History of Education and Historical-Educational Research in Slovakia through the Lens of European Context

Abstract

Marginalisation of the discipline of history of education as well as historical-educational research in Slovakia, which is pointed out e.g. by Hamada (1995); Michalička (2004, 2012); Kudláčová (2009, 2010, 2012), resulted in a state in which educational past is no longer reflected and it causes disturbance of historical continuity of pedagogy. Historians of education are aware of it and they have been pointing out the importance of reflection on educational past recently (e.g. Kasper, 2008; Kudláčová, 2006, 2010; Sztobryn, 2010). These opinions that can be heard from the Central European environment are very close to a discussion that began in the Anglo-Saxon environment in the 1990s (e.g. Hargreaves, 1996; Woodhead, 1998; Tooley – Darby, 1998). The aim of this paper is: 1) to point out the development and transformations in the perception of the academic discipline history of education and historical-educational research in Slovakia, especially in the 20^th century; 2) to identify current problems in the examined field and 3) to point out possible foundations and direction in the given field in Slovak as well as broader European context. Historical-educational research based on confrontation of scientists from various scientific fields, nationalities, methodological schools etc. can represent a new qualitatively higher level.