11 May 2018
This article starts by examining the roots of the European Union, the first manifestation of which was the «Europe of Six», conceived by a group of people nowadays known as the «founding fathers of the EU». It then moves on to consider the educational discourses that supported the establishment of democracy in countries where this supranational political agreement was developing. The end of the First World War (1914-1918), one hundred years ago this year, saw the start of a process of peaceful reconstruction in which the foundations of a European federation to maintain internal peace were laid.
From this perspective, Europe has not only been a superlative example of political understanding but also, and predominantly, a pedagogical success story. This is why Europe is, has been, and will always be, a pedagogical project above all. In light of the new challenges we are facing today (break-up as a result of Brexit, citizens’ mistrust of its institutions,
the constant threat in markets from emerging powers, and multicultural societies, to name but a few), the solution must be educational. The pedagogical «founding fathers» of Europe tried to consolidate democracy by putting the citizen at its centre. Returning to and updating its foundational educational discourses could reposition our educational actions for reformulating the European Union.
Cite this article as: Vilafranca Manguán, I., Cercós Raichs, R., & García Farrero, J. (2018). Los «padres» pedagógicos de Europa. Discursos educativos fundacionales para la integración europea, cien años después de la Gran Guerra | The pedagogical founding fathers of Europe: foundational education discourses for European integration, one hundred years after the First World War. Revista Española de Pedagogía, 76 (270), 335-351. doi: https://doi.org/10.22550/REP76-2-2018-06
