Epistemology of Education: Structure and Goals

Introduction. The subject of the article is the problem area of epistemology of education. The aim of the paper is to systematize it and present its actual structure. The purpose of the research was achieved within the framework of the system approach by means of general logical methods of research - analysis, synthesis, abstraction and generalization of literary sources. Content. The article analyzes and characterizes the current state of research conducted at the intersection of modern epistemology and philosophy of education. In the development of scientific discourse of epistemology of education, three key research directions have been identified: the first one deals with the epistemological analysis of the concept of “education”, the second one - with the comprehension of epistemic aims of education, the third one - with the study of correlations between the practice of education and processes of cognition. The second direction considers approaches to the definition of educational goals focused on: a) acquisition of epistemic goods; b) formation of skills; c) development of intellectual character. Within the framework of the third direction the questions about the role of teachers' testimony, students' trust and the significance of “knowledge-that” and “knowledge-how” in the context of educational programs are mentioned. The author considers the epistemological bases of the concepts of “learning” and “teaching”, emphasizes the significance of epistemic belief, authority and responsibility of the teacher in relation to students, touches upon the problems of the correlation of “knowledge- that” and “knowledge-how” at the macro- and micro-levels, as well as the issues of indoctrination, multiculturalism and the place of marginalized points of view in the curriculum content considered within the framework of the third direction. Conclusions. The scientific novelty of the article consists in the presentation of the actual structure of the problem area of epistemology of education and, as a consequence, its introduction into the domestic philosophical discourse. It is noted that the analysis of epistemological aspects of education is of key importance, as its results determine the place of education in cognition together with the mechanisms of its acquisition. It is established that the epistemic aims of education in its justification find a strong support in the epistemology of education, which has a positive impact on our understanding of the essence of the educational process and its efficiency in achieving the chosen aims.