Recontextualization

Recontextualization (from the Latin re = again, back; contextus = close connection, connection) refers to the (renewed, i.e. repeated) interpretation of a content in context. This article relates to the concept of recontextualization in the education system in Germany . It is used in research on educational governance .

The concept of recontextualization is part of the New Theory of the School of Helmut Fend . It serves to disclose areas of design and responsibility for the qualitative development of the institutionalized education system. This normatively guided action is influenced by subjective conditions in the sense of a rational decision. The aim of the educational system as an institutional actor is to convey culture, systems of cultural interpretation and cultural forms of life. The cultural content is recontextualized on four levels. The specific environment of each level specifies certain contexts and conditions of action that require different instruments and competencies and belong to different areas of responsibility. The context of action is the specifications of the higher level. The conditions for action come from the lower levels.

At the macro level, the educational program and legal requirements are laid down within the framework of educational policy and administration . On the meso level, the schools put these contents and specifications in the context of their environment. At the micro level, the teachers recontextualize the given content and regulations for the student body. You adapt the content of the educational program to the characteristics and individual needs of the heterogeneous learning community of a class. The pupils place the cultural content offered in the context of their own understanding of the world. The educational goals of the educational system can only be achieved through the independent recontextualization of the pupils .

History and overview

The education system was analyzed in the 1960s and 1970s using functional analysis and structural representations. With Helmut Fend's New Theory of School, action-theoretical, institution-oriented and actor-sensitive concepts are used to analyze the educational system, to locate areas of responsibility and design and to intervene. The hierarchical structures of the educational system are included in this through institutional rules. The change in the analysis focus is a consequence of the PISA tests. The concept of recontextualization draws on the institutional rules, which lead to predictable commissioned actions, as well as individual and situational factors of the individual actors in order to analyze the interaction of the different levels in the education system. It is assumed that the actors optimize their own level-specific options for action in the sense of a rational decision . This rational action is steered towards interaction by the institutional guidelines.

Features of the definition of recontextualization

Five defining features are named.

• The institutional framework results in commissioned action that is individually influenced. These specifications must be adapted depending on the conditions of action in the interests of the respective environment.
• The adjustment of the institutional specifications is influenced by individual and situational processes. These are processes of self-perception and perception of others, of the ability to perform tasks and of the overall situational situation, i.e. H. the meeting of special circumstances and circumstances.
• At the different levels of the education system, specific action tasks arise that require their own action tools, skills and responsibilities.
• The experiences at the operational level can change institutional guidelines. The hierarchically organized education system is therefore not only permeable from top to bottom, but also from bottom to top.
• The impact measured at the operational level can change institutional specifications. The PISA study is an example of this.

Recontextualization at the macro level

At the macro level, there are educational policy and case law , educational administration and educational planning . The task of education policy is to be given in accordance with the social context and cultural traditions , laws, ordinances and resources . These are influenced by political constellations and the forms of decision-making. The context of action of the education administration is then the legal requirements. The education administration recontextualises the requirements of education policy on the meso level. The meso and micro levels provide the conditions for action. For this reason, organizational models are being developed that are based on school practice, such as learning capacity according to age groups, dealing with the heterogeneity of classes and the capacities of teachers. In this way, the educational goals segmented according to age groups are formulated. Laws, ordinances and rules of jurisdiction regulate cooperation. In this way, specifications are created which then have to be recontextualized again. This creates the collective commissioned action, which is essential for the comprehensive achievement of the educational goals.

The curricula summarize what counts as the core of a high culture. What is considered the core stock depends on the guiding principles of the culture, such as B. piety, obedience, achievement orientation, or docility. This determines what knowledge and skills the young generation should be equipped with. A social tradition is being constructed. How it is determined depends on the quality of the discourse on goal setting, political decision-making processes and the implementation of the political guidelines at the administrative level. On the one hand these processes are influenced by the complex social development, on the other hand by individual and situational influences of the actors. Recontextualization at the macro level is assigned a central function.

For the macro-control of knowledge transfer, each of the institutions has specific instruments at its disposal, each of which suits their area of ​​responsibility. These institutions coordinate material and human resources, training planning, they design courses and develop curricula. They regulate what can and must be done at school level. For example, access to knowledge and skills is regulated via the school-type-specific curricula. This includes that the learning content is assigned to certain learning paths, which relates to the types of school, the learning levels and global learning times, to subjects and timetables and year classes. In addition, there is the regulation of examination forms, entry conditions and degrees of educational programs. In addition to specific instruments for designing educational programs , there are also instruments for developing educational plans, as well as instruments for management, supervision and evaluation, instruments for managing resources for educational planning and instruments for human resource management.

Recontextualization at the meso level

The schools are on the meso level. The macro level defines the context of action. These are internal tasks, legal structures, resources and decision-making areas of the schools. The school management and the teachers together form a cooperative actor who has a defined task towards the students and parents. It is the responsibility of the schools to determine how these requirements are then implemented in the local environment. The school environment is primarily formed by the student body and parents, but also by the community and the public. The different composition of the student body, parenthood and the wider environment result in some very different conditions of action for the cooperative actor. Sociological urban research has shown that when comparing schools with urban migrant ghettos to small-town high schools, the learning capacities of the student groups differ greatly. How the specifications at the macro level are implemented depends largely on the cooperation between the school management and the teaching staff. This cooperation is highly variable. It depends on the relationships between the individual actors. This concerns effective administration and transparent decision-making processes, quality of work for teachers, structuring of contact with parents, public self-expression and networking with other schools. Because the fulfillment of tasks is determined by working together, schools are given more freedom in the course of discussions on autonomy in educational policy. There is greater room for maneuver in questions of organizational form, personnel matters, program planning and quality assurance. As an example, the curricula are no longer completely mandatory, but are implemented in school curricula. The de-bureaucratisation of schools should lead to more educational freedom and better educational results. However, the college is also more involved in organizational work. The new tasks are also known as school development .

Recontextualization at the micro level

Primary recontextualization

The main task of the teachers is the institutional mediation of the cultural content adapted to the characteristics of the learners. That is the context of action. This is called primary recontextualization. The instructor's commissioning is influenced by the school classes. This results in the conditions for action, which are largely determined by three factors. The pupils combined in classes form groups with heterogeneous cognitive learning requirements. The content must be adapted to this. In addition, the social relationships of the students lead to a dynamic of their own in the class. Then there are the different personalities and needs of the students. Learning thus takes place in a complex psychological dynamic. How the class reacts, what they can understand and how the desired learning processes can be achieved is the primary situational action context.

Secondary recontextualization

One task of the teachers is the optimal pedagogical transfer of knowledge. The other task is to ensure the prescribed educational standards , selection and the objectivity of exams. That is the secondary recontextualization. The guidelines of the macro and meso level are the context of action. This includes curricula, timetables, examination regulations, internal school procedures and the school curriculum, as well as teaching materials such as school books. The instructors' acting on orders fulfills a double function. On the one hand, it is your job to adapt the content to the students. On the other hand, it is their job to adapt the students to the content and to evaluate differences. This puts pedagogical support in tension with the institutional selection task. In addition, there are expectations from parents, the community and the general public that create further conditions for action. The decision on the child's educational pathway can lead to conflicts with the parents who challenge the examination procedures. This means that the selection of content is based on good testability and objective justification. At the same time, this promotes transparency in the awarding of grades and the agreement of the teaching staff in the teaching staff.

The cognitive training requirements of the teacher are knowledge , methods, knowledge, methodological skills and subject knowledge. Knowledge of the subject includes knowledge of the learning subject. The specialist knowledge is shaped by a method that is inserted into the timing of the lesson and adapted to the heterogeneous learning opportunities. It is the responsibility of the teacher to activate the students. In class, the teachers provide cultural knowledge. Education only takes place through the recontextualization of the students' knowledge. Whether or not the educational goals will be achieved is decided at this point and cannot be checked. It is only through the self-activity of the pupils that their cognitive development occurs. The teaching result is therefore dependent on the students' own activity. Due to the reform pedagogy , the individual, self-directed developments of the children become the orientation of the recontextualization of the educational program in the classroom.

application

The concept of recontextualization is used in the context of educational governance. For example, it examines how teachers integrate educational reforms into their everyday school practice. It is also used in the study of the interaction between cantons and communes in Switzerland . It is also used as part of a study to obtain a school leaving certificate .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Duden | re- | Spelling, meaning, definition, origin. Retrieved November 21, 2018 . 
2. ↑ Duden | Context | Spelling, meaning, definition, synonyms, origin. Retrieved November 21, 2018 . 
3. ^ Helmut Fend: History of the education system: The special way in the European cultural area . VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden 2006, p. 20 .
4. ↑ Helmut Fend: Dimensions of quality in education. From product indicators to process indicators using the example of the school . In: Eckhardt Klieme, Rudolf Tippelt (ed.): Journal of Pedagogy . No. 53 , 2008, p. 192 .
5. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Helmut Fend: Shaping School. System control, school development and teaching quality . VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden 2008.
6. ↑ ^{a b} Helmut Fend: The effectiveness of the new control. Theoretical and methodological problems of their evaluation . In: Katharina Maag Merki, Roman Langer, Herbert Altrichter (Eds.): Educational Governance as a Research Perspective . Springer Fachmedien, Wiesbaden 2008.
7. ↑ Barbara Asbrand: The Documentary Method in Governance Research. For the reconstruction of recontextualization processes . In: Katharina Maag Merki, Roman Langer, Herbert Altrichter (Eds.): Educational Governance as a Research Perspective. Strategies. Methods. Approaches. Springer Fachmedien, Wiesbaden 2014, p. 186 .
8. ↑ Stephanie Appius, Amanda Nägeli, Martin Lewa: School reforms - interaction between canton and municipalities . In: Judith Hangartner, Markus Heinzer (Hrsg.): Communities in school governance in Switzerland. Control culture in transition . Springer Fachmedien, Wiesbaden 2016, p. 77 .
9. ↑ Anke Fuchs-Dorn: Get the school leaving certificate. Conditions for success of a school support measure . Springer Fachmedien, Wiesbaden 2013, p. 11, 14 .