The multidimensionality of educational failure – didactic perspective

The paper focuses on educational failure, exposing its multidimensional nature. The author’s thesis is that it is an implication of many circumstances that shape the image and place of failure in educational systems. The subject of analysis was the persistent and even increasing size of school delays, especially on the mega-scale. Attention was paid to the ambiguity of understanding the “school failure” and its types. An important impetus for considering the multidimensionality of educational failure from a didactic perspective became the observed transformations in educational philosophy and the accompanying complex conditions of the educational process in the 21st century, including modern technologies, humanisation of educational interactions, parallelism, and permanence of education. They prompt a reinterpretation of “school failure”. Moreover, the paper shows the pejorative consequences of failure, including suicidal thoughts and acts. The specific dimension of failures in the form of their peculiar “inheritance” through successive educational stages was also signaled. The article is part of the current of activities aimed at restoring school failure to its proper rank in scientific research and theoretical reflection, as well as in teacher education and training programmes.