Physical education for citizenship or humanity? Freethinkers and natural education in the Netherlands in the mid-nineteenth century

Abstract

Studies in the history of physical education show that it was often promoted for socio-political reasons: to stimulate nation-building or increase economic productivity and/or military strength. By contrast, a different kind of motivation has received little attention in historical studies: the importance of physical education for the perfection of the individual, as expressed by the German neohumanistic word 'Bildung'. This article presents a case study in which the debate on the importance of physical education in the Netherlands in the mid-nineteenth century is examined. Ideas on the importance of Bildung in physical education especially existed within the freethinkers' movement. With arguments derived from their naturalistic worldview, freethinkers contested educational approaches that obstructed the natural development of the child. This case study aims to contribute to a better insight into the history of physical education in the Netherlands and into the diversity of reasons for promoting physical education in the past.

Contesting discourses about physical education

“…Eley and Kirk, 2002; McCuaig and Hay, 2010; O’Donovan et al, 2010; Stolk et al 2012). According to Stolk et al (2012), the concept of citizenship emphasises the role of the state or society in PE, and they suggest that the main idea here is that ‘physical education is used as an instrument in nation-building’ (Stolk et al, 2012: 733). As already mentioned, sport was initially regarded as a suitable vehicle for education through the body with a focus on the ‘whole child’ rather than the development of specific skills.…”

“…This discourse can readily be seen in light of the current debate on citizenship in PE (e.g. Eley and Kirk, 2010;McCuaig and Hay, 2010;O'Donovan et al, 2010;Stolk et al 2012).…”

The secularisation of religious education: humanism, religion and worldview education in the Netherlands in the 1960s

“…The initiators of the HV mentioned two objectives of their new organisation: (1) to fight against nihilism by helping secular people to form a well-considered and morally sufficient life stance; and (2) to fight for equal treatment of non-Christians (Flokstra and Wieling 1986, 19-20;Gasenbeek 2007). In the Netherlands, there was also a more radical freethinkers' organisation, comparable to the British NSS (Stolk, Los, and Veugelers 2012). In this article, we only take the larger and more significant HV into account (Gasenbeek, Kuijlman, and Nabuurs 2006, 72-85).…”

Türk Eğitim Sisteminde Aşırı Militarist Uygulamanın Başlaması (1926-1947)

“…Okulların askerliğe hazırlık mekânı olarak tasarlanmasında en somut gelişme programa konulan beden eğitimi ve izcilik olmuştur. Toplu fiziksel eğitim, jimnastik ve izcilik Foucoult' cu bir yaklaşımla "iktidarın bedenleri biçimlendirme ve dönüştürme" 13 tezine mesnet olmakla birlikte, militarizmin görülür yanını temsil etmiştir. 14 Bunun yanında gösterişli millî bayram kutlamaları, okul oyunları, yürüyüşler ve marşlarla edebî metinler militarizmi besleyen uygulamalardır.…”