An important place in the complex of basic methodological positions of science belongs to principles. Quite often now they began to write about the principles of education. There are attempts to determine the general principles of training and education, special principles of certain areas of pedagogical work (for example, the principles of family education, higher education, military pedagogy, sports training, pedagogical forecasting, etc.). However, in most publications they are focused on the practice of pedagogical work, and not on cognition.
Science methodology begins with research principles. Among their general scientific principles of cognition are cognizability, objectivity, scientific character, reliability (evidence), causality (determinism, causality), interconnection (dialectical interaction, mutual influence), consistency, historicism, development. They are required for the knowledge of any reality, including pedagogical. At the same time, the specificity of pedagogical phenomena also determines some of the peculiarities of their cognition, and this finds expression in the methodological principles of pedagogical research. They are basic in it (and in relation to general scientific ones - particular ones) and are prioritized for other pedagogical principles - particular and special ones, which concretize the peculiarities of the study of certain complex and important groups of pedagogical problems.
1. The principle of sociality. Pedagogical reality is social in nature, and practice is inseparable from life and the needs of society. They historically arose and developed on the basis of a social need for it. Therefore, any pedagogical research should have a pronounced social character, be aimed at improving the life of people, society and the future by pedagogical means.
2. The principle of practicality. Pedagogy can fulfill its social mission only in close connection with practice, although this does not deny the importance of fundamental research, especially in the years of drastic changes in practice. Practice calls on her to scientific research, and pedagogical science is called upon to help her.
3. The principle of consistency. It reflects the real systematic nature of pedagogical reality and its phenomena and prescribes a systematic approach to their study. Pedagogical problems are complex because they are systemic and multi-dependent. In them nothing can be understood and correctly solved outside the systematic approach. There is no such "golden key" that you just need to turn - and you get the desired result. Any problem, element of work must be considered, solved, improved in the aggregate of its leading dependencies, their interconnections and interdependences. There are many "unsystematic systems" in teaching practice, and the task of the researcher is to give them a truly systemic character.
4. The principle of development, historicism and modernity. It obliges to approach the study of pedagogical phenomena as being in constant change, as a moment on the trajectory of their continuous development leading to the future. They cannot be approached as timeless, divorced from social and pedagogical conditions. The problems of education, upbringing, training and development have always had a concrete historical character, were and must bear the stamp of their time. Whatever the difficulties of the current time, it is pedagogical science that must be optimistic and equip practice with the conviction of success and ways to achieve it.
5. The principle of the unity of upbringing, education, training and development. It corresponds to their real, objectively existing relationships, even if they are not noticed, but the pedagogical result is not the same if they were a truly unified system of pedagogical work. When a specific researcher or practitioner deliberately studies problems or only training, or only education, etc., when abstracting from others, with the false belief that "this does not apply to the problem", the scientific result will be scientifically incorrect, and the practical the benefit is flawed.
6. The principle of unity of personality, environment, activity and behavior. It reflects the natural connection between pedagogical formation and the development of the pedagogical properties of a person's personality and his behavior from these systemic dependencies. The implementation of the principle requires a personal-social-activity approach in the study, disclosure of the role, the nature of the relationship of these components and ways to optimize them.
7. The principle of pedagogically effective personality activity. In almost any pedagogical problem there is a person with his position, attitude, activity, capabilities, and their manifestations will certainly contribute to the problem, acting as one of its causes. When a person is completely passive, the contribution to the result achieved by the teacher is minimal. You cannot understand the problem without understanding this dependence, and you cannot solve it by discarding the search for ways to increase the activity of the person with whom the teacher works. When solving pedagogical problems, it is important to look for and find effective ways to transform a person from a passive, indifferent or even opposing participant in pedagogical systems, influences and influences into an active participant in achieving their goals, which are in fact aimed at his own benefit.
8. The principle of humanity and civilization. The essence of pedagogy is orientation towards a person, towards benevolent help in life, self-improvement, self-realization and self-affirmation. Pedagogical research is conducted today correctly if their subject is learned and evaluated from the standpoint of this principle, and the development of pedagogical improvements is aimed at its full implementation. An important direction of such efforts is the unswerving motivation of a person to self-improvement and assistance in its implementation.
9. The principle of pedagogical objectivity When conducting pedagogical research, one must strictly adhere to the subject of pedagogical science. This means conducting research using pedagogical methods, collecting pedagogical material, discussing it using pedagogical methodology, theory, categorical-conceptual apparatus and searching for pedagogical means and ways to solve the problem. For the dependences of the problem on factors and patterns related to the subject of other sciences, one should use the data already available in these sciences, and only those that are necessary for pedagogical search, and not for embellishing a scientific report.
10. The principle of complexity. Practical pedagogical activity is always complex and raises questions related to other sciences. So, a teacher may have sympathy-antipathies for different students (psychology), there may be a desire to forbid one of the obnoxious students to attend their classes (right) or rudely reprimand him (ethics), there may be an intention to give a bad mark to a student who answered well, but, apparently, although there is no evidence, according to the cheat sheet (morality, justice), overwork of the class (physiology) may appear, poor lighting of the room and stuffiness in it (hygiene), etc. It is advisable to pay increased attention to the psychological aspects of the problem, especially if the teacher-researcher considers himself prepared for this. If there are no data from other sciences on the issues of interest to the researcher, but there is a need for them, then only one way is impeccably scientific - the creation of research groups with the inclusion of specialists of the relevant sciences.
The described principles are complex and are subject to interrelated use in research.