Historyczne koncepcje i paradygmaty uniwersytetu oraz jego model na dziś i na jutro

Stanisław Wielgus

Abstract

Th e paper presents historical concepts and paradigms of the institution of university as well as its present and future models. As a starting point, the origin, structure and function of the medieval university are discussed; then, four basic concepts of university formed in the 19th century are given, namely the German model of Wilhelm Humboldt and Johann
Fichte, the English model of Cardinal Newman, the American model formed aft er foundation of the John Hopkins University and the French model – the Napoleonic model ofuniversity.
What follows is an analysis of the changes and evolution of universities in the 20th century. It is indicated that the essence of today’s university is composed of the following activities: didactics, research and professional training. A great signifi cance of general and formal education is also emphasized. Th e priority is given to practising basic disciplines at universities and the signifi cance of the humanities for general education of students, including philosophy, theology and ethics is stressed.

Keywords:

Medieval university; 19th century university models; evolution of university, interdisciplinary education at universities, education and nurture, Positivist University, Post-modern University, university model for today, mission of contemporary university