The notion of "Bildung" has been booming in several European countries for almost twenty years now, but it has attracted little attention in vocational education. One reason for this is that "Bildung," the process of becoming human as a goal in itself, is understood in opposition to vocational education, which task would be to…

The aim of the article is to theoretically develop a notion of digital "Bildung" that accepts the "world" of today as characterised by the entanglement of humans and technology. I draw on Adorno's critical notion of "Bildung," Luciano Floridi's and Katherine Hayles' respective understandings of the human-technology…

This article argues that curriculum work can benefit from signifiers of Bildung to promote democracy in public education. The argument is built on the premise that cultural and intellectual traditions that value Bildung presume a link between the inner cultivation of the individual and the development of better societies (Horlacher 2017). I start…

This conceptual research analyses the historical development of the German concept of "Bildung" to the Danish "dannelse." The starting point is J.G. Fichte's 1808 "Addresses to the German Nation," in which "Bildung" is analyzed as a key concept. The paper illustrates the influence Fichte had on N.F.S.…

Science capital has proved a valuable concept for understanding a person's science-related resources and the inequities linked to participation in science education. The concept was developed in the UK and has since been applied worldwide. In this paper, we investigate the potential of the concept in Denmark. Here science capital meets a concept…

This article is based on results from research that addressed the ways young Black Metal musicians construct their musical learning and socialization. In this article we will focus on one of the strands in that study; a trace of a classic ideal from "Bildung" theory. Using Bildung theory, we explore similarities between the ideals and…

This study aims to critique the concept of active learning in childhood education based on Hegelian Bildung. We have defined childhood education from the perspective of Hegel's Bildung in The Phenomenology of Spirit. We describe childhood education as a 'primary Bildung' having the aim of 'entering into the conceptual world'. This aim indicates…

Motivated by Gadamer's identification of Bildung's 'Vorbild-Bildung-Nachbild' (model-process-result) structure, a historical tracing of the Christian messianic heritage in Bildung is conducted. As Bildung grows into an educational concept with global aspirations, this heritage might prove a substantial theoretical obstacle. As an alternative to…

The purpose of this study is to describe an alternative understanding of "Bildung-centred Didaktik" through an examination of Wilhelm von Humboldt's conception and practice of educational reform--"Bildungsreform," 1809-1810--in which the concept of science ("Wissenschaft") was regarded as the fundamental goal and…

Theoretical foundations are fundamental to research in health and physical education. They reflect historical and cultural ideas and values. In this article, we seek to introduce the philosophy of "Bildung" from the Nordic-German cultural region to an English-speaking audience as one theoretical foundation for student-centered teaching.…

Bildung has lost its critical potential, some thinkers worry, but I put forward that this might not necessarily be the case. Jan Masschelein and Norbert Ricken argue that modernity has seen Bildung and bio-power grow complicit, effectively negating Bildung's critical edge by turning criticism into a necessary aspect of contemporary society.…

"Bildung" has a long tradition in continental European education but in England it is less well known and is underused to theorise about education. In this paper the German concept of "Bildung" is applied to pre-service teacher education in England where teacher education has become increasingly dominated by instrumental and…

Is Gert Biesta is a philosopher of Bildung? The answer is "both yes and no. First I argue that Biesta's philosophy is based on a denial of the concept of Bildung, and that he, by the very nature of this fact, cannot be considered as philosopher of Bildung. This conclusion is based on Biesta's roots in the post-structuralist tradition and its…

Higher education has long established primary importance to the formation of students, manifest in ideas such as Confucian "xiushen" (self-cultivation) and "Bildung." However, despite the shared focus on the idea of humans becoming humans, "xiushen" and "Bildung" are built on divergent philosophical…

Interpreting the modern heritage of 'Bildung' in connection to education theory, this open access volume explores non-affirmative theory of education and 'Bildung' as a language of education for the 21st century. In this 'Bildung'-centered view of education, discerning thought on knowledge and values are critical objectives of education. To…