Selected contexts of childhood subjectivity in the pedagogy of John Amos Comenius

Abstract

Jan Amos Comenius’s pedagogy is known worldwide for its radical transformation of the approach to the student as a subject and its educational system, based on respecting developmental and social needs. An analysis of his works and pedagogical concepts leads to the conclusion that he developed the idea of adapting schools to students' needs, not the other way around. Comenius opposed the medieval model of school as an authori-tarian institution of indoctrination, proposing a democratic model of education based on subjectivity, respect for identity, and liberation from the senselessness and thoughtlessness of pervasive coercion.