In this article Cristoph Wulf examines the basic concepts of pedagogy and educational science in the German-speaking world, looking at education and socialization from the perspective of educational anthropology. He makes evident that the complex German concept of "Bildung," in particular, can only be fully understood by means of a…

Every theory of education endorses an image of a human being as someone who can be educated and is capable of self-education and self-cultivation. Since J.F. Herbart, educationalists have been sketching this image under the title "Bildsamkeit," which has become a central element of the specific German way of speaking about educational…

In the early 1980s, the "theory of didactic situations" put the analysis of mathematical activity at the core of the didactic analysis, thus initiating a new research programme in mathematics education: the "epistemological programme." This paper describes and interprets some of the contributions of the "anthropological…

While many recognise the impact formal education has on human flourishing, often overlooked are the forces in society that shape our conception of the good life. Our understanding of flourishing is formed as much by the culture we live in as by the classrooms we learn in. This oversight impacts our ability to think clearly about flourishing…

This article delves into the examination of the similarities and disparities between education and enhancement, with a particular focus on enhancement within the realm of NBIC (Nano-Bio-Information Technology, Cognitive Science). After scrutinizing how proponents of enhancement have delineated the concept of education, our investigation unfolds…

In response to considerable critique of its rigour and relevance, the field of educational research has sought to prove its validity, both in terms of its scientific legitimacy and its relevance to policy and practice. One result of this has been a heightened concern with methodology, to the extent that a form of methodolatry has developed. In…

Free-listing is a quick, semi-quantitative methodology commonly used by anthropologists to uncover information within a cultural domain. In this method note, we review how anthropologists have used free-listing in a variety of research settings. We then apply the social-ecological framework to describe how free-listing can be used for formative,…

Over twenty years after González (1999) asked anthropologists of education "What will we do when culture does not exist anymore?" the author reflects on the stubborn persistence of culture in his life and his students' lives. Although anthropologists have productively deconstructed the culture concept, this paper argues that the field…

Drawing on 18 months of ethnographic engagement in Guatemala with Indigenous youth, local community organizations, and transnational nongovernmental organizations, this article examines how young people imagine and work toward alternative futures at the intersection of extensive migration and a developmentalist push for educational attainment. I…

In agreement with the main tenets of the anthropological theory of the didactic (ATD), this study uncovers dependencies between what students can learn, the established curriculum and the current state of mathematicians' mathematics ('scholarly mathematics'). One main result is that the mathematics taught, too often taken for granted by curriculum…

How well do we know how non-humans experience environmental stressors and how do we communicate that knowledge as educators? This paper addresses these questions by way of an auto-ethnographic account of the author's experience of attempting to listen to the Great Barrier Reef, off the Queensland coast. Through a series of methodological failures…

Purpose: This work aims to introduce basic principles of the Anthropological Theory of Didactics applied to enhance the multicultural sensitivity in engineering statistics classroom. The approach emphasizes understanding learners' socio-cultural backgrounds to tailor educational practices that resonate more effectively with engineering students.…

Thailand's general education policy has been intended to provide students with the necessary basic knowledge for their subsequent major studies, as well as to serve other important functions in daily life practices. The university has several reasons for requiring the general education program as part of degree completion. In this paper, I will…

The contribution aims at subject-specific analyses of student solutions of an exercise from an electrical engineering signal theory course. The basis for the analyses is provided by praxeological studies (in the sense of the Anthropological Theory of Didactics) and the identification of two institutional mathematical discourses, one related to…

Since its existence, the subject of man has been difficult and painful to understand. Philosophical anthropology comes to the fore as the field that deals with the essence and function of man to make sense of him. Philosophical anthropology tries to evaluate man from his birth to death. By doing so, philosophical anthropology draws on various…