And yet, what is philosophy of education? (Some considerations regarding definitions)

Introduction. The article is devoted to the consideration of available ways of understanding the philosophy of education as an independent branch of knowledge. The authors discuss a range of specific problems in the philosophy of education. They analyze the relationship between socio-philosophical, epistemological, ethical and axiological guide-lines in the development of philosophy of education. Purpose setting. The authors make an attempt to systematically present the philosophy of education as a conditionally distinguished sphere, which includes both the study of philosophical and methodological problems of some sciences and practical branches (pedagogy, didactics, methodology, design of educational courses, management of educational organizations, etc.), and reflection social and worldview problems arising in connection with educational issues. Methodology and methods of the study. During the study, the authors used methods of conceptual analysis, comparison and meaningful juxtaposition of the definitions under consideration, critically reflected on various positions regarding the understanding of the subject and the specifics of the philosophy of education, presented in domestic and foreign literature. Results. The research carried out allowed the authors to conclude that there are several strategies for constituting the philosophy of education as a discipline. The first of them is a generalization under the name «philosophy of education» of any experiences of philosophical understanding of issues that directly or indirectly relate to the upbringing, training and education of a person. The second strategy is to shape the field of philosophy of education by including within it all research into the general and methodological problems of the educational sciences. The third strategy is to integrate educational issues into a broader philosophical perspective. Conclusion. The variety of ways to understand the philosophy of education corresponds to the variety of ways of research activity. It is important that the use of a specific definition of philosophy of education is accompanied by the emergence of obligations regarding the identification and evaluation of one’s own research results.