Pedagogical relation

The pedagogical relation refers to special kind of personal relationship between adult and child or adult or student that is different from other personal relationships. The pedagogical relation is described by Hermann Nohl, Klaus Mollenhauer, and others in the Northern European [science pedagogical tradition]. It has been discussed more recently in English by Max van Manen, Norm Friesen, Tone Saevi and Tatiana Shchyttsova.

The pedagogical relation is marked by a number of characteristics:

• In the pedagogical relation the adult is directed toward the child. The relation is asymmetrical, unlike many other personal relationships (e.g. friendship). The adult is "there" for the child in a way that the child is not "there" for the adult.
• In the pedagogical relation the adult wants or intends both what is good for the child in the present and in the future. This relationship is oriented to what the child may become (without trying to predetermine it), but without ignoring what is important for the child in the present. These two, present needs and the likely requirements of the future, exist in constant tension this the pedagogical relation.
• The pedagogical relation comes to an end. The child grows up and the asymmetry of the relation (if it is still maintained) dissolves. As Klaus Mollenhauer explains, "upbringing comes to an end when the child no longer needs to be "called" to self-activity, but instead has the wherewithal to educate himself."
• In the pedagogical relation the adult is tactful. As Max van Manen and Jakob Muth explain, tact in this context often consists of holding back and waiting or maintaining a certain distance so that the child may act for him- or herself.

References