Abstracts

Rainer Trinczek: Globalisation - a Sociological Point of View (OJSD/JSSE 1-2002)

Without any doubt, globalisation has been one of the key catch words in the social scientists' debates during the 1990s. This contribution will try to sketch out relevant aspects of the sociological discourse on this issue; the article has five sections: A definition of globalisation will be followed by a short history of the sociological debate on globalisation. In the third section the most important subjects of the present debate are outlined. Subsequently, two different sociological perspectives on the globalisation ("objectivism" vs. "constructivism") will be described - using the economic globalisation as an example. The final section is used to reflect upon the question what globalisation means for sociology as a scientific discipline which has traditionally worked with a nation state concept of society.

Lutz Zündorf: Contested Globalisation. State and World as Action Frames of Reference in the Process of Globalisation (OJSD/JSSE 1-2002)

In this article the globalisation process is conceptualised as a shift of action frames of reference from state-centered conceptions to those with a global reach. The argument starts with the classical definition of the nation state with three variants: "legal state", "welfare state" and "territorial state". In the second step three conceptions of globality are elaborated: the world as a single market, as a configuration of political units and as a complex of various cultures or civilizations. Finally the switch of action frames of reference from national to global are analysed on three levels: on the level of complex processes (in terms of space revolutions), on the level of states (from territorial to trading states) and on the level of individuals (from locals to cosmopolitans).

Susanne Popp: A "Global Oriented Awareness of History" as a Future Challenge for Didactics of History?

The topic of globalization represents a strong challenge to a conventional history teaching whose core curriculum is determined by national history. This contribution first examines the question, whether and in which way the current German didactics of history deals with that topic that has become more and more pressing and explains some of the conceptual difficulties to start the discussion. Then will be shown, that the didactical answer to the challenge of globalization will not be found on the usual way of adding new topics to the old curriculum. It will be necessary to find a new conceptual structures for the integration of local, national, regional and global perspectives. Therefore the contribution outlines some basic ideas of the work of "globally conceptualized world historians" and derives from it several didactical considerations. Also non-national history curricula from other countries are asked on suggestions for the further discussion of the topic.

Eberhard Jung, Ingo Juchler : Topic Outline Globalisation (OJSD/JSSE 1-2002)

Globalisation is an ambiguous term between hope and fear: hope refers to the improvement of economical, political and social conditions while fear is related to their deterioration. The structural changes and processes of modernisation which are described by the notion globalisation are certainly not a fundamentally new phenomenon, but improvements in information and communication technologies as well as the policy of deregulation have given a new quality to the internationalisation of linked-up economical and financial activities.

In order to help students to achieve a political and economical ability to judge, a subtly differentiated approach to the varying aspects of globalisation seems to be necessary. Apart from the clearly economical implications of the globalisation issue its political dimensions have to be considered adequately. The concept of global governance which is aimed to restore the ability of political control under conditions of globalisation may become a crucial aim of global learning.

Peter Davies: Principals or Agents? Developing Citizenship through Business, Economics and Financial Education (OJSD/JSSE 1-2002)

After a period of being neglected in education policy in England, business, economic and financial education is currently receiving more attention. This paper reviews recent developments in policy and practice in England and focuses on the aims of business, economic and financial education. In particular, it examines the relationship between these aims and the emphasis found in the Citizenship Education curriculum on understanding different interests and different perspectives. The paper argues that whilst past practice has been incoherent, the development of examination syllabuses in England provides some pointers for future policy. It is argued that the use of a principal-agent framework could provide a clear and useful framework which helps to address the issues of multiple interests and perspectives and to prepare students to act as principals and agents.

Peter Filzmaier: Country Report: Civic Education in Austria (OJSD/JSSE 1-2002)

Starting from fundamentals and targets of civic education the article gives an analysis of history, main issues and models of civic education in Austria. Reference is made to the political culture as well as to characteristics of state institutions and political parties. A study of the organization of civic education has to distinguish between two parts, the school system including initial and vocational training for teachers and the system for adult education. The author also discusses a case study on content, didactics, and methodology of the program for a Master of Advanced Studies for Civic Education. Finally some theses regarding future prospects are presented.

Christian Sitte: Country Report: Economic and Civic Education in Austrian Schools (OJSD/JSSE 1-2002)

Social science topics off the classical civic education were first discussed and tested in educational experiments in Austria during the pedagogical reform era of the 1920ies. After the Second World War the Austrian school system was reorganized with the School Organisation Law of 1962 and economic and political issues and objectives were integrated in the subjects “Geography and Economics” resp. “History and Social Studies” in the general education system (grammar schools and secondary modern schools). These formal and additive connections were complemented with the “teaching principle of civic education” in 1978. The curriculum reform at the mid and end of the eighties and in 2002 tried to achieve a better integration. There are some teaching topics for the above-mentioned areas at vocational schools.

J. Henning Schluß: Criteria from Theory of Education for the Analysis of Curricula (OJSD/JSSE 1-2002)

The relation between the didactics of political education and philosophy of education has been increasingly characterised by the continued distinction between these pedagogical disciplines. This distinction has lead to a distance between the disciplines that has reached the point of complete lack of communication. The purpose of the article is to offer a topic of discourse, namely that of the analysis of curricula, in the hope of working against this silence. Through a research group supported by the DFG that examined the phases of transition at the onset of the Soviet Occupied Territories and the GDR and after the founding of the GDR, the project "Education Theory and Instruction" developed nine criteria for the differentiation between affirmative and reflective standardization of the goals of learning.

These criteria are presented and their possible meaning for political science is explained and clarified. The author draws upon his experience with the analysis of the development of curricula for the subject of social studies in Thuringia. He outlines the extent to which these criteria relate to considerations in didactics of political education. As a prerequisite the author presents his concept of transformation. By demonstrating the relevance of the criteria from a theory of education and formation to the context of curriculum analysis, the discourse between the disciplines shall be reopened.

(c) 2002 sowi-online e.V., Bielefeld Editor of jsse 1-2002: Reinhold Hedtke WWW-Presentation: Norbert Jacke URL: http://www.jsse.org/2002-1/abstracts.html Publishing Date: 2002/07/31 Corrections: 2004/09/20