Für Frieden,Völkerverständigung und Reformpädagogik. Waldus Nestler (1887 bis 1954):

The biographical sketch on Waldus Nestler (1887 to 1954) outlines the development of a nearly forgotten Leipzig pedagogue who, together with the theologians Leonhard Ragaz and Alfred Dedo Müller became an important spokesman of religious socialism. His own experience of the reality of war as a gasdefence officer led Nestler, as a Christian with a sense of responsibility, to the International League for Reconciliation. In 1919 Nestler was one of the founders of the German section of this league, the German League for Reconciliation, of which he became the secretary in 1925. On lecture tours in France, Sweden, Denmark, England, and Switzerland, as wellas in numerous German towns Nestler tried to promote peace and international understanding. From 1919 he also strove to realize his visions of reconciliation as a practising teacher at the world‐famous Gaudig School in Leipzig. A highlight of his commitment to peace pedagogy was the warning publication “Poison Gas over Germany” (Berlin 1931), a remarkable contribution to the debate on poison gas. Because of his religious‐pacifist attitude Nestler was defamed, transferred as a punishment, and demoted; this happened twice: first as a teacher on the basis of the infamous “Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service” in April 1933, and later as Rector of the Gaudig School as a result of the Stalinist exclusion of progressive pedagogy which commenced in the East of Germany around 1948.

Thus his fate exemplifies the rejection of progressive pedagogy and pacifism in theyoung GDR. Today his name stands for a humanist school tradition worthy of cultivation, as well as for personal commitment in the fields of peace and progressive pedagogy.     

Les colonies de vacances en France, 1944–1958: impulsions politiques autour d’un fait social majeur

Abstract

This article looks at the French state’s approach to the “colonies de vacances” between 1944 and 1958. Created in 1876 by the Reverend Bion in Zurich, these summer camps originated as a charitable institution: their initial purpose was to provide rural retreats and to restore the health of poor urban youth. Set up on French soil in 1880, these institutions gradually grew in France in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Considered both as complements to the republican school and as extensions of the “patronages” (parish unions), they were important for children and adolescents from the industrial city suburbs, and were enshrined in the leisure policies of the Popular Front from 1936 onwards. After the Second World War, summer camps in France became a major social institution (300,000 children went to summer camps in 1945, 900,000 in 1949) in response to both hygiene and educational needs. Based on the archives of the Directorate of Youth Movements and Popular Education (1944–1947) and the General Directorate of Youth and Sports (1948–1958), this article aims to examine the politics behind the organisation of these summer camps and to demonstrate the social and political importance of these popular educational institutions which, in 1957, involved 1.35 million French children and teenagers. Although the history of French summer camp federations (UFCV, CEMEA, CPVC, UFOVAL, etc.) has been widely studied, how the state sees its role and influences these organisations has mostly been considered indirectly. The intention is to show that among the educational, cultural and sports policies implemented during the Fourth Republic in France, those related to the organisation of “colonies de vacances”, and therefore the organisation of holidays for a very large number of children and teenagers, occupy a significant place. In 1944, the summer camps were widely supported by the French state, which also planned to regulate this booming sector. The creation of qualifications for summer camp staff and directors in 1949 obliged organisations to start training schemes: they trained staff and directors to work in the municipal camps, associations, etc. Security issues led to the state tightening control of the summer camps, their recruitment and their activities. There was a great deal of political investment in these “colonies de vacances” during this period, and this was reflected in the creation of a Ministerial Education Committee in 1950, a general and regional body of inspectors for these camps, etc. However, the considerable expansion of summer camps posed increasing problems at the national political level resulting in changes to the initial subsidy policies. The State played a major part in crucial issues such as the sociological diversification of these institutions and the changes in their social role according to evolving sociocultural trend. The fact remains that the “colonies de vacances” were for the French state a centrepiece of the “popular education” that the political actors of the Fourth Republic wanted to implement in order to build the France of the post-war period..     

De Genève à Belo Horizonte,une histoire croisée: circulation,réception et réinterprétation d’un modèle européen des classes spéciales au Brésil des années 1930

L’organisation des classes homogènes selon le niveau de développement mental des élèves et celle des classes spéciales pour les enfants en retard scolaire eut lieu dans les écoles élémentaires de Belo Horizonte, au Brésil, pendant les années de 1930, dans le cadre d’une réforme du système d’éducation, à laquelle participèrent des spécialistes étrangers, et en spécial la psychologue russe Helena Antipoff (1892–1974). Le projet des classes spéciales alors établies et leurs transformations dans le contexte brésilien sont étudiés à partir de données documentaires publiées entre 1930 et 1940. Née en Russie, Antipoff a fait des études supérieures en France (1910–1911), comme stagiaire dans le laboratoire Binet-Simon, et à Genève (1912–1914), à l’Institut Jean-Jacques Rousseau, où elle exerça ultérieurement les fonctions d’assistante d’Édouard Claparède (1926–1929). Notre hypothèse est que les classes spéciales créées à Belo Horizonte le furent sur le modèle genevois, et constituèrent un important exemple de circulation et diffusion de connaissances au niveau international, ainsi que de construction de repères dans le domaine de l’éducation spéciale au Brésil. Ainsi, la division des classes par niveau intellectuel mesuré par des tests d’intelligence, l’idée de “l’école sur mesure” proposée par Claparède, le dialogue avec les méthodes suggérées par Alice Descouedres démontrent les relations avec le modèle genevois. En même temps, l’interprétation des résultats des tests comme manifestation d’une forme d’ “intelligence civilisée” et les adaptations des exercices d’orthopédie mentale pour développer cette intelligence demandée par l’école montrent les transformations du modèle dans le contexte brésilien.     

La adaptación escolar,un estudio experimental

RESUMEN

La presente investigación trata de estudiar las modalidades y factores de adaptación escolar en el paso de la Escuela Maternal a la Escuela Elemental. Los dos criterios de adaptación que se definen son: la integración al grupo de compañeros y la participación en las actividades comunes. Se dividen los sujetos en cuatro niveles socioeconómicos. Se realiza un análisis factorial de los datos de las observaciones directa e indirecta (descripción de la conducta de los niños por parte del maestro). Los índices obtenidos en estos análisis correlacionan entre sí, cada uno de ellos también está relacionado con el aprendizaje de la lectura. Finalmente se lleva a cabo un análisis de los factores que inciden en los dos criterios de adaptación definidos.     

Prüfungen und Leistungsbeurteilung in der Schule,Unesco-Institut für Pädagogik,Hamburg, März 1957

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Adolescent et adulte déficients mentaux,l'équipe et la famille

ABSTRACT

There is almost always too much conflict in the relationships between care agencies and families. This conflict depends on the condition and age of the handicapped person, the sociocultural level of the family and the characteristics of the agencies themselves. In France there are three kinds of institution for handicapped adults: medical‐professional institutes (for 14‐18 year olds); centres for help through work; and sheltered workshops (for those over 18). The paper proposes a model of dialogue between families and professional teams and attempts to understand the roots of the conflicts in order to control them better.     

Internationaler Kongreβ Für Kunstpädagogik,Lund (Schweden), August 1955

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

L’accès des filles à l’enseignement supérieur au Burkina Faso: choix parentaux,parcours d’étudiantes et défis

Girls’ access to higher education in Burkina Faso: parental choices, student trajectories, challenges – What motivates parents from less well-off backgrounds to invest in extended schooling for their daughters? What drives the girls from these backgrounds to stay in the school system up to university level? Many studies on Burkina Faso’s education system show that there are still disparities between girls and boys at all levels, with the gap widening as the level of studies gets higher. Under these conditions, the prospect of pursuing higher education is less certain for girls from less well-off families. Yet, girls from these backgrounds are relatively present at the University of Ouagadougou. Based on a qualitative survey of students and their parents, this article highlights the social rationale determining the specific educational trajectories of these girls. The level of schooling of the older siblings, the girl’s positon in relation to her siblings, or concern for equity are factors in some parents’ decision to enrol their daughters in school. Parents invoke several reasons to justify sending their daughters to university, one of the most frequent being the argument that their daughters faithfully help them in return. As for the students, they mention various motivations to explain why they have persisted with their schooling and university studies, often in difficult circumstances, notably the desire to help their parents. The article also highlights the importance of family support as a factor in girls attending school and university, as well as in the pursuit and success of their studies.     

Die Förderung schöpferischer Ausdrucksfähigkeit und kritischen Urteilsvermögens in der Schule Unesco-Institut für Pädagogik,Hamburg, Januar 1962

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

L’éducation sexuelle,entre médecine,morale et pédagogie: débats transnationaux et réalisations locales (Suisse romande 1890–1930)

Autour de 1900, la question de l’éducation sexuelle de la jeunesse émerge dans plusieurs pays d’Europe occidentale. Tous sont confrontés au processus de déclin de la fécondité maritale, qui suscite de nouvelles préoccupations relatives à la dépopulation et à la dégénérescence. Avec la prise de conscience médicale de la gravité et de la contagiosité des maladies vénériennes, ces inquiétudes prennent la dimension d’un péril national. La nécessité de contrer ces dangers autorise un discours respectable sur la sexualité, qui devient l’objet d’un savoir à diffuser, voire à enseigner dans les écoles. Bien plus qu’une information, l’éducation sexuelle est davantage comprise comme l’imposition de normes, en particulier l’abstinence prémaritale, très largement prônée. Un tel consensus pourrait favoriser la mise en place de projets; or, malgré la profusion de discours, les réalisations concrètes restent rares et controversées, surtout dans le cadre scolaire. Comment expliquer ces difficultés? Cet article analyse les dynamiques entre le niveau transnational (conférences, congrès) et le niveau local, en comparant les discours et mobilisations autour de l’éducation sexuelle dans deux cantons suisses francophones (Vaud et Genève). Nous attachons une attention particulière à la manière dont ces projets sont légitimés scientifiquement et sur quelles disciplines leurs défenseurs s’appuient; nous examinons aussi le rôle du genre dans ces mobilisations, étant donné que les femmes et les féministes s’invitent dans ces débats.     

La diffusion de la géographie dans l’enseignement français (fin XIXe siècle,début XXe) : force du mouvement et variété des projets

From the 1860s to the beginning of the twentieth century, the rise of academic geography in industrialized countries resulted from the need to produce geography teachers. The mushrooming of school geography, in turn, reflected a complex mixture of pedagogic thought, of a modernization trend, of nationalism and of imperialism. In France, this context caused the emergence of contrasting models describing the scientific requirements of school geography, from loose relations between scientific and pedagogical spheres to the structural link joining the republican university to the various school levels. This article details the strategy through which a group of scholars of the École normale supérieure led by P. Vidal de la Blache succeeded in creating a cognitive space for a new scientific discipline. It describes briefly its progressive introduction in elementary and in classical secondary teaching and how several older elements remained in programmes and in the school curriculum.     

Wittgenstein,Freud, Dreaming and Education: Psychoanalytic explanation as ‘une façon de parler’

Freud saw the dream as occupying a very important position in his theoretical model. If there were to be problems with his theoretical account of the dream then this would impinge upon proposed therapy and, of course, education as the right balance between the instincts and the institution of culture. Wittgenstein, whilst stating that Freud was interesting and important, raised several issues in relation to psychology/psychoanalysis, and to Freud in particular. Why would Wittgenstein have seen Freud as having some important things to say, even though he was sharply critical of Freud's claims to be scientific? The major issues to be considered in this paper are, in Section 1, the scientific status of Freud's work—was it science or was it more like philosophy than science; the analysis of dreams; rationality, and dreams and madness. Section 2 considers Freud and education, including the indignity of Freud's notion of ‘the talking cure.’ Section 3 considers psychoanalytic explanations not as theory but as a manner of speaking: ‘une façon de parler.’     

Correspondance entre élèves : conditions d’une activité mathématique « créative » et problématisée à la fin du lycée

In this article, we characterized the forms of reasoning of French high school students (from Terminal Scientifique) in the course of an exchange of messages around the solution of a mathematical problem. Our goal was to determine whether or not the students make use of creative and investigative forms of reasoning. The results show that in the experimental conditions of the ‘mathematical correspondence,’ the students displayed an unusual mathematical problem-solving activity, one that is indeed more creative and investigative than those typically found in a classroom activity. The results are accompanied by an effort to explain the conditions that allowed for this unusual activity to develop and to suggest some paths to use this setting in the classroom, so as to facilitate better learning in problem-solving contexts and the transition from high school to university.     

L’héritage de la méthode suédoise d’éducation physique en France: les conflits de méthode au sein de l’Ecole normale de gymnastique et d’escrime de Joinville au début du XXème siècle

The Swedish physical education method has had a singular destiny in France. Originally created by the Swedish Per Henrik Ling (1776–1839), it first spread in France thanks to German doctors. From 1902, the Swedish method became the official method of the Ecole normale de gymnastique et d’escrime de Joinville. It caused serious dissension first within the army, between Georges Hébert, a naval officer attempting to spread his own method called ‘Méthode naturelle’, and Emile Coste, a major at Joinville school who was a resolute supporter of Ling’s method; then within Joinville school, where, from 1905, Georges Demeny, renowned physiologist, tried to impose his French method ‘Eclectique’. The three protagonists would use arguments focused on the rationality of the Swedish method to legitimize or criticize it. But this explicit stake based on the validity of the link between a scientific culture – anatomy and physiology – and a physical education method does not mask the implicit stake of real power.