Vlaamsche Paedagogiek: progressive educationalists and the construction of a Flemish Volksgemeinschaft, 1922–1944

• Sarah Van Ruyskensvelde ^[1] ; Marc Depaepe ^[1]
  1. [1] Katholieke Universiteit Leuven,Belgium
• Localización: Paedagogica Historica: International journal of the history of education, ISSN 0030-9230, Vol. 56, Nº. 5, 2020 (Ejemplar dedicado a: Educating the Volksgemeinschaft Authoritarian ideals and school reforms in Europe’s fascist era), págs. 587-604
• Idioma: inglés
• Enlaces
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• Resumen

  • In May 1941, two progressive educationalists, Jozef Emiel Verheyen and Leo Roels, published a new pedagogical journal, Vlaamsche Paedagogiek (Flemish Pedagogy, 1941–1944). The journal aimed to contribute to the development and proliferation of a pedagogy that rooted in the Flemish soil and national character. Verheyen and Roels were convinced that “strong personalities could only prosper in a natural (volkseigen) atmosphere, carried by [the Flemish] language”. By presenting a case-study of Vlaamsche Paedagogiek, this article documents how, in Flemish progressive educational circles, the discourse shifted in the direction of a flamingant antimodern discourse, revolving around notions of character formation, discipline and the Heimat. This article suggests that, in many ways, Vlaamsche Paedagogiek was a radicalisation of the journals’ predecessor, Moderne School (Modern School, 1927–1941), a Flemish progressive education journal. Both journals centred on the same principles. Yet, whereas Moderne School used progressive education principles to establish a school that was closer to reality, Vlaamsche Paedagogiek aimed to use education as a tool for Flanders’ cultural emancipation.