesterweg’s “Teacher Training Guide”, Zenkovsky’s “The Problem of Psychic Causality”, and Hessen’s “Foundations of Pedagogy: Introduction to Applied Philosophy” for the modern understanding of the principles of nature and cultural conformity in the psychology of educational activities cannot be underestimated. The authors also note Boris Ananyev’s substantiation of the connection between the development of pedagogical thought in Comenius’s legacy and the formation and development of pedagogical psychology (“Issues of teaching and upbringing psychology in the writings of Jan Amos Comenius”, 1971).

Particular attention is devoted to characterising the cultural conformity principle and the ways in which it is connected with the formation of historical, cultural and national identity (A. Disterweg), with the development of pedagogical psychology in Russian foreign pedagogy of the 1920–30s (V. Zenkovsky), with the relevance of Zenkovsky’s research for the development of practical pedagogical psychology in the socio-cultural conditions of the modern world. The authors emphasise the relevance of Diesterveg’s thesis regarding the need to develop in teachers the “ability to unlearn”, as the “art of unlearning” is no less important than the “ability to learn”.

An appeal to the historical context of the development of pedagogical psychology as an independent science allows the researchers to reveal the historical continuity of ideas about nature and culture and the evolution of educational psychology. In particular, the authors discuss such concepts as “a security centre” (Comenius), “a centre of gravity” (A. Diesterweg), “a centre uniting all mental processes in the educational system” (V. Zenkovsky), “a balance between centripetal personality force and centrifugal forces of external culture” (Hessen). In conclusion, the authors substantiate the need to find a harmonious combination of the principles of nature and culture in educational psychology in the socio-cultural conditions of the modern times.