Read the text about Friedrich Froebel

Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852) was the founder of the kindergarten, or the children garden. He was largely self-educated, but studied for a few years at different European universities. From 1806 to 1810 he worked and studied with famous Swiss educational reformer Pestalozzi at Yverdon, Switzerland. He accepted certain aspects of Pestalozzi’s method. He wanted to improve the educational methods of teaching. He wanted the teacher to become an active instructor.

In 1837 Froebel founded the kindergarten in the city of Blankenburg. Its curriculum cultivated child’s self-development, self-activity, and socialisation. It stressed the social and emotional growth of a child. The kindergarten had prepared environment. The kindergarten teacher was to be a moral and cultural model. He provided educational materials (e.g. geometrical shapes) for young children to encourage education through play. Children learned songs, stories, and games. They were introduced to the customs, heroes, and ideas of the cultural heritage. He spent the rest of his life organising kindergartens.

Froebel influenced modern technique in pre-school education.

TERM 3

THE FACULTY OF PRIMARY SCHOOLING

THE FACULTY OF PRE-SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY AND PEDAGOGICS