The Unity-Idea According to Quentin Skinner: A Lesson in the Use of Educational Concepts in the United Kingdom and Italy

Daniel Boccacci

doi:doi:10.11648/j.edu.20241305.12

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The Unity-Idea According to Quentin Skinner: A Lesson in the Use of Educational Concepts in the United Kingdom and Italy

Daniel Boccacci^*

Published in Education Journal (Volume 13, Issue 5)

Received: 4 August 2024 Accepted: 24 August 2024 Published: 20 September 2024

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Abstract

This article reflects on the importance of Quentin Skinner's method for historical-educational research. This work explores some of its key concepts: ideas as “tools” used for persuasive argumentation, the heuristic inconsistency of the concept of influence, the unity-idea understood as an umbrella category that involves abstractions, the concept of context and the technique of intertextuality. Through a review of studies that have welcomed Skinner’s methodology, the article also highlights how, both in the European and American contexts, there is a growing interest in educational research towards his investigative strategy. The analysis then focuses on two case studies on the concept of unity-idea: one on the idea of progressivism, widespread in the British tradition, and one on the idea of Christianity, developed in Italian personalist pedagogy. These two terms are similar “tools” in standardizing the complex educational reality, bringing different meanings and attitudes closer together. Skinner's analytical approach warns against this operation, because the use of general concepts, sometimes useful and necessary, can become an obstacle to the understanding of authentic meanings. Excessive trust in universal principles without a reflection that enters into historical complexity can lead to an ethical intellectualism for which a good theory is sufficient to change and improve practices. The valorization of historically solid meanings is a guarantee for an authentically transformative educational theory and practice.

Published in	Education Journal (Volume 13, Issue 5)
DOI	10.11648/j.edu.20241305.12
Page(s)	257-264
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Quentin Skinner, Context, Meaning, Unity-Idea, History of Education

References

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[2]	Skinner, Q. (2001). Dell’interpretazione. Bologna: Il Mulino.
[3]	Skinner, Q. (1969). Meaning and Understanding. History and Theory, 8, 1-53.
[4]	Skinner, Q. (2002). Visions of Politics: Regarding Method, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, vol. 1.
[5]	Pallares-Burke, M. L. G. (2002). The New History. Confessions and Conversations. Cambridge: Polity Press.
[6]	Howlett, J. y McDonald, P. J. (2011). Quentin Skinner, intentionality and the history of education. Paedagogica Historica, 47(3), 415-433. https://doi.org/10.1080/00309230.2010.530272
[7]	Pocock, G. A. (1990). Politica, linguaggio e storia. Ivrea: Edizioni di Comunità (orig. ing. 1971).
[8]	Brehony, K. J. (1997). An ‘undeniable’ and ‘disastrous’ influence? Dewey and English education (1985-1939). Review of Education, 23 (4), 427-445. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305498970230401
[9]	Cohen, S. (1999). Challenging orthodoxies: Toward a new cultural history of education. New York-Washington D. C./Baltimore-Bern-Frankfurt am Main-Berlin-Vienna-Paris: P. Lang.
[10]	Bruno-Jofré, R. & Igelmo Zaldívar, J. (2014). The Center for Intercultural Formation, Cuernavaca, Mexico, its Reports (1962-1967) and Illich’s critical understanding of mission in Latin America. Hispania Sacra, 66 (2), 457-487. https://doi.org/10.3989/hs.2014.096
[11]	Igelmo Zaldívar, J. & Quiroga Uceda, P. (2014). Las palabras son también hechos: Quentin Skinner, el giro contextual y la teoría de la educación, Teoría de la Educación, 15 (4), 1-289.
[12]	Smeyers, P. & Depaepe, M. (2006). On the Rhetoric of ‘What Works’: Contextualizing Educational Research and the Picture of Performativity. In P. Smeyers & M. Depaepe (Eds.), Educational research: Why ‘what works’ does not work (pp. 1-16). New York: Springer.
[13]	Casale, R. (2004). The educational theorists, the teachers, and their history of education. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 23(5), 393-408. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-004-4451-2
[14]	Tröhler, D. (2006). The New Languages and Old Institutions: Problems of Implementing New School Governence. In P. Smeyers y M. Depaepe (Eds.), Educational research: Why ‘What works’ doesn’t work (pp. pp. 65-80). New York: Springer.
[15]	Tröhler, D. (2011). Languages of education: Protestant legacies, national identities, and global aspirations. London-New York: Routledge.
[16]	Musaio, M. (2009). Il personalismo pedagogico italiano nel secondo Novecento. Brescia: La Scuola.
[17]	Mammarella, G. (2007). L’Italia contemporanea. Bologna: il Mulino.
[18]	Macchietti, S. S. (1998). Appunti per una pedagogia della persona. Roma: Bulzoni.
[19]	Agazzi, A. (1955). Presentazioni. In VV.AA. La pedagogia cristiana. Atti della conferenza I di Scholé (pp. 13-18). Brescia: La Scuola.
[20]	Casotti, M. (1955). Presentazioni. In VV.AA. La pedagogia cristiana. Atti della conferenza I di Scholé (pp. 23-24). Brescia: La Scuola.
[21]	Stefanini, L. (1955b). Instittutio divina e Institutio umana. In VV. AA.. La pedagogia cristiana. Atti della conferenza I di Scholé (pp. 33-53). La Scuola.
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[23]	Bertagna, G. (2009b). Dietro una riforma. Quadri e problemi pedagogici dalla riforma Moratti (2001-2006) al “cacciavite” di Fioroni. Soveria Mannelli: Rubbettino.

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Boccacci, D. (2024). The Unity-Idea According to Quentin Skinner: A Lesson in the Use of Educational Concepts in the United Kingdom and Italy. Education Journal, 13(5), 257-264. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.edu.20241305.12

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ACS Style

Boccacci, D. The Unity-Idea According to Quentin Skinner: A Lesson in the Use of Educational Concepts in the United Kingdom and Italy. Educ. J. 2024, 13(5), 257-264. doi: 10.11648/j.edu.20241305.12

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AMA Style

Boccacci D. The Unity-Idea According to Quentin Skinner: A Lesson in the Use of Educational Concepts in the United Kingdom and Italy. Educ J. 2024;13(5):257-264. doi: 10.11648/j.edu.20241305.12

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@article{10.11648/j.edu.20241305.12,
  author = {Daniel Boccacci},
  title = {The Unity-Idea According to Quentin Skinner: A Lesson in the Use of Educational Concepts in the United Kingdom and Italy
},
  journal = {Education Journal},
  volume = {13},
  number = {5},
  pages = {257-264},
  doi = {10.11648/j.edu.20241305.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.edu.20241305.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.edu.20241305.12},
  abstract = {This article reflects on the importance of Quentin Skinner's method for historical-educational research. This work explores some of its key concepts: ideas as “tools” used for persuasive argumentation, the heuristic inconsistency of the concept of influence, the unity-idea understood as an umbrella category that involves abstractions, the concept of context and the technique of intertextuality. Through a review of studies that have welcomed Skinner’s methodology, the article also highlights how, both in the European and American contexts, there is a growing interest in educational research towards his investigative strategy. The analysis then focuses on two case studies on the concept of unity-idea: one on the idea of progressivism, widespread in the British tradition, and one on the idea of Christianity, developed in Italian personalist pedagogy. These two terms are similar “tools” in standardizing the complex educational reality, bringing different meanings and attitudes closer together. Skinner's analytical approach warns against this operation, because the use of general concepts, sometimes useful and necessary, can become an obstacle to the understanding of authentic meanings. Excessive trust in universal principles without a reflection that enters into historical complexity can lead to an ethical intellectualism for which a good theory is sufficient to change and improve practices. The valorization of historically solid meanings is a guarantee for an authentically transformative educational theory and practice.
},
 year = {2024}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Unity-Idea According to Quentin Skinner: A Lesson in the Use of Educational Concepts in the United Kingdom and Italy

AU  - Daniel Boccacci
Y1  - 2024/09/20
PY  - 2024
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AB  - This article reflects on the importance of Quentin Skinner's method for historical-educational research. This work explores some of its key concepts: ideas as “tools” used for persuasive argumentation, the heuristic inconsistency of the concept of influence, the unity-idea understood as an umbrella category that involves abstractions, the concept of context and the technique of intertextuality. Through a review of studies that have welcomed Skinner’s methodology, the article also highlights how, both in the European and American contexts, there is a growing interest in educational research towards his investigative strategy. The analysis then focuses on two case studies on the concept of unity-idea: one on the idea of progressivism, widespread in the British tradition, and one on the idea of Christianity, developed in Italian personalist pedagogy. These two terms are similar “tools” in standardizing the complex educational reality, bringing different meanings and attitudes closer together. Skinner's analytical approach warns against this operation, because the use of general concepts, sometimes useful and necessary, can become an obstacle to the understanding of authentic meanings. Excessive trust in universal principles without a reflection that enters into historical complexity can lead to an ethical intellectualism for which a good theory is sufficient to change and improve practices. The valorization of historically solid meanings is a guarantee for an authentically transformative educational theory and practice.

VL  - 13
IS  - 5
ER  -

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Author Information

Daniel Boccacci

Department of Neurosciences and Rehabilitation, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy

Contact Email

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6509-7865

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Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Boccacci, D. (2024). The Unity-Idea According to Quentin Skinner: A Lesson in the Use of Educational Concepts in the United Kingdom and Italy. Education Journal, 13(5), 257-264. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.edu.20241305.12

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ACS Style

Boccacci, D. The Unity-Idea According to Quentin Skinner: A Lesson in the Use of Educational Concepts in the United Kingdom and Italy. Educ. J. 2024, 13(5), 257-264. doi: 10.11648/j.edu.20241305.12

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AMA Style

Boccacci D. The Unity-Idea According to Quentin Skinner: A Lesson in the Use of Educational Concepts in the United Kingdom and Italy. Educ J. 2024;13(5):257-264. doi: 10.11648/j.edu.20241305.12

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.edu.20241305.12,
  author = {Daniel Boccacci},
  title = {The Unity-Idea According to Quentin Skinner: A Lesson in the Use of Educational Concepts in the United Kingdom and Italy
},
  journal = {Education Journal},
  volume = {13},
  number = {5},
  pages = {257-264},
  doi = {10.11648/j.edu.20241305.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.edu.20241305.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.edu.20241305.12},
  abstract = {This article reflects on the importance of Quentin Skinner's method for historical-educational research. This work explores some of its key concepts: ideas as “tools” used for persuasive argumentation, the heuristic inconsistency of the concept of influence, the unity-idea understood as an umbrella category that involves abstractions, the concept of context and the technique of intertextuality. Through a review of studies that have welcomed Skinner’s methodology, the article also highlights how, both in the European and American contexts, there is a growing interest in educational research towards his investigative strategy. The analysis then focuses on two case studies on the concept of unity-idea: one on the idea of progressivism, widespread in the British tradition, and one on the idea of Christianity, developed in Italian personalist pedagogy. These two terms are similar “tools” in standardizing the complex educational reality, bringing different meanings and attitudes closer together. Skinner's analytical approach warns against this operation, because the use of general concepts, sometimes useful and necessary, can become an obstacle to the understanding of authentic meanings. Excessive trust in universal principles without a reflection that enters into historical complexity can lead to an ethical intellectualism for which a good theory is sufficient to change and improve practices. The valorization of historically solid meanings is a guarantee for an authentically transformative educational theory and practice.
},
 year = {2024}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Unity-Idea According to Quentin Skinner: A Lesson in the Use of Educational Concepts in the United Kingdom and Italy

AU  - Daniel Boccacci
Y1  - 2024/09/20
PY  - 2024
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.edu.20241305.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.edu.20241305.12
T2  - Education Journal
JF  - Education Journal
JO  - Education Journal
SP  - 257
EP  - 264
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2327-2619
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.edu.20241305.12
AB  - This article reflects on the importance of Quentin Skinner's method for historical-educational research. This work explores some of its key concepts: ideas as “tools” used for persuasive argumentation, the heuristic inconsistency of the concept of influence, the unity-idea understood as an umbrella category that involves abstractions, the concept of context and the technique of intertextuality. Through a review of studies that have welcomed Skinner’s methodology, the article also highlights how, both in the European and American contexts, there is a growing interest in educational research towards his investigative strategy. The analysis then focuses on two case studies on the concept of unity-idea: one on the idea of progressivism, widespread in the British tradition, and one on the idea of Christianity, developed in Italian personalist pedagogy. These two terms are similar “tools” in standardizing the complex educational reality, bringing different meanings and attitudes closer together. Skinner's analytical approach warns against this operation, because the use of general concepts, sometimes useful and necessary, can become an obstacle to the understanding of authentic meanings. Excessive trust in universal principles without a reflection that enters into historical complexity can lead to an ethical intellectualism for which a good theory is sufficient to change and improve practices. The valorization of historically solid meanings is a guarantee for an authentically transformative educational theory and practice.

VL  - 13
IS  - 5
ER  -

Copy | Download