The Pandora’s box of pedagogism

Photo: https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsa_de_Pandora#/media/Fitxer:Pandora_opening_her_box_by_James_Gillray.jpg

License Creative Commons

Dan Clarasó Sanz

If we think of Greek mythology, Pandora does not open just any box: she opens a container filled with evils sent by the gods, designed to punish humankind. Inside are disease, suffering, discord, lies… and at the very bottom, only hope remains. This story has always fascinated me, above all because hope is not always a comfort. At times, it is more of a trap: it keeps people waiting, even when the problem is structural.

I cannot help but see parallels with our education system. As Hannah Arendt (1961) warned, education cannot be based on abstract promises about the future, but rather on the responsibility of transmitting an already existing, concrete world to new generations and preparing pupils to face it.

The poisoned gift

In recent years, the Department of Education has presented a model as the great pedagogical solution to our problems: “more inclusive, more competency-based, more student-centred, more modern…”. These are terms we all recognise, which sound impressive in conferences and make for striking headlines, but from the classroom perspective, the reality is rather different.

Pedagogism, with all its vocabulary and its quasi-liturgical array of methodologies, promises to transform education without seriously questioning what is already in place. As Inger Enkvist points out, many contemporary educational reforms are built more on pedagogical ideology than on robust evidence. Like Pandora, we are handed a gleaming box full of promises—with the difference that Pandora is warned of the trap: Zeus tells her not to open it. In our case, one might say we are actively encouraged to do so.

The evils unleashed

And what happens when we open the box?

Teachers are faced with an enormous bureaucratic burden, constantly changing curricula, and a language so convoluted that it becomes difficult to discern what truly matters. We are often required to implement ‘innovative’ methodologies without any clear empirical evidence of their impact on learning. The fascination with pedagogism and methodological fashions, when not tested against objective data, can lead to overload and disorientation. This concern is supported by research syntheses such as those of John Hattie (2020), which show that many educational ‘innovations’ have little or no impact on students’ learning, in contrast to well-established practices grounded in solid evidence that do produce significant effects.

Meanwhile, knowledge, rigour, and academic standards become blurred, in a dynamic that Gregorio Luri (2020) has described as the gradual replacement of knowledge with activity.

All of this creates a paradox: there is constant talk of pedagogical autonomy and innovation, yet in reality a closed model is imposed that leaves little room for thinking or acting differently.

Zeus and the illusion of progress

If we continue with the mythological analogy, Zeus does not punish directly. He is subtle: he seduces, persuades, promises. Pedagogism operates in much the same way. There is no visible coercion, only a carefully constructed narrative that promises constant and tangible improvement, without anyone being able to demonstrate that it truly works.

And we, as teachers, become trapped in this promise: that next year everything will be better; that if we follow all the guidelines; if we undertake more training… Always with hope as the final guarantee that things will change. But hope is not a result; it is an expectation that may never be fulfilled.

Hope as a mechanism of control

And this is where the final element of Pandora’s box comes into play: hope. It keeps the system running, even when many things are not working well. It encourages us to continue working, trying to implement everything that is asked of us, in the belief that things will improve. Yet often the reality is that it merely keeps us occupied, without addressing the underlying problems.

Recover the fire, not the box

Fortunately, before Pandora there is Prometheus, who steals fire from the gods. Fire symbolises knowledge, technique, reason. And perhaps this is where our focus should lie: not in fascination with the box and its promises of magical improvement, but in recovering a debate grounded in knowledge, evidence, and rigour.

That is, we must reassert the importance of disciplinary knowledge, demand rigorous evaluation, distinguish genuine innovation from pedagogical fashion, and place evidence before rhetoric. If we are to move forward, we must prioritise educational practices with proven impact, strengthen disciplinary knowledge, and evaluate methodologies rigorously before we allow ourselves to be seduced by glittering promises.

Greek myths were not children’s stories. They were warnings. Perhaps the problem is not what lies inside the box, but our willingness to keep accepting it again and again—forgetting, as Hannah Arendt reminds us, that education entails assuming responsibility, not merely waiting for results.

References:

1. Arendt, H. (1961). Between past and future: Eight exercises in political thought. New York: Viking Press.
2. Hattie, J. (2020). Visible learning: Feedback. London: Routledge.
3. Luri, G. (2020). La escuela no es un parque de atracciones. Barcelona: Ariel.
4. Enkvist, I. (2016). La buena y la mala educación. Madrid: Encuentro.

Source: educational EVIDENCE

Rights: Creative Commons