Perspectives On Essential Interrogations - Values And Directions To Improve Educational Practice

Abstract

The study represents an original approach of the epistemological and praxiological substance offered by the ideas contained into a minimal set of questions with educational value. The purpose of the paper derives from the motivation to start the analysis of future projects from relatively simple interrogations, which can light a part of searches and decisions, offering added values to the theoretical answers and to the practical models proposed by the experts and practitioners in educational sciences, for the good of students, professors and decision makers. The author advocates for positive changes in school and education harmonized with modern world trends some of them being already listed on the agenda of the one who plan the future. Those are alternative themes such as: the economy of useful knowledge, curricular modernity, interactive methodologies, the reflective autonomy, the decisional-creative quality and the formative act of the actors present in the opened environment of education.

Keywords: Educational interrogationcognitive- methodological qualitypositive change

1.Introduction

1.1.Paper Rationale. Erotetic, Psychology, and Interrogative Education – Desired Synergies

1.1.1.What is Erotetics?

Simplifying alternative definitions, sometimes sophisticated, we emphasize a few key enunciations

regarding Erotetics logic. Erotetics is a part of logic and stylistic rhetoric, which is devoted to questions’

analysis. In what concerns the history of sciences, Erotetics became an independent subject of study,

being developed for the first time by Richard Whately, and afterwards, by philosophers such as: AcParior

(1955), Belnap (1966); Hintika (1976); Macmillan and Harrison, Siegel and Kelly (1983).

A few important famous names for the study of Erotetics in Romania that should be mentioned

are: the philosophers Eugeniu Speranţia, L. Blaga, C. Noica, V. Tonoiu, M. Flonta, Al Boboc, and a few

logicians, such as: P. Botezatu, G. Enescu, C. Grecu, C. Popa, P. Bieltz, S. Surdu.

Why is it necessary to build a philosophy of education, of instruction and learning and a

psychology of education based on the logic of questions?

Synthesizing the messages of the essential constructions, we should deepen the personalities of the

dialectical couple professor- student, part of the triad teaching-learning- evaluation, or part of the duality

Question - Answer/ Answers.

We consider the substantial values of academic Erotetics didactics, met in the professional debates

and discourses, specialty reports based on the emphasis of positive changes, which have taken place in the

formal education especially. The most challenging ordinary subjects known as being mentally and

attitudinally stimulating are given by the values of Life, Reality, Unknown, Uncertainty, and Problematic

Mystery.

Exaggerating a little, we would say that almost everybody, inquires us with all sorts of questions,

which are not facile, on the contrary, sometimes being even difficult to receive a logic answer, close to

the truth, alternative maybe, or shaded, such as the one specific to the approaches of the modal

psychology. It is difficult to offer an answer regarding the fulfilment of such standards pertaining to the

purpose of the academic Erotetics.

More complicated are the issues which target higher expectations of receiving relevant, acceptable,

reasonable, rationally argued, useful and usable answers, in professional problematic situations, or in sets

of questions, from which do not miss specific formulations such as: “Why?”; “How?”; “To whom?”;

“When?”; “What is it?”; “What do you understand through it?”;” For how long?”; “What price?”; “With

what effort”?; “For what is it good?” etc.

1.1.2.The Actors´ Role in the Interrogative Dialogue – Variable Behaviors.

It is also difficult to mention which is the best attitude that we may have in such situations. The

difference between the respondents is not given by the answer, but by the motivation, capacity/ ability of

believing or not in the value of a dialogue, of being convinced by that answer, of intuiting the benefits,

assuming sometimes the risk of representing the minority or being contradicted, of being vertical

dissident, courageous and in accordance with your ego, of being capable to say ” it is not right”, ”it is not

correct”, ”I am against it”, into a democratic context, to be able to firmly and argued affirm that you vote

against a system. We are aware of the fact that starting from here, there can arise a fight, which is not

representative for a WIN-WIN situation, an uneven fight, in which, many times, you are the one who

loses.

Consciousness and/or awareness, two distinct concepts having clearly defined cores through the

major purpose/ purposes of the cause of this fight, make you stronger and more jointly with the good of

the cause. The examples coming from the educational field, of the many controversies from the spectrum

of decisions, of the school curricular practices, are at our hand, the people present to this meeting.

2.Paper Theoretical Foundation and Related Literature. Methodological

Explicative Support of the Hermeneutical-Investigative Foundation

There are a few marks with explicative and credible value on which our study is based. We

mention some of importance:

The technique of scientific discourses and educational debates examination, generating incentive –

interpretative effects, which refer to the theme of the Erotetics science. From here the questions:

What can the students do, starting from tomorrow in/ with the present curricular models seminary practices?

  • =What is going to happen with the practices which are dominantly retrieval and reproductive?

  • =Do we have any alternatives?

The strategic dissonance reflection method, which became a stimulus of academic learning, useful

for the change required/ generated by the many malfunctions, present at Romanian society level in the

frame of the educational system. Moreover, new psycho-socio-educational researches are required in

order “to better understand the mental evolution dynamics of the actors who educate young students and

the concepts, language, and behavior necessary for professional formation “(Neacsu, 2010).

Question:

Do we avoid this way quartering examination in only one way of seeing things, opening the way

of anticipations, and understanding alternatives of finding some niches, actions and solutions being

motivating and not contradictory?

Scenario Analysis Method associated with the preparation of future changes, of practicing a

heuristic future style, according to the approach of educational-professional phenomenology that is

relatively predicted. On the other hand, we should mention the idea of saying only what we know and not

what we imagine to be possible tomorrow. From here the question: How will look like the ideas of

creative university psycho-pedagogical projections of futurology, current trends and signals and who are

the ones to promote them?

The technique of emergent creative strategies, according to which, as experts, we profile a certain

sensibility to the issues and the identified solutions, some debated at the level of scientific community, of

the consecrated actors of academic education.

The main question is:

Are prepared the ones who step now or tomorrow in the amphitheaters of the university for this

experience? We talk especially by sustainable psycho- educational practices!

Experience Sampling Method (ESM), created by the American psychologist Csikszentmihalyi,

Chicago University, in the 1970, represent the investigative foundation given by the game of the effects

and connections on which the method of feedback can be applied to the students and professors. In

consequence, it is recommended the data collection, opinions and observations referring to the

advancements in the field of perceptions, imaginations and future perspectives, states of mind, action

motivation, as well as the attentive examination of uncertainties generated by the absence of some

standard social values.

The Content Analysis Method using adequate support- worksheets, creative annotations,

reflections, and mental fixes connected to intelligent reading and advanced reading competence.

Personal analysis of added values, present and/or contained by a significant “number of

discourses, reports, interventions, portfolios or documents which include real projects achievements and

plans of personal development” (Neacsu, 2015).

3.Author's Contribution on the Existing Theory and Practice. The Interrogations

and Self-Interrogations Continue

The challenge resides in the fact that many of the actual interrogations continuously create myths

and interpretations with unexpected effects over the human being. One more time, we deal with the

questions: “Where to?”; “Up to what point?” …How credible and dangerous are the effects in time? The

enunciations are connected to the new orientations in science: human genome editing, three-dimensional

printing, synthetic biology, flying cars, drugs/ innovative genetic doping, neurosciences, and recreational

leisure time.

Snow (1969), a famous commentator essayist who has placed his intervention at the intersection

dialogue between humanism – technological, suggests an improvement of perception, understanding,

scientific education of the ones who practice humanities sciences, obviously not in the way of starting to

study mathematics and technology. He also stated that: „The two groups, comparable in intelligence,

ceased communicating between themselves. There is a lack of mutual understanding attributed by him to

the traditional education mode.” We mention from the beginning that there is a correlation between

things, which does not represent a causality relationship, but a statistic association, repeatability, even

experimental, due to the errors that appear regarding the human being. We quote here A. Einstein (1879-

1955), who noted: „Our entire scientific knowledge, compensated with the reality is primitive and

childish, however it represents the most precious thing that we have” (Shermer, 2009).

The pleas conceived to answer to the questions regarding the relationships between the modern

technologies and scientific education incorporate positive mental energies. A legitimate question would

be: Where does the light come from? We owe to the American Croat Nikola Tesla, the famous inventor

of the 20th century, a superb reference to the energy of light. Saying that everything is light, he continues,

approaching to our idea with the following ideational content. We can use other kinds of energies, such as

the positive mental energy, resent in the music created by Bach or Mozart or in the lyrics of great poets.

He continued, mentioning that inside the earth there is the energy of Joy, Peace, Love.

Is there any unconventional solution?

Yes, there is a universal one: the energy of creation, the energy of Rational Effort, the one of

Constructive Vocation, of Love: unlimited, accessible to anyone, anywhere would say Einstein (see the

famous letter addressed to his daughter from Israel).

4.Author's Contribution to the Topic. The Dialogue Game Specific to the

Metaphor of Interrogative Construction

How should we understand the answers using an affective, spiritual, and integrative logic? I would

say, with cautiously optimism, but with optimism! But, what would a poet say?

This is the metaphor answer given by Marin Sorescu in the poem „Chess”:

”- I will give you a chess and you will lose the optimism! He said to me, it doesn’t matter, I joke. I’ll

do feelings castling!”

5.Conclusion

In addition, as a recent echo, we invoke the meaning of intelligent mental construction result of

reading under suggestive title, which examines the interaction of three „I”s present in „digital universe of

identity, intimacy and imagination” (Gardner, & Davis, 2015).

References

  1. Gardner, H., & Davis, K. (2015). Generaţia APP: cum navighează tinerii prin universul digital al
  2. identităţii, intimităţii şi imaginaţiei. Bucureşti: Sigma.
  3. Neacsu, I. (2010). Introducere în psihologia educaţiei şi a dezvoltării. Iaşi: Polirom.
  4. Neacsu, I. (2015). Metode şi tehnici de învăţare eficientă: fundamente şi practici de succes. Iaşi: Polirom.
  5. Schermer, M. (2009). De ce cred oamenii în bazaconii: pseudoştiinţă, superstiţiii şi alte aiureli ale vremurilor noastre. Bucureşti: Humanitas.
  6. Snow, P. (1969). The two cultures: and second look. An expanded version of two cultures and the Scientific Revolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

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About this article

Publication Date

25 May 2017

eBook ISBN

978-1-80296-022-8

Publisher

Future Academy

Volume

23

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Edition Number

1st Edition

Pages

1-2032

Subjects

Educational strategies, educational policy, organization of education, management of education, teacher, teacher training

Cite this article as:

Neacșu, I. (2017). Perspectives On Essential Interrogations - Values And Directions To Improve Educational Practice. In E. Soare, & C. Langa (Eds.), Education Facing Contemporary World Issues, vol 23. European Proceedings of Social and Behavioural Sciences (pp. 86-90). Future Academy. https://doi.org/10.15405/epsbs.2017.05.02.12