Professor Emeritus - University of Alberta
Max van Manen
In: D. Vandenberg (ed.) Phenomenology and Educational Discourse. (1996) Durban: Heinemann Higher and Further Education. pp. 39-64
Phenomenological Pedagogy
‘Phenomenological pedagogy’ is the name for a unique phase in West European educational thought of the period from roughly 1940-1970. The Dutch tradition of phenomenological pedagogy is associated primarily with the names of Langeveld, Beets, Vermeer, Perquin, and Strasser-they were unofficial members of the so-called Utrecht School. About Beets I will say more shortly. Vermeer was especially known for her phenomenological study of play in understanding children, and Perquin was a Catholic scholar at the University of Nijmegen, whose work echoes much of Langeveld’s insightful pedagogical writings. Strasser’s writings (1963) stood somewhat outside of this circle since he employed a more analytical philosophical style.