Dialectical Analysis And Synthesis In Multicultural Education

Abstract

In this article, «multicultural education» means education in a multicultural world and acquaintance of pupils with different ways of world exploration and information processing; that is natural and necessary in the multinational and multi-religious groups. The authors have analyzed the textbooks for grades 1- 4 of one of the most common in the Russian educational systems in order to identify the possibilities different school subjects have to develop the mental operations of analysis and synthesis. The authors pay special attention to literature, which promotes the development of elements of dialectical thought, namely, the ability to determine the subject matter in opposite directions and find their common ground. This is even more important since the literature helps pupils to discover the laws of man's inner world, the world of the soul. Literature, studied dialectically, allows pupils, firstly, to complete the process of their own civilian self-determination successfully and, secondly, to acquire practical experience in resolving interpersonal conflicts gradually;

Keywords: Dialectical analysis; dialectical synthesiselementary schoolliterary readingmulticultural education

Introduction

Dialectical thinking involves the detachment of a pair of essential opposites and the finding of mediation of contradiction, that leads a person to discovery, creative solution (Belolutskaya, 2006). We understand the dialectical thinking as the ability to operate with opposites; it becomes extremely important under the conditions of global crisis, worsening conditions in many ethnic and religious conflicts.

Dialectically-minded people tend to avoid conflict, to seek a reasonable compromise, the very golden mean, without which, it seems, we cannot live nowadays. The ancient Greek philosopher, Plato, said that «conflict is a necessary condition that causes the soul to meditate» ; Plato uses this educational device – provoking the reader through the presentation of opposing arguments (Kraut, 2015).

Nicolas of Cusa (1401-1464), Cardinal and Bishop of Brixen, the papal legate in Germany gave a definition: «Dialectics is the doctrine of the combination of opposites». His first proposal is that God is the «coincidence of opposites» (Miller, 2015). He proved the unity of all religions. He considered, as wide as possible, the implementation of peace and harmony to be the most important thing, despite the objective differences of opinions. In his philosophy, he developed an idea of religious tolerance quite unusual for that time.

The great German philosopher, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831), first divided empirical thinking from a dialectical one. Empirical thinking – is only the registration and description of the results of sensory experience. Dialectical thinking – is the understanding of essence of internal laws of development of any object. G.V. Hegel – professor of philosophy at the universities of Heidelberg and Berlin – considered himself a Christian, but tried to synthesize the ancient Greek philosophy and Christianity, ideas of Kant and the French Revolution, placing the philosophy above religion and poetry. Dialectics, according to Hegel, was the form (or method or schema) of thought that included the process both of elucidating contradictions and of concretely resolving them in the corpus of a higher and more profound stage of rational understanding of the same object, on the way towards further investigation of the essence of the matter (Ilyenkov, 1977, 121.)

The psychology of scientific papers related to the problems of thinking - this is primarily the work of Piaget. Already in the early works Piaget studied such properties of child’s intelligence associated with dialectical thinking that issensitivity to contradictions and understanding of causality (Piaget, 1941). Piaget showed how the interaction of different (opposing) viewpoints stimulates mental activity of the child: to learn how to talk, it is necessary that you and others have established relationships of simultaneous differentiation and reciprocity that characterize the coordination of viewpoints (Nepomnyaschaya 1964, 371). Piaget connects the ability to relate opposing viewpoints with the processes of decentration, socialization and, consequently, with the development of theoretical thinking. One of his last works was directly devoted to the development of the elementary forms of the dialectic of children (Piaget, 1980).

The most important question for us is about the age at which a child is ready for the development of dialectical thinking. According to Piaget, one should answer this question individually in each case: one can observe a decrease or increase of the average chronological age of this or that stage occurrence, depending on the wealth or poverty of the child's activity, his/her spontaneous experience, school or cultural environment (Obukhov, 1998, 173 ).

Russian psychologists, in particular Zaporozhets, disagreed with Piaget’s statements about self-centeredness of the child of preschool age and his/her fundamental inability to stand up to someone else's point of view. They already found out in preschool childhood the beginnings of a theoretical attitude to the subject, theoretical activity, on the basis of which the formation of the causal thinking is possible (Zaporozhets &Elkonin, 1964).

The studies of Nikolay Veraksa convincingly prove the «unity of thought mechanisms of creativity of preschool children and adults, eminent scientists, inventors, poets, politicians. Understanding the dialectical logic as a special form of thinking allows you to discuss the dialectical transformation not only conceptually but also on the figurative level» (Veraksa, 2006). According to Veraksa, at the age of seven years, about 30% of untrained children give answers in stable complex representations, characteristic for dialectical thinking. The results of the children, who have passed through a short special training, have improved twice. It is obvious that the formation of dialectical thinking is in the zone of proximal development for the majority of first-graders.

The scientific school of Veraksa successfully developed topical aspects of the formation of dialectical thinking of all age pupils, especially pre-school ones. In the basis of all these studies lies the cultural-historical theory of personality development of Vygotsky (Shiyan, 2011), Leontiev and Luria (Chernokova, 2009). The methodological basis are the works of famous Russian philosopher and dialectic Ilyenkov (1997). Veraksa’s school disclosed structural features of dialectical thinking, the relationship of dialectical and symbolic (Veraksa, 2013), defined the categorical status of the subject of culture in psychology (Bayanova, 2012). The conclusion of researchers is clear: the mastery of operations of dialectical thinking is an important factor in the success of children in their further education and future adult life (Belolutskaya, 2006).

Problem Statement

The role of dialectical thinking is great especially in shaping the morals of the individual and the society as a whole. Dialectical thinking reveals the «other world» to the person, invites him to a dialogue. The recognition of the multiplicity of points of view eliminates the excessive categorical and self-confidence, «the dialogue of cultures logic is the logic of doubt» (Bibler&Akhutina, 2010, 659). Dialectical thinking includes everyone in a dialogue of such positions that initially seem incompatible, while the ability to analyze the contradictory situation and get out of it can prevent many conflicts and reduce social tensions.

Research Questions

Research Methods

We carried out a survey of 30 pupils of the gymnasium №96 in Kazan. Pupils of the 2nd grade (8-9 years old) were offered the task to combine opposites. On the first question (Who or what can be both good and evil? When?) Such groups of responses were received: a word (when thought that said well but actually hurts somebody); a magician (he was asked about something good but he accidentally messed up); an animal, a dog, a hedgehog (when it protects cubs or hosts); a person (he/she seems to be evil but good in the soul); a father, a mother, a teacher (when they educate children); an actor (who plays the bad character but is a good person); a sage (with different people, he/ she is different); fire, electric wire, socket; Baba Yaga (sometimes she helps the hero and sometimes harms); Bag of Bones.

The last two answers cannot be accepted as appropriate answers, since these fabulous characters are good or evil, rather than simultaneously in different tales. In addition, one pupil did not write anything. Thus, only 5 pupils (16.7%) could not name something both good and evil. 83.3% of second graders coped with the task.

The second question (what may be dark and light?)

We obtained the following groups of responses: space (very dark but is illuminated by many stars); the moon (from different sides is different, shines but on the Earth is still the night); a room (there are bright wallpaper but it is still dark); a pencil (on a light piece of paper it will be dark and on the dark paper is light); sky (when it is dawn); Sonya Blade (from the game Mortal Kombat); a window (when you look from the outside at night,it is light and inside the room it is dark); a light (when it’s shining but has little intensity); a street (with the lights at night); a day (gloomy but still is not the night); a shadow; a black-and-white picture, figure, toy dog; clouds; the sun; a blue color; a ball; a zebra.

The last six responses (11 pupils, 36.7%) cannot be considered valid, as they mean objects, which alternate dark and light, and do not attend simultaneously. But the rest of the answers (63.3%) demonstrated a clear willingness of 8-9-year-old children to recognize the ambivalence of objects, natural phenomena, fictional characters. Many pupils are able to, without visual support, that is, without having the object before their eyes, look at the object from different points of view, that is extremely important for dialectical thinking.

On the third question (what can be both alive and dead?), the following groups of responses were obtained :a dream (you do not believe in it but it still lives in you); a river, sea (moving, talking, may die if you do not take care of them); everything, if it is almost dead; Bag of Bones; water (it is not alive, but there is no life without it); a robot (a person thinks that he/she controls the robot, but it has already become independent); plants: trees, flowers; half of a leaf has withered and the other one has not; soul; a vampire; a man when pretending to be dead; animals; nature, the sun.

Only three of the last answers are not correct - as 6 pupils answered (20%). The remaining 80% found the ability to understand the procedurality, development, internal movement, variability. Very indicative in this type of answers are «almost dead», «still alive». Many pupils show uncertainty in their fullness (or in total human) knowledge of plants and water, which do not have all the features of a living creature, as animals or humans, but to call them dead is also impossible. So, it is with robots: whether the designer will be able to understand in time that his/her machine crossed the line and ceased to be anenervate piece of iron?

Thus, at an average, 75.5% of the second grade pupils were able to, without preliminary preparation, call objects and phenomena, which simultaneously contain contradictory properties or quality.

Findings

Literary reading differs from all other school subjects by means of offering pupils chance to reflect on the issues of human inner life, the problems of personal nature. These lessons involve the primary school pupils in active discussion of characters and relationships. This activity helps children to understand other people, teach them to be tolerant to the peculiarities of others.

Conclusion

«The psyche of a human–is a constant search and the dialectic of each search is that the seeker does not know what he will find» - in these words of Davydov (1996), the connection of dialectical thought and schools is revealed. The ability to see an object as a unity of contradictions and the need to discover this unity –is the basis of theoretical consciousness, the basis of creativity and research. The inner inherent contradictions of the subject give rise to a disputing way of thinking «and the moment of discussion is mandatory in educational activity» (ibid, 58).

Answering questions about the age restrictions, Davydov stated: «... six-year children can freely work on our materials» (Davydov, 1996), that is, according to the laws of theoretical reasoning. It is exactly «in the primary school age a child needs to master the basics of theoretical consciousness, thinking first of all» (ibid, 81), because for preschoolers (earlier period), the main thing is a game and the assimilation of ready knowledge, and for adolescents (later period) communication becomes a priority. Our research has shown that the second-grade pupils are ready to acquire the dialectical method, as they are able to see the subject of discussions from different/ opposing points of view and to explain the observed difference in those views.

This also applies to a specific character of art, as a difference of interpretation of art. The outstanding Soviet philosopher, Ilyenkov, speaking about the development of the personality, attached a special role in this case to art which develops the productive imagination and human mind (Osipov 2013). «Schools should teach thinking», –stressed Ilyenkov, because only productive thinking is the basis of true science and true art, and the value detected by them - truth and beauty - are universal characteristics, attributes of eternal and unified reality (Kochanowski & Yakovlev, 2011, ch. 6, p. 9).

Acknowledgements

The work is performed according to the Russian Government Program of Competitive Growth of Kazan Federal University.

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