Introduction. 1. Bildung in the Eighteenth Century? 2. The Fundaments of the Educationalized World 3. The Philosophy of Politeness as Language for Bildung 4. Bildung as a National Construct 5. Bildung as a Social Distinction 6. Bildung and its Travels to North America 7. Bildung as a Fundamental Concept in the German Educational Sciences 8. Bildung after the Second World War: Reconnections and Skeptical Variations 9. Bildung as an Alternative to Contemporary Empiricism in Education Research. 10. Concluding Remarks, or Bildung in the Twenty-First Century.

Rebekka Horlacher is Professor of Education at the University of Zurich, Switzerland.

German education plays a huge role in the development of education sciences and modern universities internationally. It is influenced by the educational concept of Bildung, which defines Germany 's theoretical and curricular ventures. This concept is famously untranslatable into other languages and is often misinterpreted as education, instruction, training, upbringing and other terms which don't encompass its cultural ambitions. Despite this hurdle, Bildung is now being recognized in current discussions of education issues such as standardization, teaching to the test, evidence-based policy and high stakes testing. This volume clears up the confusion and misunderstandings surrounding Bildung by examining the origins of the concept and how it has been applied throughout history. It paves the way for educators to fully understand and benefit from this model and all it has to offer.