CONSERVATIVE PEDAGOGY AND CONTEMPORARY POLISH PEDAGOGICAL THOUGHT

The subject of the analysis is the state of metatheoretical research concerning contemporary conservative thought in the pedagogical sciences. The lack of a philosophical syntheses of the essence of conservatism, which could provide the basis for the development of conservative pedagogy, results in the need to develop a theoretical map of thought in order to be able to recognize its different traditions and trends. The author justifies the need for synthetic research in order to create a clear map of the geography of conservative pedagogical thought, its representatives


Introduction
The title of this article contains the conceptual categories whose meaning, as adopted here, becomes a criterion in the analysis of the position of conservative pedagogy in contemporary pedagogical thought.The term 'pedagogical thought' as used by Bogdan Nawroczynski is very broad.Nawroczynski thought it was " [...] all that constitutes the noteworthy content of our literature, i.e., not only pedagogical theories of a more or less scientific nature, but also pedagogical journalism in which pedagogical ideals are usually formulated." 2 Karol Poznanski takes an even broader approach by saying that pedagogical thought is [...] not only the views expressed on education and child rearing in treatises, theories and philosophical doctrines.The term is understood more broadly, not only as theory but also as practice, being an expression of a particular concept, doctrine or plans, thoroughly thought-out educational intentions, which found expression in the form of laws, instructions, ordinance, or educational content and programmes. 3 does not seem justifiable to treat pedagogical thought, including conservative thinking, as individual (world-)views, beliefs, opinions or original concepts which have their roots in social and political philosophy.Even though conservative pedagogical deliberation linked to child-rearing and education is not mentioned in the Universal Encyclopaedia of Philosophy 4 , it can be still framed as a common system " [...] of natural to human nature tendencies and attitudes of aversion to change, particularly violent change; distrust of what is unknown, and attachment to tradition and proven institutions, norms and values." 5 Conservatism, however, is not merely an attitude of traditionalism, for if it were to be seen as such the term could be also used to define orthodox liberals or socialists if they were to be accused of being opposed to radical, dynamic changes to their liberal or leftist views on the world and human nature.
Conservatism, as Jacek Bartyzel has it in the above-mentioned encyclopaedia, is a carrier of ideas, doctrines and ideologies which are derived from social and political philosophy, referring to these inclinations and attitudes.It is also

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Conservative pedagogy and contemporary Polish pedagogical thought an ideological and political movement striving to uphold or restore traditional (often changeable) "[...] principles of social and political order." 6 In pedagogy, it is linked precisely to conservatism understood in this way, for these principles to be affirmed and practised by (non)professional educators who are well aware of how different their approach to the nurturing and formation of the human in the spirit of tradition, conservative politics is, when compared to the opposing ideologies, doctrines or systems of values recognised and applied in various socialisation and education environments.As Bartyzel points out, in fact conservatives themselves are engaged in an internal dispute about the ways in which their doctrine, position or methodology should be understood.
The same is true of social policy, which is a profoundly political field of research, and therefore one that generates much controversy."It encompasses a key area of social life in which competing ideologies clash.For this reason, it is worth remembering that all authors working in the field of social policy had a particular political view or worldview." 7 For example, British social policy meta-theorists do not include conservatism in their classification at all but only list the following theoretical approaches as an area of research and academic validation of social policy and as a subject for history or social studies in teacher training: neoliberalism, new social democracy, Marxism, feminism and racism.
Conservative thinking, like any other kind embedded in a system of values, or a conception of the human being (pedagogical anthropology) underpinning human beliefs, is a vehicle for one of the normative pedagogies.Practicing it in education is not easy, since there is no consensus among adherents of conservatism about its formal sense (conserving as such) or the material sense (what is to be conserved). 8edagogical thinking potentially exists in words as linguistic meanings, and thus has an existence independent of the people who have produced it in their thoughts."For if a thought is expressed in words, then the content of that thought as the linguistic meanings of those word becomes bound to them, and words can last for centuries ahead.The contents of thoughts, potentially latent in words as their linguistic meanings, can therefore be called products of thought." 9 This particular thesis has been developed by the historian of pedagogical thought Władysława Szulakiewicz: It is true that pedagogical thought can have a diverse character, be subject to scientific rigour and contradict it, refer to colloquial ideas about child rearing; it can be the work of professional pedagogues, but also representatives of other disciplines, educational activists and journalists.This A h e a d o f p r i n t Bogusław Śliwerski is determined by such factors as the pedagogical knowledge of their authors, their preparation, or what we could call pedagogical culture or pedagogical awareness.10I shall not elaborate on the analysis of the term 'conservatism' any further, leaving the task to philosophers, political scientists and lawyers.In school pedagogy it is treated as an educational ideology which, like any other ideology, can be and sometimes is instrumentally used by those in political power to manage the school system in accordance with ideology of their choice.Conservatism as a social philosophy, including in particular Catholic social teaching, is mainly practised by non-public schools.This educational trend develops particularly strongly when educational policy is subordinated to another political ideology (social philosophy),11 also penetrating into grassroots educational initiatives e.g., the conservative home-schooling environment. 12The aim of the content analysis of the works in general pedagogy, whose authors aim to classify contemporary pedagogical thinking, is to seek an answer to the question about the way conservative pedagogy is represented and the function it plays in academic disputes.

Philosophy, ideology or educational theory?
Without a synthetic reflection on systems of ideas, pedagogy deprives itself of the opportunity to pose fundamental questions, limiting itself merely to selected aspects of educational reality.I first published a monograph presenting contemporary trends and theories of child rearing for a good reason, 13 which was also behind

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Conservative pedagogy and contemporary Polish pedagogical thought publishing the translations of various syntheses by American, Swiss and German scholars and their taxonomies of pedagogical thought of the Western world of science and culture. 14Gerald Lee Gutek, the American philosopher of education, distinguishes between philosophies, theories and ideologies of education in terms of their applications in school systems, so that one can open up to reality in the knowledge that there are also other concepts of education."Thought quite easily abandons ends for means, thinking for method, the uncertainty of opening up for the security of closing and limitation.But this is also happening because our minds prefer to dwell on what is easier, already preoccupied only with themselves and the fragments of the knowable world." 15 Gutek makes no secret of the fact that the basis of education was and is a generally comprehensible "[...] speculative, reflective and systematic inquiry into the universe and man's place in it, " 16 hence among philosophical educational concepts he distinguishes idealism, realism, Thomism, naturalism, pragmatism and existentialism; ideological educational concepts are understood here as an instrument of power "[...] of shaping and promoting social, political, economic and educational ideas" 17 : nationalism, liberalism, conservatism, utopianism, Marxism and totalitarianism; and educational theories are understood as complete systems of thought of philosophical origin (essentialism, perennialism, progressivism, social reconstructionism, critical theory), ideological, or derived from educational practice.For Gutek, conservatism is an educational ideology.
Representatives of every ideology of education must expect resistance, reluctance, disfavour or affirmation, commitment or acceptance.As Gutek says: Education has long been the subject of numerous debates and polemics, which have become particularly fierce in recent years.As is well known, if a topic is controversial, it means that we are dealing with a crucial issue.The school, being a social institution, is a source of conflict.New projects to reform it are constantly being developed 18 .
Not only teachers, but also the parents of their students should know and understand the essence of the differences between the various concepts of education 14  A h e a d o f p r i n t Bogusław Śliwerski and child rearing in public, mainstream schools, whose programmes and educational methodology are decided by politicians with or without the participation of scholars."Perhaps it will be easier for them to understand that innovations in the field of the education system and teaching methods can be used for multiple purposes and have multiple consequences."19

The state of research on contemporary pedagogical thought in Poland
More new works in this field are being published, including monographs on pedagogical trends and directions, the authors of which present the results of their theoretical (metahistorical and meta-pedagogical) research.I think that the time has come to move towards synthetic research, which would not only reveal the methodological skill of many of us in exploring, reconstructing and interpreting contemporary pedagogical thought, but which would also aim to recognize the shortcomings, dilemmas and even aporias existing in the cognitive process.Władysława Szulakiewicz, who analyzed the ways of presenting pedagogical thought of authors involved with the subject of its history in the Renaissance, Enlightenment and the 19 th and early 20 th centuries, says that "[...] they did it focusing mainly on outstanding representatives of pedagogical views and creators of educational concepts.Among these works, there were few studies of a synthetic nature." 20 In order to continue with the research, it is perhaps worth taking a closer look at the state of affairs in the 21 st century.
The pluralism of pedagogical thought is a fact, for it results from the enduring independence of one another of different approaches to child rearing and education.In scientific debates, value-laden praise or negation of them can be found, depending on the degree of commitment to one or the other, or as a result of examining the objective persistence of distinguishable pedagogical thoughts side by side.This state of affairs is aptly illustrated by a lithograph by Maurits Cornelis Escher, entitled Relativity.Its philosophical sense is well interpreted by Szymon Wróbel, who says that it introduces us what their neighbours take for the ceiling.They may use the same staircase, but they are unable to agree on their shared values in an absolute way, i.e., one that permanently founds a particular social order.In the staircase at the top of the illustration, two people are walking side by side in the same direction, although one is going up and the other is going down.This is how liberals and conservatives diverge.This is also how liberals and radical democrats diverge.There can be no contact between them because they live in different worlds and are therefore barely aware of each other's existence as well as of their alienation. 21e fact that there has not been, is not and will not be any reconciliation between the proponents of different worlds of values and thinking is not and should not be surprising, nor should the expectation that society should be subordinated to any one of them.Surprisingly, however, Wróbel does not mention any examples of Polish thinkers, in line with the phrase from a poem by the 19th century poet Stanisław Jachowicz: Synthetic research on Polish philosophical, sociological or pedagogical thought demonstrates that Polish representatives of various axionormative orientations have been and will be present in educational and academic circles, serving them as theorists and practitioners.It would seem that after thirty-three years of Poland's post-communist transformation, the pluralism of child rearing and educational theories has become obvious and natural for pedagogues.However, conservative thought and pedagogy is missing from the picture and, when it does appear, it fails to find even a minimal acceptance or tolerance in the various approaches to education in the pedagogical environment.Perhaps this is due to the infiltration of the interests of the Catholic Church into politics or the other way round, and the treatment of the Church as a tool for politics.Perhaps the academic pedagogical community is closed to conservative thought due to fact that its approach is supposed to take an exclusive worldview and impact the world with education being used for its purposes, as was the case under the totalitarian system.
Just as materialist ideology became an imposed way of thinking in Poland under communist rule and treated as incontestable and undisputable, any pedagogical thought unrelated to it was taken to be pseudo-scientific and removable from all spheres of experience.A struggle for the secularisation of the national education A h e a d o f p r i n t Bogusław Śliwerski system was well underway, in which pseudo-scientific criticism of bourgeois orientations of pedagogical approaches was conducted in order to lead to the total secularisation of the school in a broad sense. 23t so long ago, any attempt to transcend this reality as was drawn up by the sciences was perceived as an attack on the only serious reasoning.Anything beyond them was 'frivolous' and unworthy of human reflection.The pretence of materialising science to universalise experience tended to eliminate other experiences. 24is could be one reason why it is necessary to also study conservative thought, as it restores the awareness of the existence of the spiritual and transcendental, and thus not only the need, but also the right of many people to live and raise their children according to the higher, absolute values to which they adhere.

Conservative pedagogy in times of transition
With the political breakthrough of the early 1990s, Polish pedagogy became a discipline oriented towards the values of pluralism, democracy and the open society with its divergences, multiplicity and otherness; towards learning about discourses, trends, concepts of education and child nurturing that had been absent for years only because they contradicted the Marxist-Leninist education doctrine.Over a period of three decades, pedagogy has now been enriched by scholarship whose authors have focused on reading the works of their chosen classics of the educational sciences according to their philosophical, sociological, psychological or ideological roots.Not everyone has been convinced as yet that the state of apparent, and perhaps even to some extent partial, dissociation of Polish pedagogy from the monistic, ideologically degenerated socialist pedagogy, should sensitise academics to the profound, though often repeated (by politicians) principle of discourse of Aleksander Kamiński, that 'we should be able to differ beautifully' .
A h e a d o f p r i n t Conservative pedagogy and contemporary Polish pedagogical thought Polish society could regain learning and expand on knowledge in line with the actual state of the sciences, level of public awareness, differences in world-views, and systems of values recognised and implemented in everyday life.The radical change of the socio-cultural context and the theoretical way of applying pedagogy required accelerated thinking on the issue of the best preparation for life in a democratic, open, pluralistic society and active involvement of teachers and educators in the creation and reconstruction of knowledge absent from their practice.
Malgorzata Lewartowska-Zychowicz has spoken of this situation in these words: The opportunity for scientific pedagogy is seen in carrying out a profound critique of its own theoretical foundations in the context of the contemporary cultural crisis, as well as on the basis of the critique carried out in the natural sciences, and in building its own theoreticality on this basis.This idea involves the need for pedagogy to liberate itself from the framework of scientism and to reorganise its understanding of 'scientism' as one of many possibilities for pedagogy.The crisis of pedagogy could then be understood not catastrophically, as the breakdown of a certain order, but as a breakthrough from which new qualities emerge that are better suited to reality.
Each of these qualities can describe the educational reality in its own way, to a certain extent, and their multiplicity creates an opportunity for teachers to look at this reality from different points of view. 25r years, however, the state-control imperative of indoctrinating and grooming young generations in the school system has persisted in educational policy, as secured by the mass-effect of its influence through compulsory education until the age of 18.Perhaps this is the reason for unwillingness, unkindness, and bitterness among the providers of public education who, on the one hand, grow up and operate in a society that is open, also to differences in the private, world-view sphere, and, on the other hand, the fact that they cannot count on the educational authorities to recognise pluralism at all, as the curriculum policy of education and child-rearing is entirely submitted to ideology of the party in power.In fact, it no longer matters which political formation is in charge of the education ministry, as so far, each one has violated the principle of respect, tolerance and even the right to the presence of a different ideology of education in the public space shortly after coming to power.Some people still hope that little will change in the science of education, since education policy is decided by the political authorities which will not let go of their influence of legitimising human attitudes towards an unambiguously defined world of values.
In any case, Polish democracy is still too young and unconsolidated to expect mature attitudes to the management of education from citizens, politicians A h e a d o f p r i n t Bogusław Śliwerski or education professionals such as those encountered in the democracies of Western Europe or the USA.Education in Poland is still not perceived or treated as a common good but merely as an electoral gain for the realization of the objectives of those in power.However, in the period of over three decades of Poland's political transformation, works and dissertations have been published on synthetic pedagogy whose authors discuss various orientations and trends in contemporary pedagogical thought, including among its Polish representatives.Even though conservative pedagogy has not been at the centre of these analyses, it has certainly been present.

Polish conservative thought in the synthetic studies on contemporary pedagogy in Poland
The need to conduct research on various trends in education, including into Polish pedagogical thought, serves the purpose of the learning of thought maps that are adequate to our culture and tradition, and compliant with the methodology of scientific research; the maps that reveal the state of transition from the monistic socialist pedagogy to open, axionormatively diverse knowledge about education, which for this reason is also subject to various interpretations and applications in educational policy. 26Contemporaneity in this case marks out the time of Poland's systemic transformation, which began in 1989 and is still underway, struggling with the processes of destruction in the period of attempts by politicians and social movements to consolidate democracy.Thus, I am not considering here the valuable though only partly current treatises by Ludwik Chmaj (1963), Kazimierz Sośnicki (1967), Bogdan Suchodolski (1962)  or Karol Kotłowski (1973), as they are laden with both self-and state censorship.Neither do I take into account the various dissertations on the trends and directions of pedagogical thought, as they make no reference to the systematics of contemporary pedagogical thought.Their authors usually study the pedagogical thinking

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Conservative pedagogy and contemporary Polish pedagogical thought of their choice as derived from the philosophy, social/sociological, psychological or political thought relevant to it.
As Wieslawa Korzeniowska says about the state of differentiation of pedagogy and, with it, the education of teachers and pedagogues: In Western Europe and beyond, contemporary pedagogical thought has been inspired by pluralism and individualistic conceptions of the human being promoted by liberal ideologies.Under their influence, three periods can be distinguished in the development of pedagogy: orthodoxy, heterodoxy and heterogeneity.The latter, emerging in the 1990s, is associated with the transition from the 'paradigm dispute' to the stage of 'debating societies' -which, in relation to pedagogues, means taking on the role of 'interpreters' and abandoning the hitherto role of 'legislators' .[...] in this multiplicity of currents and directions, however, some problems still demand attention, the most important of which are: launching a social discussion about education, creating a platform for the process of undisturbed communication of the parties participating in it, and validating different kinds of knowledge about education, and various methodologies and methodologies of its creation. 27e of the important treatises on conservative Christian thought in Poland is without doubt Piotr Magier's metatheoretical study. 28Magier aptly constitutes his thought in relation to the school system, within its structure distinguishing the pedagogy of Catholicism, the pedagogy of Orthodoxy, the pedagogy of Protestantism and the pedagogy of religion.He also recalls the closely related names for Christian pedagogy, capturing it as a global variable, namely: pedagogy of religion, theological pedagogy, classical pedagogy, personalistic pedagogy, integral pedagogy, transcendental pedagogy, ecumenical pedagogy and pastoral pedagogy.
The relationships of scope generated by attributes such as "transcendent", "of religion", "Christian", "Catholic", "Orthodox", "Protestant", rely on a relationship of containment.The widest scope can be attributed to the term "transcendent pedagogy", which represents all types of pedagogy that refer to Revelation, God, spiritual forces. 29alysing the Polish pedagogical literature, I notice the following research approaches to conservative educational thought, which are distinguished by their object and research method.At their centre are Christian (including Catholic, Evangelical) and non-Christian (Steiner's anthroposophy), as well as transcendental concepts, orientations, and currents of conservative socio-moral education.These 27 Wiesława Korzeniowska, Myśl pedagogiczna na przestrzeni wieków.Chronologiczny słownik biograficzny [Pedagogical thought over the centuries.Chronological Biographical Dictionary] (Kraków: Oficyna Wydawnicza "Impuls", 2010), 181.
A h e a d o f p r i n t Bogusław Śliwerski occur in such research directions as the historical, biographical, metatheoretical, axiological, anthropological-pedagogical, educational, monographic, didactic (school curricula), and teachers research. 30 h e a d o f p r i n t Conservative pedagogy and contemporary Polish pedagogical thought Still, we have not yet seen a synthetic work that would show the geography of conservative pedagogical thought or practices that would enable candidates for the pedagogical profession or other social forces to find an academic reference point adequate to their positions.There are also no works on Orthodox pedagogy and pedeutological studies through which it would be possible to find out if and how teachers representing pedagogical conservatism are educated.Accepted articles published online and citable.The final edited and typeset version of record will appear in future.
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Conclusions
One may wonder what the purpose of research on contemporary pedagogical thought is, if in the constantly changing life of the Polish society it has merely become the subject of power struggles among the main political formations?Do we indeed need to broaden or deepen our knowledge of a preferred approach to education for the instrumental needs and influences of the parties in power, or should we serve the development of pedagogical science, regardless of the party that holds the office of the Ministry of Education and, with it, the pedagogical supervision of schooling?As the editors of the 1st Seminar of the Polish Pedagogical Thought Beata Gola, Dominika Jagielska and Janina Kostkiewicz, rightly assume: The rich tradition of Polish pedagogical thought implies the question about its nurturing, continuation and use for the education of new generations.The question of how to build the present and create the future of the theory and practice of nurturing and education on the basis of the best models of the past raises many detailed and multicontextual issues.Polish pedagogical thought -despite the fact that it is still waiting for a grand opening in various periods of its history -is already revealing its qualities in their present state 31 .
Conservative pedagogical thought in Poland has an equally if not better developed body of scientific knowledge on the subject than liberal and left-wing resources.I do not support Piotr Magier's thesis that Christian pedagogy is "[...] a controversial element of contemporary pedagogy.Despite the fact that its output is extensive and multifaceted, and the dynamics of research testify to a steady, unabated development." 32 The fact that, as a result of the political conflict in Poland, its presence or penetration into the sphere of education and educational policy is being undermined, in no way negates its sense, the legitimacy of its existence and development, or the dispute conducted within it about the subject of research and the scope of application of its results in educational practice.
There is a war of ideas raging in Poland, for which ideologies (political and legal doctrines) rather than pedagogies are the main fodder.As Szymon Pękala says that the narrative that political opponents are the embodiment of evil and that one should be emotionally and personally involved in the fight against them is already normalised in mainstream Polish public debate.This does not give rise to any widespread shock or surprise, purely because we have become accustomed to it.In fact, it is a perfectly natural consequence of seeing opposition as the enemy.A dialogue is however possible with an adversary, but not with an enemy.
Accepted articles published online and citable.The final edited and typeset version of record will appear in future.
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Conservative pedagogy and contemporary Polish pedagogical thought
It is especially important, then, that we as educators do not get involved in this, so that no child, parent or teacher feels stigmatised, excluded, or depreciated just because he or she is perceived as a stranger, an enemy, a barbarian by virtue of recognising and manifesting different ideological worldviews or attitudes. 34edagogy must not be harnessed to a civilisation of death, war, destruction or obliteration.Differences in worldviews cannot be treated as means of building a front for the struggle between good and evil, as in this form they have little to do with goodness or concern for the human.In no way is pedagogy as a discipline or educational practice served by reconstructing non-conservative philosophical or pedagogical trends and ideas from the perspective of their alleged danger 35 by creating a pseudo-scientific, demagogic "political cudgel" with which to strike a blow against the positive value of pedagogy right where it is preached or published.Even the most beautiful idea in the hands of those who generate alleged enemies contradicts the ethos of the scholar, who should pursue the truth rather than preach its makeovers or distortions. 36Needless to say, people who wish to live in a democratic state must make sure they see the difference.
In fact, my own position is close to Aleksander Kamiński's idea that an educator ought to combine civic responsibility with high ethics and political dialogue, and if strongly influenced by the spirit of a political party she or he enters into its manipulative, mainstream service, they should, in the spirit of Christian values [...] make the greatest effort to observe this extremely important principle in involvement with a party: despite all the love and faith you have for your party, be loyal to all other parties that stand on the ground of the independent Polish state.One of the nastiest features of party life is a kind of satanic brainwashing, which turns formerly chivalrous, honourable and honest people into stupefied fanatics, who see in all other parties and political groupings other than their own A h e a d o f p r i n t Bogusław Śliwerski only meanness and treachery, falsehood, malicious intentions, incompetence and ill will, and are convinced that the most terrible disasters and ruins are ready to befall their fatherland at the hands of any of their political opponents.I repeat that in spite of all the love and faith you have for your own political party, pursue the position of chivalry and loyalty towards other parties, even if the programmes of these parties or their people deeply hurt your sense of what is the public good.Always remember that your political opponent may also be hurt by your party's programme.And one more thing: do not exclude any party standing on the grounds of an independent Polish state from this circle of loyalty.From the extreme left to the extreme right, treat all (political) groups as those towards whom loyalty is due and towards whom all effort must be made to understand their intentions. 37ether, and to what extent, this will turn out to be possible in the near future remains to be seen, as Poland has faced a difficult period of another political upheaval in connection with the war in Ukraine and the upcoming parliamentary and local elections in Autumn 2023.The results of these will certainly turn out to be significant for future education policy.
S ł o w a k l u c z o w e : pedagogika konserwatywna, Polska, filozofia edukacji, ideologia edukacyjna, teoria edukacji [...] into a space in which three forces of gravity act perpendicularly on each other.The three earthly planes on which people live intersect at right angles.These three gravitational forces are freedom, equality, fraternity.The inhabitants of the three different worlds cannot walk, sit or stand on the same floor because they perceive the horizontal and vertical planes differently.Defenders of equality -radical democrats (Chantal Mouffe, Ernesto Laclau, Jacob Torfing), defenders of A h e a d o f p r i n t Conservative pedagogy and contemporary Polish pedagogical thought freedom -radical liberals (John Rawls, Rochard Rorty, Jürgen Habermas), and defenders of solidarity -radical conservatives (Leo Strauss, Allan Bloom, Harold Bloom) take for the floor You praise that of othersNot knowing your own […] 22 .