This introduction to the volume outlines the conception of the pedagogical city. The author stresses flows, or continuous exchange between citizens as specific to city life. Such flows concern also thinking, which contributes to the creation of a community that one may identify, afer Aristotle, as koinopolis – an educational community of shared thinking, ‘a great teacher’. Against the background of the condition of the global city, the conception of pedagogical city contributes to the theory of social pedagogy, and to the conception of pedagogy of place in particular (including urban community education). One may speak, in this context, of koinpolitanism – a trait of thinking capable of inspiring the flow of changes taking place in the cities of today. The papers collected in this volume contribute to the development of this idea.
The article is an attempt to analyze the spatio-pedagogical discourse of the German social pedagogy. It represents only a fragment of reflection on the turns in paradigm of place/ space (spatial turn), as pedagogical terms. & e authors seek to answer the question what is the space and place, and what concepts in the field of reflection on the place/space run in the German social pedagogy. The text introduces, inter alia, the relational concept of space developed by Martina Löw, duality of space and the concept of spacing. Active creation of urban space, the spatial dimension of the relationship and its dynamics are subjected to discussion. The article presents critical approach to the notion of transdisciplinary space, and space-oriented social work. Finally, it provides the incentive for in-depth, international analyzes of spatio-pedagogical theories.
In this article, we wish to address the potential of cities and built environments as important sites for international education. We will introduce Urban Labs Central Europe, methodological concept that frames our pedagogies, which we practice in the context of international education, more specifically, American University study abroad programs in Poland and Central Europe. We will begin by considering several dimensions in which cities are important for international education and how they are central to our pedagogies. We will then explain our concept of Urban Labs and give some examples from our work with students.
The article presents reflections on the intergenerational educational-research project entitled “Restoring the Memory of the City”. This project was carried out by the University of the Third Age in Toruń in partnership with the Faculty of Education of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń within the “Patriotism of Tomorrow” framework announced by the Polish History Museum and financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. This project was based on Pierre Nora’s concept of memorial sites and modern vision of patriotism. In didactic and methodological layer it was embedded within the framework of action research, thereby allowing to combine historical contents with pedagogical method of their modern transfer. The text shows the objectives and results of the project. Also, it describes its course and activities undertaken throughout its duration. Presenting the results of this project focused on the multidimensionality of related with them intergenerational process of learning
The author presents the search for the identity of individuals and families displaced after World War II from Vilnius to Gdańsk in the context of the urban community integration. Gdańsk being a city where the population after the war was almost fully replaced, becomes in this sense a kind of laboratory of social integration processes. The text serves as an introduction to the topic and is based on the results of the pilot qualitative research conducted within the The Common Room Gdańsk” (2013–2015) project coordinated by prof. M. Mendel. The analyses are a contribution to the reflection on identity determinants of integration processes within the urban community, also in relation to contemporary times. When discussing the issues of identity, the author points to the importance of the turning point which was the end of World War II, and the experience of expatriation in the spatial and socio-cultural context.
Inspired by the Chicago School sociology and anthropology of Mary Douglas authors of the article show the special cultural status of new urban peripheries in comparison to villages, old urban peripheries and city centers. Critically they relate to the thesis that new urban peripheries are “cultural deserts” or “bedroom/dormitory suburbs”, considering them as a form of collective organization or sustained activity patterns that replace an original kind of culture. According to Mary Douglas villages are characterized by low level of social energy and high degree of collective control, and the city centers are characterized by high level of energy and low collective control. Referring to this classification the authors of the paper claim that new urban peripheries are characterized by both low energy and low collective control. A more detailed characterization of a new urban periphery is presented in the article on the basis of materials collected in several qualitative sociological research projects. In the light of the empirical material, it can be revealed that in new urban peripheries direct forms of collective control have been replaced by social non-interference, development of individualistic self-control and privatization of micro-spaces of living and transporting. It was noted that the intensive development of individualized outdoor activity leads to gradual formation of the new body type of a new urban periphery resident.
The concept of city has got broad analytical perspectives, one of them are: the structural perspective, sociological, psychological, political, cultural, industrial and also the pedagogical perspective. In opposition to the concept of city is the concept of countryside, within which the concept of nature is regarded as an idyllic place, it is the place of childhood, the place of longing, it is the lost place that has been starting to go under the knife of time since the 20s of the last century. The apotheosis of the concept of city, that is being practiced by many artists, embracing the symbolics of the concept of city by mass culture and later by popular culture, causes the necessity to take the initiative of conducting the research that would attempt to establish the identity of the concept of city in modern culture. The article attempts to specify how the concept of city functions in popular culture through the analysis of chosen texts in popular music, starting from the 50s of the XX century until the XXI century.
Realised since the 1980’s, the project of the “city rebuilding” presupposes an environmental turn in city reform programmes and policies. & e purpose of this article is to demonstrate, how the agenda of the Country’s City Politics is being inspired by, and assimilates, the ideas of “being together” that have been worked out by city (social) movements. The society has come to be perceived as a source of “innovation”, or as possessing a certain, so far neglected, potential of development. In the governmental agendas, the ideals and claims of the social movements are operationalised” in such a way, as to identify society as a new resource of economic growth. The assimilation of the claims and ideals of the city movements into the governmental agendas becomes part of a new political rationality.
Urban social movements present themselves as an answer to de3 ciencies of local politics. In this way, they situate themselves in agreement with popular diagnoses of crisis of democracy, and propose their own model of involvement in politics. However, is this model a chance for renewal of democracy, or is it just another version of politics understood as an enlightened management? Does it have the potential for broadening the political, or does it stop halfway? Presented article is an attempt in rethinking those questions. First part compares different political languages, in which critiques of contemporary democracy are formulated. Subsequently, Jacques Rancière’s conception is presented, as emphasising egalitarian and emancipatory dimensions of democracy. Examples of rhetorics and actions of urban social movements are considered in this double context of different political languages and radical character of democracy. The problem of ‘deficient political articulation’, which makes urban social movements unable to fully keep the promises they make, is stressed.
In this article I will try to describe the lesson learnt by the corporations from the grass root movements in the cities. In the proposed analysis I will refer to the conception of recuperation and a soul of capitalism – by Luc Boltanski and Ève Chiapello. Besides it I will refer to the works of these authors who analyse the beginnings and the activism of the city grass-root movements in a context of critique of capitalism and neoliberal system.
The aim of this paper is to reflect on the role of non-governmental organizations in contemporary cities. It is assumed that post-socialist cities are subjected to changes related to new models of citizenship as well as new models of urban social movements. First, a general picture of Polish non-governmental sector is presented. Next the idea of social movements in a post socialist city is given. The following part presents the idea of NGO as agents of a social change.Th e notions of social conflict, common good and a collective identity are used. The paper sums up with conclusions and a demand to built coalitions between different social actors.
The author shows the activity of the inhabitants in the process of revitalization which took place in Poznan at the turn of the 20. and 21. century. Overview of actions demonstrates the transformation of instruments and methods of conduct, but also is a presentation process of self-education of all participants: the associations, municipal authorities and residents. Relevant are also the examples of intentional educational and cultural initiatives addressed to the residents and held with residents in the framework of the Urban Renewal Program. Accumulation of these activities led to stimulate of civic awareness, neighborly relationship and local identification, but also initiated the transformation of individual mental. As a result, they developed a multi-threaded relationship: realization by the people of the right to co-decision and shared responsibility influences the attitudes of representatives of the local authorities and a kind of reciprocal social education, leaning to the subjective treatment of all participants of social processes.
The author presents changes which took place in the 3 eld of ideas of presenting art to the city audience at the end of the twentieth century. She draws attention to the importance of a movement of so-called “new museology”, which revised the museum practitioners’ attitudes towards art viewers. She presents taken from Poland and Europe practices of realizing artistic practices outside exhibition halls, directly in the public space, with immediate access to the viewer, who also is invited to participate in a process of creation of the art work together with the artist. She indicates a consequence of this practice, which is a formation of a so-called “new audience” – conscious of their expectations towards cultural institutions. In the end, the author mentions a research project on the phenomenon of the “new audience” initiated in the framework of the international project “Artecitya”.
The authors show how to strengthen the educational power of the museum. Emphasize the historical and contextual variability of the main functions performed by museum, indicate that the location of the museum in the community of the city and broaden the scope of its activities to different communities. Characterized by contemporary models of museum education, along with the arguments for taming the different models of learning both by visitors and museum’s staff. & e article presents two practices, which, in the opinion of the authors are conducive to learning in/and by the museum.
The article tackles issues of the pedagogy of place, with a special emphasis on the urban context. On the basis of fundamental theses asserting that a city is a text (Vladimir Toporov) and that places are pedagogical (Maria Mendel) – the author concentrates on symbols. Definition of this concept, as well as de3 nitions of its particular exemplifications, create a theoretical basis for further practical considerations. Presenting methodology of a research project Reading the City (Czytanie miasta) conducted in the years 2015–2016, the author creates new research challenges for pedagogues. Presentation of wide variety of city symbolism, encompassing both cultural manifestations (towers, bridges) and a realm of nature (mountains, river), leads to proposed educational applications. Descriptions of realized animations based on research form a summary of this article.
Family engagement favorably influences student achievement, yet information addressing how schools and communities can effectively partner with diverse families remains lacking. This paper examines two examples that are illustrative of the some of “best” examples of parent engagement; yet they are still problematic. Using the theoretical frameworks of liberalism and postcolonial theory, this paper critiques these cases and specifically the concepts of capacity building, agency, and empowerment as they relate to urban parents’ school engagement. A critical examination of these cases yields the following conclusion and implication for researchers and practitioners alike: what might change and how might these “best” examples of parent engagement be less harmful if rather than perceiving parents as having a deficit and needing knowledge, principals, school administrators, teachers, and parents themselves capitalized on the strengths and knowledge parents already possess about their children and their communities rather than feeling obliged to dispel information and craf tparent engagement as it has traditionally been constructed and exemplified in these programs?
The article presents Model Integration of Immigrants in Gdańsk in the field of education, based on two years of experience of schools, local government institutions and social organizations involved in the creation of conditions for the education of immigrants. & e foreign pupils, defined as “someone else”, not belonging to the community of “our”, are not the subject of educational policy, but immediately a} er crossing the threshold of schools become its object. The law and school practices define their place in the system, that becomes a huge challenge for both teachers and for students themselves and their parents. Gdańsk way to develop urban educational policy for immigrants led from intervention by the diagnosis of problems and learning from others, to seek their own innovative solutions.
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