| dc.description.abstract | This thesis looks at the relationship between evolutionary theory and
educational theory. The core objectives are, firstly, to contribute to the gap in
knowledge regarding evolutionary underpinnings in influential educational theories,
and, secondly, to enhance our broader understanding of the core concepts
constituting different evolutionary paradigms and approaches in education. This is
relevant because even though evolutionary ideas, terms, and concepts are
circulating in educational discourses today, there exists little knowledge as to the
nature of those arguments, thus limiting critical discussion. Through the
hermeneutical analysis of the evolutionary underpinnings of the educational theories
of Herbert Spencer, John Dewey, and Lev Vygotsky, this thesis not only provides a
novel reading of these thinkers, but also sheds some light on the nature of
evolutionary educational theory as an intellectual tradition with relevancy for
educational theory, practice and policy today.
The genealogy of evolutionary educational theorising presented in this study
spanning from Spencer to Dewey and Vygotsky sheds some light on the versatile
nature of the concept of adaptation in the context of educational theorising, while
also underlining its potency in informing core educational concepts. While all three
thinkers apply an evolutionary lens to their educational concepts and theories, they
each present highly different understandings of the process and aims of education,
learning, and teaching. In particular their diverging concepts of adaptation, as this
research shows, inform those profound differences. Spencer’s passive and
unidirectional conception of adaptation based primarily on biological inheritance
engenders and understanding of education as a process of the subject adjusting to
her/his environment. Dewey’s idea of adaptation as a process of simultaneous
growth of individual and environment in experience, in contrast to Spencer, fosters
an understanding of education as a never-ending, contingent reciprocal interaction
between the learner and her/his environment. Finally, Vygotsky’s post-adaptation
paradigm opens a perspective for thinking about education not in adaptive, but
primarily transformative terms.
In closing, the thesis critically analyses the global educational discourse
surrounding the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)
In the context of PISA, the notion of ‘adaptation’ is a highly frequented and yet
largely undefined concept. Based on the study of Spencer, Dewey and Vygotsky,
the thesis contributes to a gap in knowledge by offering a conceptual apparatus for
analysing current educational discourse such as PISA, in a way that provides insight
for future educational research, policy and practice. | en |
