Herman Bavinck’s Neo-Calvinist Pedagogy

Abstract The prominent Dutch neo-Calvinist theologian Herman Bavinck (1854–1921) made significant contributions to psychology and pedagogy. Bavinck’s neo-Calvinist approach emphasised that Christian principles offer the most solid foundation for education, rooted in the themes of creation, fall, and redemption. This framework, he argues, is the only one sufficient to be able to provide educators with the essential insights into the nature, origin, and destiny of humanity; insights that are essential for pedagogy. He contends that Christian education addresses the whole person, making it a comprehensive approach to human development. Bavinck further argues that pedagogy is not neutral but is related to theological and philosophical principles. Christianity, in his view, provides the best foundation for education as it provides an objective, universally fixed, and binding truth from which all else is organised. In contrast, the pedagogy of the so-called ‘New Education’ faced significant challenges, primarily as a result of an absence of a unifying philosophy or worldview. This absence leads to instability and frequent shifts in educational approaches, causing confusion and inconsistencies.