Pedagogue Marloes Hoencamp examined what person formation means in the pedagogy of professors Philipp Abraham Kohnstamm and Martinus Jan Langeveld. In both theories, person formation appears to mean that the child is taught morality and learns responsibility for it. While there may be a sprouty air around these concepts, it is not a call for uniformity or bitchy decency. On the contrary, both educationalists appear to use these key words to safeguard the unique personality - and at the same time do justice to both individual and community.
The concept of personal formation
Over the past decade, there have been calls for more attention to personal formation, especially within education. But nobody seems to understand exactly what that means, let alone what it entails. However, personality formation is not a contemporary ideal of upbringing and education or a new phenomenon. To get a better grip on this 'old' ideal, Hoencamp examined the past and connects it to the present. To do so, she analysed the educational theories of the first Dutch academic pedagogues: Kohnstamm (1875-1951) and Langeveld (1905-1989).
Individualism and performance pressure
Current generations, known as Millennials and Generation Z, struggle with mental health problems such as depression and stress. Recent Dutch reports by the Trimbos Institute and CBS confirm this and point to unbridled individualism and performance pressure as major causes. Concepts like morality and responsibility are not the first words that come to mind when talking about these problems. Yet it is precisely Kohnstamm and Langeveld's core concepts of morality and responsibility that can be keys to personhood education.
"Kohnstamm and Langeveld show that by learning to take responsibility for oneself and others, there is a proper balance between being an individual and at the same time being part of a society. Moreover, their theories preserve the unique personality of each individual. They provide interesting and creative thoughts for this. Kohnstamm and Langeveld's insights cannot simply be copied to today, but -as this research shows- they can serve as inspiration," Hoencamp said.
Hoencamp will defend her PhD at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam on 5 February