New Viewpoint on the Phenomenon of Competition (not exclusively) in School

This paper reflects the definition of competition which has recently been applied in social sciences and which, nowadays, seems to be the most widely accepted definition of competition – a definition based on ”negative dependency in goals achievements“. The paper shows the insufficiency of this universally accepted definition to cover all aspects of the phenomenon of competition and offers a new definition, inspired by the theory of games. In this theory, competition is seen as one of the main principles of all human activities. Redefining competition enables a new viewpoint on the whole phenomenon of competition and its position in the educational system and offers a new functional typolog y of competition and competitive situations. This new point of view, together with the known impact of destructive and constructive competitive situations, can serve as a new approach in educational research of competition. Although competition is, in my opinion, one of the pillars of the Czech educational system, its complexity has not been reflected by educational research. Empirical qualitative inquiry Empirical qualitative inquiry complements the theoretical part and brings a view of everyday use of competition in school life, showing how this phenomenon is perceived by teachers, and how it is actually being used.

keywords: competition, competitive situations, constructive and destructive competitive situations, assets and risks of
competition