Pedology is a science that combines the approaches of medicine, biology, pedagogy and psychotechnics to the development of a child. And although as a term it has become outdated and acquired the format of child psychology, universal pedological methods attract the attention of not only scientists, but also people outside the scientific world.
History
The history of pedology begins in the West at the end of the 19th century. Its emergence was largely facilitated by the intensive development of applied branches of experimental pedagogy and psychology. The unification of their approaches with anatomical-physiological and biological ones in pedology happened mechanically. More precisely, it was dictated by a comprehensive, comprehensive study of the mental development of children, their behavior.
The term "pedology" was introduced by the American research scientist Oscar Crisman in 1853. Translated from Greek, the definition sounds like "the science of children" (pedos - a child, logos - science, study).
Origins
The first works on pedology were written by American psychologists G. S. Hall, J. Baldwin and physiologist W. Preyer. They were at the origindevelopmental psychology and collected a huge amount of empirical material on the development and behavior of children. Their work became revolutionary in many ways and formed the basis of child and developmental psychology.
In Russia
At the beginning of the 20th century, a new scientific trend penetrated Russia (then the USSR) and received a worthy continuation in the works of psychiatrist and reflexologist V. M. Bekhterev, psychologist A. P. Nechaev, physiologist E. Meyman and defectologist G. I. Rossolimo. Each of them, by virtue of their speci alty, tried to explain and formulate the laws of child development and methods for its correction.
Pedology in Russia gained practical scope: pedological institutes and the Children's Home (Moscow) were opened, a number of specialized courses were held. Psychological tests were carried out in schools, according to the results of which classes were completed. Leading psychologists, physiologists, doctors and teachers of the country were involved in the study of child psychology. All this was done with the aim of a comprehensive study of child development. However, such a simple task did not quite justify the means.
By the 1920s, pedology in Russia was a vast scientific movement, but not a complex science. The main obstacle to the synthesis of knowledge about the child was the lack of a preliminary analysis of the methods of the sciences that make up this complex.
Mistakes
The main mistakes of Soviet pedologists were considered to be the underestimation of the role of hereditary factors in the development of children and the influence of the social environment on the formation of their personalities. In practicalaspect, scientific miscalculations can be attributed to the flaw and application of tests for intellectual development.
In the 30s, all the shortcomings were gradually corrected, and Soviet pedology began a more confident and meaningful path. However, already in 1936 it became "pseudo-science", objectionable to the political system of the country. Revolutionary experiments were curtailed, pedological laboratories were closed. Testing, as the main pedological method, has become vulnerable in educational practice. Since, according to the results, the most often gifted were the children of priests, the White Guards and the "rotten" intelligentsia, and not the proletariat. And this went against the ideology of the party. So the upbringing of children returned to traditional forms, which caused stagnation in the educational system.
Principles of pedology
The development of pedology in Russia has brought certain results, it has formed the basic scientific principles:
- Pedology is a holistic knowledge about the child. From this position, it is considered not “in parts”, but as a whole, as a creation simultaneously biological, social, psychological, etc. All aspects of its study are interconnected and intertwined. But this is not just a random collection of data, but a clear compilation of theoretical settings and methods.
- The second reference point of pedologists was the genetic principle. It was actively studied by psychologist L. S. Vygotsky. Using the example of a child’s egocentric speech (“speech minus sound”), he proved that baby talk or “muttering under his breath” is the first stage of inner speech or thinking.person. The genetic principle demonstrates the prevalence of this phenomenon.
- The third principle - the study of childhood - proved that the social environment and life significantly affect the psychological and anthropomorphic development of the child. So, neglect or harsh parenting, malnutrition affect the mental and physiological he alth of the child.
- The fourth principle is the practical significance of pedology - the transition from knowing the child's world to changing it. In this regard, pedological counseling, conversations with parents, and psychological diagnostics of children were created.
Pedology is a complex science, therefore its principles are based on a comprehensive study of the child. Psychology and pedology have long been identified with each other, the second concept came out of the first. Therefore, the psychological aspect is still dominant in pedology.
From the 50s, the ideas of pedology partially began to return to pedagogy and psychology. And 20 years later, active educational work began using tests for the intellectual development of children.
