Learning self-reliance and responsibility from the point of view of existentialism
Veide, M., RISEBA Univ. of Applied Sciences, Riga (Latvia)
As a result of the increased amount of information the importance of its independent, critical evaluation is increasing, so that the knowledge learning would not be replaced by the accumulation of information. The responsibility for and the ability to evaluate information independently are relevant as learning outcomes of education for sustainable development. Responsibility and self-reliance as important areas of human life are the focus areas of the existentialist approach; still, this approach is very little used in pedagogy. The results of this research substantiate the topicality of the existentialist approach in modern humanistic pedagogy, in which the emphasis is placed on the personal significance of the learning process. The main aim of the article is to analyse the learning of self-reliance and responsibility from the point of view of existentialism and to evaluate the conditions of its realization in pedagogical practice. The study was done by combining the results of the author's previous empirical research, observations in pedagogical practice and analysis of the scientific literature. In the minds of Latvian adults, their self-reliance and responsibility are integral components of both the quality of living and the meaning of learning. With age, there is a growing tendency to associate self-reliance not with independent thinking, but with independence and, consequently, existential concerns about the possibility of its realization. An important existential aspect of the learning process is: the distinction between learning to be self-reliant and responsible and learning to find a place in the network and function in pursuit of personal safety and worth. Self-reliance as a relative independence from security, belongingness and recognition and responsibility as an awareness of one's impulses, feelings and attitudes are related to the survival of existential loneliness and overcoming anxiety. Learning self-reliance and responsibility means learning self-reflection, learning to meet oneself, getting to know one's interests and the factors that cause fear, rather than diverting attention to others to information that helps to justify oneself.
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