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Intergenerationallearningincontemporaryeducation…
phenomenonoflearning.Learningappearedasanintegrationalmechanism,
whichexplainshowindividualsbehave,whatregulatestheirbehaviourandhow
itdoesso.
Nowadays,learningisaninterdisciplinaryfeldandthesubjectofintense
andever-growinginterestfromresearchersinvarioussciencesandfeldsof
knowledge.Itisalsohighlyappreciatedbypractitionersinformalandinformal
education,suchasteachers,educatorsandsocialworkers.Thisincreasein
researchinterestsandthesocialimportanceoflearningwasnotedinthemiddle
ofthelastcenturybyAmericanpsychologist,outstandingresearcherandexpert
onthesubjectoflearning,ErnestHilgard,whoexplainedthissituationinthe
followingway:
Thescientifcstudyoflearningiscarriedonprimarilybypsychologists.Psychology’sclaimto
thefeldwasstakedinpartbymasterlypioneerssuchasEbbinghaus(1885),BryanandHarter
(1897,1899)andThorndike(1898).Thosewhohavefollowedintheirfootstepshavebeenpri-
marilypsychologists.Professionaleducatorshavebeenwelcomededucationalpsychologyas
afoundationscienceuponwhichtobuildtheirpractices,andstudiesoflearninghavegoneon
concurrentlyinlaboratoriesofgeneralpsychologyandlaboratoriesofeducationalpsychology,
whichinterplaybetweenpureandappliedfelds.Underthecircumstances,itisverynaturalfor
psychologiststofeelthatthestudyoflearningbelongstothem.
Inadditiontohistoricalreasons,thereisanotherbasisonwhichtoaccountforpsychol-
ogist’sinterestinlearning.Thisiscentralityoflearninginthemoregeneralsystemsofpsy-
chologicaltheory.Ascientifc,alongwhichthedesiretosatisfyhiscuriosityaboutthefacts
ofnature,hasapredilectionfororderinghisfactsintosystemsoflowsandtheories.Heis
interestednotonlyinverifedfactsandrelationships,butinandparsimoniouswaysofsumma-
rizingthesefacts.Psychologistswithapenchantforsystemsfndatheoryoflearningessential
becausesomuchofman’sdiversebehaviouristheresultoflearning.Iftherichdiversityof
behaviouristobeunderstoodinaccordancewithafewprinciples,itisevidentthatsome
oftheseprincipleswillhavetodowiththewaywhichlearningcomesabout(Hilgard1956:1).
Theroleoflearninghasalwaysbeengreatlyappreciated,butitisonlymodern
manwhohasbeguntorealizethatonecanlearnnotonlyatschool,butalso(and
perhapsaboveall),outsideschool,thusbecomingabeingthataccomplishesby
acquiringknowledge.Furthermore,theconvictionthatlearningdoesnotendwith
thecompletionofaformal(school)educationisburrowingdeeperanddeeper
intothesocialconsciousness.Learninglastsalifetime,isanecessarycondition
foradultstokeeppacewithrapidtechnological,socialandculturalchanges,and
aboveall,tocopewithsocialandeconomicdemands.Oftheselatter,themost
importantincludecompetitivenessonthelabourmarket,entrepreneurialism,the
abilitytooperateonthefreemarketinanatmosphereofuncertainty,andaread-
inesstochangejobsorprofessions.Thus,thephenomenonoflearningisnow
characteristicnotonlyofaperson’sschooldays,butalsothroughouttheirlife.
Thelearningrenaissance,bothduringandbeyondschool,hasalreadybegun.It
isaprocessaimedatmakinghugequalitativechangesineducation,andisadif-
fcultandirreversibleprocess.Wearenowstandinginthetwilightoftheprimacy
ofteachingoverlearning(atleast,outsideofschool),duetotheloweńective-
nessof[teaching’comparedtotheenormouspotentialof[learning’.