Accentuating the role of the upbringing society in Korczak’s pedagogy

Abstract

The aim of the article is to show the sociological elements in the education process that are present in Korczak’s pedagogy, both in its scientific form as well as in his fiction aimed directly at children. Therefore, society with its educational institutions (family, school, boarding school) is recognized in this pedagogy as an important sphere of symbolic references and educational influences. The key role of society (as the most important educational institution) in shaping pupils is present in commonly known works on the sociology of upbringing (including Florian Znaniecki or Józef Chałasiński), while sociological threads in Korczak’s pedagogy have not been a popular topic of separate analysis so far, apart from one monograph devoted to the subject. Therefore, this topic requires in-depth analyses and afterthought. Janusz Korczak emphasizes the role of society in a child’s life, preparing them primarily for participation in social relations, through diverse forms of group life at school, whose most important achievement is the institution of student self-government. It is thus a bridge between student-oriented education and the traditional pedagogical message, involving the transmission of the requirements of specific social roles.