Dialectical Thought as a Possible Constituent of a Pedagogical Approach to Competence

Komar, Zvonimir. (2010). Dialectical Thought as a Possible Constituent of a Pedagogical Approach to Competence. Pedagogijska istraživanja, 7(2). pp. 269-280. ISSN 1334-7888

PDF (Croatian) - Repository staff only Download (207kB) | Request a copy

Abstract

The issue of social competence is posed in this paper within the horizon of the question of purpose, and in this sense of the point of emergence of social competence. Dominant definitions of purpose are in the current inquiry of social competence meaning focused on concepts such as „adjustment”, „reaction”, „flexibility”, „environmental demands” or even „functional behaviour”. In their essence all these attributes are directed towards a conformist existence and are positioned heteronomously in relation to the existing social condition. The concept of social competence thus defined is entirely inconsistent with pedagogy as a science of autonomous (self)guidance of the subject towards the purpose of free thought. Since we support the above concept of pedagogy, our possible opinion on the existing dominant definitions of social competence can be determined in one of two ways: either social competence is not a pedagogical category, or social competence should be differently conceptualised. The above mentioned concept of pedagogy, which is our starting point, is not just a supposition, is not accidental, and we contend that it is essentially determined exactly in the way described. The reasons for this cannot be discussed in this paper. Of the suggested possibilities, this paper follows the path of possibly understanding social competence as a pedagogical category. The problem that has to be addressed in such a conceptualisation of social competence is the impossibility of transcending the individual, and a mere inductive collation of the „generalised” „social relationship”. In other words, it is necessary to uncover the very logic of the social relationship beyond collecting behavioural-manifestational characteristics of „socially competent” behaviour. Furthermore, the process of coeducation of a community of free subjects is explored here as a possible pedagogical path towards social competence. A purposeful concept behind such an attempt to conceptualise social competence in pedagogical terms is the notion of community. To this extent, the paper analyses the notion of community and the attempt to achieve that which makes the community possible. In doing so, the dialectic of co-education existing through thought is simultaneously presented as a moment of motion and development of social competence, and as a constitutive element of a true community. The purpose of motion really emerges from the being of education and is revealed in the already mentioned purposeful segment of the concept of pedagogy: the community as a dialectic of free thought. If the being of co-education is marked as existing in the community, then a certain form of pedagogical stance on social competence is possible. Along these lines the paper takes the concept of education for the communal as a possible point of emergence of pedagogically conceptualised social competence, referring to that notion of community which follows from the dialectic of free thought.

Actions (login required)

View Item