Käsitused kasvatusest eesti vanasõnades ja kasvatusteaduses
Conceptions of education in Estonian proverbs and educational science

Summary/Abstract: In this article, we have set ourselves a goal to identify how the conceptions of education contained in Estonian proverbs coincide with the corresponding educational thought in Estonia. We have empirically studied 655 Estonian proverbs that directly refer to a child, growing up, upbringing and parents as well as the methods of education. In the empirical research, we look at whether and how it is possible to semantically categorize and define proverbs based on the educational meanings in their content. To have a clearer system for analysis, we created a comprehensive scheme of categories. The four main categories with subcategories formed during the work. As can be concluded from the analysis of proverbs, the everyday wisdom that lies in them mostly coincides with behaviouristic conceptions of education as interaction and development management. According to educational scientist Heino Liimets, the interaction becomes truly mutual, but only at the highest level of acceptance of the educator’s influence – internal acceptance or interiorization. At lower levels, i.e., only agreeing to or external identification of influence, this is an influence from the educator’s position of power where the educable is passive, subordinate, and obeys commands. This content is characterized by behaviouristic thinking in educational science and can also be observed in proverbs. Behaviouristic beliefs also address the need of the proverbs to take into account the peculiarity of a child in their upbringing, which mainly mean the timeliness of education, i.e., a person can be forced into something only in childhood and youth. Upbringing, education, and learning/teaching are considered practically as synonyms in proverbs and behaviouristic educational science, both being regarded as the management of development from outside a human being. The use of certain educational methods, upbringing, and teaching methods is considered an essential condition for the management of development, education, and teaching, especially in behaviouristic thinking in science. It is a central theme also in proverbs where punishment (incl. physical), ordering, forbidding, disapproving, and causing fear are at the forefront as methods, and praising and “sharing mercy” can be found only to a very limited extent. To speak about Estonian educational scientists, Peeter Põld dealt with the topic of punishment mainly in the first half of the 20th century and Maie Tuulik at the beginning of the 21st century; the latter, however, has completely relied on the ideas of Põld. J. Käis emphasises that the culture, language, and customs of one’s nation are obtained by means of education. Education creates identity and helps socialize. Thus, education occurs as a valuation. The fact that education mediates and reproduces the values and norms valid in society is also clearly evident in Estonian proverbs. In the opinion of Maie Tuulik, modern diversity and ambivalence of values do not allow one clear hierarchy of values to be offered to a child to grow up. According to Põld, the bearer of values should primarily be someone authoritative as an example of education, although Põld himself also sees shortcomings of education based on authority. It levels individuality, promotes passivity and creates conventional values; it does not develop a sense of criticism. The relationships built on authority determine the higher and lower status of someone and, accordingly, the users of and subordinates to the power. Such relationships between parents and children as well as in education appear also in proverbs, which is expected because the world of proverbs expresses the structure of a peasant family characteristic of feudal Estonia. Due to their age, children had a low social status in the family at that time. Social status also depended on the gender. In peasant society, man was the head and provider for the family. Sons had an advantage over daughters: they were given more education and they stayed at the farm. Põld has also associated authority primarily with the father. Thus, education had to reproduce the stereotypically traditional division of roles in a family, which was characteristic of the patriarchal society. The worldview was value-based and normative and divided according to the principle of black and white, containing firm truths about who is a good and who is a bad child. A child who agreed to the upbringing of his/her parents and who respected the parents was considered good. According to Tuulik, such firm beliefs that value the hierarchical nature of relationships should be based on also today. Thus, everyday wisdom and corresponding everyday conscious world found in proverbs is present and reflected in Estonian educational science, especially in the ideas and works of two authors. These are Peeter Põld and Maie Tuulik, who represent a normative Christian-conservative view of upbringing and education, which in science is primarily related to the behaviouristic way of thinking, in which the educable is regarded as a passive object in a relationship of education based on power and authority. Thematically, of course, proverbs are also associated with the thoughts and works of other Estonian educational scientists – in particular, J. Käis, H. Liimets, A. Liimets, J. Orn, and I. Kraav, but in substantive emphasis these scientists represent a cognitive-constructivist, humanistic and hermeneutic-phenomenological way of thinking.

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