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Funding by Volkswagen Foundation

“GlobalPhilEd” Will Explore Global Traditions in the Philosophy of Education

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World map in the Dymaxion projection, with a net-like grid and irregularly arranged triangles. © By Tobias Jung [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http:​/​​/​creativecommons.org​/​licenses​/​by-sa​/​4.0)], via kartenprojektionen.de
Prof. Johannes Drerup and his team are researching how the perspectives of different global traditions of the Philosophy of Education could be used to address specific philosophical problems more appropriately.
How can a distinctly global philosophical practice be established, in which philosophers of education from different traditions can work together to develop new theoretical perspectives and practical solutions? This question is being addressed by a research team led by Prof. Johannes Drerup from the Institute of General Educational Sciences and Vocational Pedagogy of TU Dortmund University. The new project “GlobalPhilEd” was awarded a grant of around 307,000 euros by the Volkswagen Foundation.

Since ancient times, philosophers worldwide have questioned what constitutes education and how it can be enabled and justified. A distinct area of philosophy later developed from these roots: Internationally known primarily under the term Philosophy of Education, the philosophical discipline deals theoretically as well as practically with the goals, methods, and societal significance of education.

“However, the field of research is largely dominated by Western traditions,” says Prof. Johannes Drerup, Professor of General Educational Sciences with a focus on educational theory. “Of course, it must be considered that these traditions themselves are highly diverse and partly products of global exchange processes, so generalizations should be made neither here, nor with reference to other traditions. Nevertheless, this perspective strongly limits the view in the philosophy of education, as well as in educational science in general. With our research, we aim to overcome these limitations to some extent and develop a new form of Global Philosophy of Education that takes into account the approaches and perspectives of different philosophical traditions.”

Together with Prof. Anders Schinkel from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, where Drerup has held a guest professorship since 2019, he leads the project “Expanding Consciousness in Education – East, West, North, and South. Towards a Global Philosophy of Education” (GlobalPhilEd). The researchers will explore how such a global philosophical practice can be developed. Unlike a universal theory or a mere comparison between different traditions, GlobalPhilEd aims to support international philosophers in jointly addressing specific theoretical and practical issues.

Finding new solutions through exchange

In the project, the team will explore the challenges and limitations of a Global Philosophy of Education and discuss the expected methodological challenges, such as problems of translation between different languages. Furthermore, the researchers also aim to utilize the potential of different traditions to think about concrete problems or topics in completely new ways.

“For example, research inspired by Buddhist traditions on the genesis of the self and on questions of education for rational autonomy could be mentioned here. These not only show interesting parallels to certain critiques and self-critiques from Western traditions but could also allow traditional understandings of education to be revised radically. Fundamentally, the project aims to make use of the best that the various traditions of the Philosophy of Education have to offer,” says Prof. Drerup. As part of GlobalPhilEd, the team will also create opportunities for exchange between philosophers of education and scholars from different philosophical traditions around the world.

The Volkswagen Foundation is funding the GlobalPhilEd project within the initiative “Open Up – New Research Spaces for the Humanities and Cultural Studies” starting in April for 18 months with a total of around 307,000 euros. With the funding program, the foundation aims to support research projects that not only open up new perspectives on already known research subjects, but also want to explore completely new research spaces and topics.

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