Self-descriptions in the education system

pp. 85-101

in: Claudio Baraldi, Giancarlo Corsi, Niklas Luhmann, Berlin, Springer, 2017

Abstract

Luhmann defines pedagogy as the theory of education, more precisely the theory of reflection of the education system. Through pedagogy, education observes and describes itself and therefore marks the difference from its environment and can build its own identity. Three main issues led to the development of pedagogy over the past centuries: (1) the autonomy of the education system; (2) the control over the effects of education, which requires a specific technology; (3) the educational responsibility for the process of social selection. Among the many consequences of the modern pedagogical reflection, there is the idea of education reform, i.e. self-education of the system claiming the best for itself.