On the Concept of Participation in the Context of the Theories of Communication and Pedagogy

Abstract

The expression „participation” is usually used in the sense of our participating in common things, or it designates our desire to unite, to be together. The need for participation can be found in everyone. Early psychological researches also discovered it and discussed this topic along the ideas of binding and dependence. They identified the early stage as a dependence on the mother which later becomes replaced by the relationship of the individual with different groups. In this paper I will introduce the expression participation as a concept which serves to characterize human relations. It is meant to designate the process in which human relations become transparent, that is, they become public and open up to the participants. Communication theory considers communication to be the means of its coming into being. Through an examination of our mutual and reciprocal knowledge it points out that participation is nothing else than our sharing a certain sense of preparedness which we acquire through belonging to different communities and mainly through symbolic learning. This is why it is worth examining communication from the aspect of the role it plays in the formation of communities and discussing how the individual acquires different kinds of readiness, through his or her belonging to a community, which are not originally (genetically) given. When we set up the concept of participation as the subject of our research we are seeking ways by which this sharing may be realized in the case of different individuals and groups.