This contribution makes the case that education has inherent purposes which distinguish it as a human practice; purposes that are distinct from those of the state. The philosophical and historical ancestry of these purposes is explored. This exploration reveals that educational experience is more properly understood as a live encounter with inheritances of learning than as a matter of transmission. The teaching of religion is taken as a concrete example to highlight this key difference. Where the state fails to recognise the inherent purposes of education, these purposes can become compromised. Accordingly, educational practice may fall victim to different kinds of domination. Some historical and more recent examples of such domination are identified and considered, as is an example of a healthy relationship between the state and educational practice. The consequences of the investigation for pedagogical research and practice, and for the proper relationship of the state to education, are then reviewed.
PL
Artykuł rozwija argumentację na rzecz edukacji, mającej nieodłączne (sobie właściwe) cele, które ją wyróżniają jako ludzką praktykę i które są odmienne od celów państwa. Badanie filozoficznego i historycznego pochodzenia tych celów ukazuje, że doświadczenie edukacyjne jest nie tyle kwestią transmisji (przekazu), ile żywym spotkaniem z dziedzictwem uczenia się. Aby naświetlić tę różnicę, odwołano się do przykładu nauczania religii. Tam, gdzie państwo nie rozpoznaje celów własnych edukacji, owe cele są wystawione na szwank, a praktyka edukacyjna może paść ofiarą różnych form dominacji/panowania. Kilka historycznych i bardziej współczesnych przykładów takiej dominacji zostało rozpoznanych i wziętych pod uwagę, łącznie z przykładem zdrowej relacji między państwem a praktyką edukacyjną. Pozwala to na koniec sformułować wnioski dla badań pedagogicznych i praktyki, ale także na temat właściwej relacji między państwem a edukacją.
The aim of the two studies was to assess relations between the type of preferred life-goals (extrinsic goals, including material success, power, achievement and career vs. intrinsic goals, including love and friendship, family, being useful for others and obeying rules of religion), interpersonal trust, level of subjective somatic health and level of general life-satisfaction. The data was collected by means of standardised interviews conducted in a representative random sample of adult inhabitants of Warsaw (n = 1004) and by e-mail – in a sample of students (n = 112). The results of multiple regression analyses showed that extrinsic life-goals were not a significant predictor of the level of general life-satisfaction. Preferences for intrinsic life-goals were a significant predictor of general life-satisfaction level: those persons who strongly accepted intrinsic life-goals had higher level of life-satisfaction, even when levels of interpersonal trust, subjective somatic health, educational level and age of respondents were controlled. The results are consistent with research conducted by Kasser and Ahuvia (2002) and by Skarżyńska (2002), suggesting that some types of values (or life-goals) may be associated with well-being.
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