In this article, I discuss education in a time in the history when the human impact on Earth is massive and pervasive, with devastating consequences on the conditions for life. Within various academic fields, this era is increasingly distinguished as the Anthropocene. The term highlights the new, dominant position of the human species in Earth’s history, but is contentious, hiding as much as it reveals. Humanity is surely not one, but many, participating in a complex web of relations constituted by other species and the material world. Moreover, the Anthropocene is also a time of global corporate capitalism, when the magnitude and the consequences of human activities are unequally distributed among humans and more-than humans alike. The ethical and political dimensions involved in this determine the reflections in this article. Specifically, I examine Wolfgang Klafki’s educational theory as an expression of and a response to the Anthropocene. Klafki is a salient contributor to the rethinking of North European general didactics in the 20th century, in which
The article explores how changing historical conditions in the present may have consequences for identity formation in schools and society. Education is conceived of as a field with strong ethical bearings. This article contributes to educational theory, reflecting on the conditions for
The current landscapes of identity are in vital ways marked by challenges emerging in the time of the Anthropocene. Central imaginaries associated with identity – human being, personhood, person, and the self – are, in fundamental ways, being shaken. The Anthropocene designates the present time interval as a new epoch of geological time dominated by human impact on Earth (Crutzen & Stoermer
The ongoing changes associated with the Anthropocene have an impact on the research agenda of various fields, with numerous special issues appearing in well-established journals. A recent example is
In educational sciences, environmental education was established as a distinctive research field in the 1960s as a response to the emerging global environmental crisis (Hume & Barry
In this article, I address the challenges that education faces in the Anthropocene, by examining the late works of German curriculum theorist Wolfgang Klafki. I am, as a Norwegian scholar, situated in a North European context. Here Klafki is a central contributor to the renewal of educational theory during the 20th century (Künzli
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The normative vein and the mediation between the individual and society are of particular interest with regard to the concerns addressed in this article. In a reflection on
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As I will discuss in the following sections, the diagnosis of our time is expressed by the concept of the Anthropocene, also complying with the view that a proper response to the Anthropocene requires a ‘permanent capacity to rethink everything: institutions, practices, social structures, worldviews, principles, and systems’ (Dryzek & Pickerling
Horlacher (
Sjöström and Eilks refer to five educational traditions that may be directly related to
Academic interest in Klafki is ongoing. Scholars are discussing his works critically and constructively (eds. Köker & Störtländer
In the following sections, I suggest that Klafki’s later works may be conceived of as an early contribution to environmental and sustainability education (see also Kvamme
Conceived of in this way, my contribution here is mainly theoretical, rethinking
The concept of the Anthropocene was introduced by Paul Crutzen and his colleague Eugene F. Stoermer more than 20 years ago (Crutzen & Stoermer
The concept of the Anthropocene is widely used. But, as mentioned in the introduction, the term is still contentious, because of its humanist and human supremacy focus neglecting the intimate relationships between technology, humans, and the more-than-human, and because of the way it hides differences between humans, including the distribution of privileges and burdens (Gough
The Anthropocene is closely linked to industrialisation, economic growth, and globalisation.
Crutzen and Stoermer (
With the indisputable hegemony of corporate global capitalism followed by the opening of a free-market economy in China in the 1970s and in the Soviet Union in the 1980s, the relation between capitalism and the present ecological crisis may easily be recognised. Environmental historian Moore (
Political theorists Christoff and Eckersley (
Moore’s and Christoff and Eckersley’s approaches demonstrate how an analysis of the massive human impact on the Earth involves ethical and political considerations. This perspective guides my reference to the Anthropocene in the following with regard to education and
I have discussed the priority given to the educational theory of Wolfgang Klafki in the beginning of this article. With regard to the issue of identity, it is also good reason to emphasise that situating the concept of
In German educational theory, the purpose of education has a major role, with a determining function in the content issue (Klafki
In Klafki’s first contributions from the late 1950s, and chiefly in his doctoral thesis (defended in 1959; Klafki
Klafki’s reconsiderations in the 1980s and 1990s of his educational theory form the basis for my analysis of his contributions. Although Klafki builds on the overall theoretical framing of previous works, several changes have taken place that reflect an educational theory forged in the globalised world of the Anthropocene. In the first part of the analysis, I point out aspects of Klafki’s account that demonstrate how he rethinks his educational theory in response to the historical changes that have been taking place. In the second part, I identify elements that may be seen as expressions of human exceptionality in the Anthropocene. In the final part, prompted by this analysis, I reflect on how Klafki’s account may be further developed, with particular reference to how the manifold web of life is now under threat.
A conspicuous dimension of Wolfgang Klafki’s academic life is a willingness to practise an ongoing rethinking of numerous elements of his educational theory. This justifies the priority I give to his contributions in the following section.
A significant aspect of Klafki’s account concerns the educational scope, considering the reach of the perspectives brought forward. As discussed above, the nation-state has been considered to frame educational practices in the tradition of general didactics. In the 1980s, the scope of Klafki’s educational theory is no longer determined by national borders, limited to the nation-state as a self-sufficient entity. Klafki acknowledges that ambiguous globalisation processes are taking place in the present, including the interweaving of continents, cultures, nation-states, and cultures around the world. Although these processes are distinguished by conflicts and asymmetries of power and wealth, Klafki does not envisage that the interweaving processes of globalisation will end. Instead, they condition the current state of affairs. In this situation, the call to pedagogy is to:
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This global scope also distinguishes Klafki’s rethinking of the
As a consequence of the global outlook, Klafki reconsiders the so-called canon problem of education. He refers to how for a long time the content issue has been conceived of as a question of selecting mandatory cultural elements that historically have received the status of classical achievements within science, arts, ethical reflection, and life. Faced with challenges and conflicts in the current society, Klafki now claims that educational content should be largely constituted by ‘the key problems, that globally interweave our individual and political-societal existence’ (Klafki
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Klafki (
As we have seen above, Klafki extends the educational scope beyond the nation-state, and in his reformulation of the canon problem, he includes environmental issues and social inequity. In this rethinking, he integrates insights from critical theory, with Habermas as a major influence, addressing how hegemonic structures and practices may suppress and limit the conditions for self-determination. This reflexive approach involves students, teachers, and teacher educators with implications for education in school, teacher training, and research that is carried out. The critical emphasis also determines Klafki’s designation of his approach as a
The critical perspective draws attention to hegemonic imaginaries that are continuously reproduced in school and education. Klafki follows critical theory’s conception of ideology as a mistaken societal consciousness (Klafki
Thus far, I have demonstrated how Klafki’s renewal of the North European general didactics reflects the historical changes taking place in the Anthropocene. Most striking is the positioning of environmental problems in the new canon. However, the extension of the educational scope from the nation-state to the global stage is even more wide-ranging. When it comes to the potential of an educational theory for renewal and transformation, the critical perspective that is included seems to be crucial.
In the following section, I examine how Klafki’s conceptions in themselves may be said to carry on the human dominance that defines the Anthropocene as a historical period. In this phase of the analysis, then, I focus on the limitations that in the third and final part of the article prompt further rethinking.
Klafki addresses environmental problems as a question of ‘the deterioration or preservation of the natural basis for human existence’ (Klafki
This account is unreservedly anthropocentric, considering nature as a resource for human existence. Environmental problems are considered as threats, because they jeopardise the living conditions for the human species. Klafki’s attention does not remain on the threats in themselves, but moves directly to problem solving. The envisaged student is able to manage, deal with, and solve the problems. This complies well with the overall purpose of
This conception emphasises the human attributes of control and agency, monitoring natural resources for the benefit of the human species. In Klafki’s account, there are considerations of limits on growth, further emphasising the need for responsible housekeeping of natural resources. However, Klafki never refers to nature as a diverse, manifold, flourishing world of species, which is beyond the scope of his concern.
The tradition of general didactics, including Klafki, is distinguished by a sensitivity and an awareness of the normativity involved in educational practices, accentuating that the purpose of
Discourse ethics aims at establishing ethical principles as a foundation for action, an orientation approved by Klafki. This approach stands in the deontological tradition of Immanuel Kant, emphasising how the practising of moral judgement should take place detached from contextual factors and a narrow self-interest. As established by Jürgen Habermas, discourse ethics is anthropocentric oriented toward the needs of the present. In this respect, discourse ethics confirms modernity’s denial of nature, as Norwegian philosopher Vetlesen (
As demonstrated above, Klafki grounds the issue of educational purpose in a discourse ethical approach, without an awareness of the integrity of the more-than-human world. This approach has consequences for the conceptualisation of other vital categories in his educational theory. Within the tradition of general didactics, a decisive issue is the content problem, that is, about what educational content should be selected, encouraging students’
In this structure, the function of educational purpose is decisive, warranting the selection of content that may become a theme. However, Klafki makes a reservation regarding an instrumental conception of purpose, connected with deduction (Klafki
There are obvious qualities that should be emphasised in Klafki’s conception as identified in the analysis above. Most important is his acknowledgment of educational theory as closely linked to societal concerns and issues. The emphasis on fundamental ethical concerns is also pivotal in times when learning often is studied without consideration to educational purpose (Biesta
However, we have also seen how the human being within Klafki’s educational theory is positioned as a species entitled to a solely instrumental relationship with the complex and manifold webs of life that constitute the biosphere of Earth. I claim that this imaginary is inadequate for an updated educational theory in the Anthropocene, because it maintains the very structure that conceals the interests of other species. The transformations called for in the current situation include a rethinking of this structure, involving questions of identity. In the concluding part of this article, I address some key elements in Klafki’s account, which call for rethinking, well aware of how Klafki himself throughout his life demonstrated that an educational theory as historically situated should be open continuously to changes and further development.
When Klafki presents the educational priority of epochal key problems, he refers to ‘the mediating element of the common’ as a decisive aspect of
In a consideration of the common in
Klafki leans on the philosopher Michael Theunissen (
In his articulation of key problems Klafki is premising human beings who are able to solve them. As crucial as solutions to the main problems in the Anthropocene may be, I still suggest that Klafki skips a crucial step here. If the key problems are formulated instead as concerns for life on Earth now and in the future, then the threats to human and more-than-human life become visible in the Anthropocene because of human exploitation of nature. In that perspective, the vulnerability of the human species, in spite of human agency, is not qualitatively different from that of other species. This is an invitation to explore parallels and similarities between the human and more-than-human species, before moving to the step of human agency. Moreover, relationships and interdependencies that are orchestrating themselves in the Anthropocene may become visible.
In this rethinking of Klafki, the mediating element of the common, crucial in
In the discussion above, I demonstrate an aspect of Klafki’s theory that deserves attention, that is, the relationship between historical situatedness and general or universal knowledge. On one hand, Klafki’s educational theory is deeply embedded in a hermeneutical perspective that acknowledges that any cultural expression is always particular, and historically situated. On the other hand, his
The exercise of moral judgment is pervasive and unavoidable; in fact, this exercise is coextensive with relations of social interaction in the lifeworld in general.
The main challenge is how the significant network of ‘relationships that constitute our life together’ may be taken care of in an educational theory, when content is reframed in educational themes, as we have seen is the case in Klafki’s account. The risk is that the qualities distinguishing the situatedness of particular contexts may be lost, when the generality of categorical
In the final part of his career, Wolfgang Klafki developed his educational theory into a critical-constructive general didactics (Klafki
In her reflections on education in the Anthropocene, it is exactly a critical, reconstructive education, Annette Gough (
The limitations of Klafki’s account with regard to
The author acknowledges helpful suggestions from Karin Sporre as the co-editor of this special collection.
The author declares that he has no financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced him in writing this article.
O.A.K. is the sole author of this research article.
This article followed all ethical standards for research without direct contact with human or animal subjects.
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analysed in this study.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any affiliated agency of the author.