Methodological Character of Educational Strategies: from Antiquity to the Modern Era

The research argues that, in the development of teaching strategies - as in many other intellectual processes - ‘in the beginning was the Word’. For the educational system, this primordial word was that of philosophy, which is not a coincidence. The study reconstructs conceptions of instruction found across various specialised disciplines taught in antiquity. On the one hand, these disciplines emerged within the framework of philosophical knowledge; on the other, the search for methods to teach them also remained within the domain of philosophy. Yet, as demonstrated in this contribution, efforts were made to develop a universal method of teaching - one suited to instruction across a wide range of specialised disciplines, as well as philosophy itself. A search was undertaken for educational strategies per se, which would be applicable to the broader concept of what would today be termed the educational system. The article attempts to perform such a reconstruction based on Plato’s dialogues and Euclid’s Elements . The foundations of paideia were developed within philosophy, primarily as a theory of the upbringing and education of the ancient Greek. It is emphasised that, in antiquity, play served as the principal instrument for developing a universal methodology of education, and the gamified nature of the educational process remains relevant today, particularly in the form of philosophical games for both children and adults, or as edutainment, where educational content is delivered through entertainment. Finally, the use of play in education is examined consistently within the framework of the Methodology for Expert Text Analysis (META). The META educational platform makes it possible to structure instruction in a gamified format, in accordance with previously established rules, while enabling students to assume the role of researcher from their first year at university. The article is arranged cyclically - moving from the modern era to antiquity, and then back from antiquity to the modern era.