Non-affirmative Theory of Education and Bildung

Michael Uljens is Chair professor of education at Åbo Akademi University in Finland as of 2003. Since the 1980’s Michael Uljens has published on sociology, phenomenology, theory and philosophy of education, Didaktik and educational leadership. He has worked with non-affirmative education theory since the late 1990’s. His books in English include School Didactics and Learning (1997, Psychology Press) and an edited volume (with R. Ylimaki) Bridging Educational Leadership, Curriculum Theory and Didaktik (2017, Springer). Michael Uljens previously worked as researcher, visiting professor and chair professor at universities in Finland, Sweden, Germany, USA, and China.

"Uljens’ book offers a comprehensive and well-structured examination of the non-affirmative theory that strikes a balance between theoretical research and practical application. Its forward-thinking approach to practice and policy, along with its critical attitude toward accepted academic norms, make it an essential read for anybody wishing to advance current educational thought. … the book is a useful resource for learning new things and applying contemporary teaching concepts." (Manal Hamarsha, Hungarian Educational Research Journal, March 4, 2025)

• Part I. Introduction.- Chapter 1. Non-affirmative theory of education and Bildung – problems, positionings and possibilities (Michael Uljens) .- Chapter 2. On affirmativity and non-affirmativity in the context of theories of education and ‘Bildung’ (Dietrich Benner) .- Part II. Non-affirmative interpretations of Didaktik.- Chapter 3. Knowledge, values and subject-ness - Educative teaching as a regulative idea of school development in the 21st century (Thomas Rucker) .- Chapter 4. Herbart’s educative teaching in times of Big Data-based measurement and assessment (Ling Lin) .- Chapter 5. ‘Bildung’-Centered Non-Affirmative School Didactics (Michael Uljens).- Part III. Non-affirmative education and related theoretical positions.- Chapter 6. Dewey, existential uncertainty, and non-affirmative democratic education (Andrea R. English) .- Chapter 7. Revisiting forgotten relationships between justice and education - Non-Affirmative Education as complementing distributive justice (Juan José SosaAlonso) .- Chapter 8. Between doxa and transformational Bildung – A phenomenological and social-theoretical rehabilitation of the formation of opinions with Egon Schütz and Pierre Bourdieu (Johannes Türstig) .- Chapter 9. Hermeneutics in non-affirmative theory of education (Mari Mielityinen-Pachmann) .- Part IV. Non-affirmative education and empirical research.- Chapter 10. Pedagogical experimentalism and the principle of verification. A quest for non-affirmative educational research (Hanno Su and Johannes Bellmann) .- Chapter 11. Non-affirmative theory of education and cultural-historical activity theory — Where do they meet? (Alex Mäkiharju) .- Chapter 12. Understanding municipal education leaders in the tension between politics, professionals and parents (Ann-Sofie Smeds-Nylund).- Part V. Non-affirmative education perspectives on governance and policy.- Chapter 13. Operating in an outcomes-based and a democratic Bildung discourse (Lejf Moos) .- Chapter 14. On the normativity of data-driven curriculum policy-making: a discursive and non-affirmative approach (Andreas Nordin) .- Chapter 15. Bildung and 21th century competences: in need of mutual recognition? (Armend Tahirslay) .- Chapter 16. From ‘didactics’ to ‘curriculum-and-didactics’ and beyond: A non-affirmative approach to the analysis of policy changes of didactics in mainland China (Bangpin Ding).- Part VI. Concluding reflections and openings.- Chapter 17. Non-affirmative education theory as a language for a global discourse on education (Michael Uljens).