Towards reflective worldview education

Authors

• Raili Keränen-Pantsu Itä-Suomen yliopisto
• Rauno Huttunen Turun yliopisto
• Hannu L. T. Heikkinen Jyväskylän yliopisto

DOI: https://doi.org/10.33350/ka.119357

Keywords:

worldview education, identity, reflectivity, indoctrination

Abstract

In this article, reflectivity is discussed in the context of worldview education from the philosophical and theoretical perspectives. Worldview education is understood in a broad sense: it covers not only teaching (secular) Ethics and religions but all education that supports worldview and identity work. Reflective worldview education contrasts with indoctrinative education, which seeks to instill a given doctrine or a belief system in  students’ minds. The purpose of reflective worldview education is to provide children and young people with tools to achieve their personal identity and worldview. In this article, we introduce a novel model for reflective worldview education. In this model, theories of critical indoctrination, identity work and critical reflection are applied. Based on the model, it is concluded that worldview-reflective education requires both identity-reflectivity about the positioned self of the educator, and a practice-reflective approach to the prevailing educational practices.