«Ο αιώνας τον παιδιού»: Μύθος ή πραγματικότητα; (100 χρόνια από την έκδοση τον βιβλίου της E.Key)

Abstract

The research into pedagogical theories and the works of renown educators possesses an important role in the scientific analysis of pedagogical problems, as well as in the subsequent development of pedagogical science and educational training. The purpose of the present paper is to introduce the pedagogical positions of the Swedish educator E. Key and the impact of her work on contemporary education. Key's contribution constitutes more than a severe criticism of the old pedagogical methods and particularly of the intellectual ideas of Herbart. She formulated explicit suggestions for the creation of an atmosphere of freedom within the educational institutions, where the child's spontaneity plays an important role, and where the child will act freely without being totally subdued by the teacher. A generalization of E. Key's radical ideas would promote the eradication of the wall between real life and school, the obliteration of the different types of child oppression and the existence of an educational system in correspondence with each child's individual capacities. Key's book «The Century of the Child» was originally published in 1900 and it has lost none of its pedagogical appeal. A hundred years after its publication, we are still uncertain whether the 20th century was truly «the century of the child». We can derive ideas and solutions from Key's work in order to implement pedagogical reforms.