1. FREDRICH WILHELM AUGUST
FROBEL
Prepared by,
Dr. S.Prakash
Principal,
Thiagarajar College of
Preceptors, Madurai.
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2. Froebel’s Kindergarten
Friedrich Wilhelm
August Frobel a
German educator, is
well known as the
father of the
Kindergarten concept.
He advocated play
way method, songs
and occupations for
the learning in pre-
school Education.
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3. Brief Life-Sketch of Froebel
He was born in 1782 as the
son of a pastor in a village in
Germany.
He lost his mother at an
early age and his childhood
was unhappy.
As his father got remarried
he came under the care of
his uncle at the age of ten.
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4. He had a love for Nature.
He was an apprentice to a
forester, but he developed
interest in geometry.
By accident, he went to the
University of JENA and
studied mathematics
Later, he studied zoology
and got ideas of evolution.
For sometime, he studied
under Pestalozzi.
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5. He went to yverdon to
become a teacher but started
a school at Frankfurt in 1816.
He advocated “learning by
doing”.
He started his
“KINDERGARTEN”
in 1837 at his native place
Blankenburg.
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6. Froebel wrote a book on pre-school
education
“The Education of
Man”.
“Pedagogies of
Kindergarten”.
“Mother plays and
Nursery Rhymes”.
“Education by
development”.
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7. Froebel’s Idealistic Philosophy
The word “Idealism” may be derived from
‘Ideals’ or ‘Ideas’.
According to Idealism, ideas are eternal;
all forms of matter is perishable. Hence
ideals or higher values are more
significant in human life than anything
else.
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8. According to him, life is the union of the spiritual
with material.
Without mind or spirit or matter is lifeless; it
remains formless, it is mere chaos.
God is the one ground that unites all things; God
is the all sustaining.
With this belief, like Tagore, Froebel formulated
the principle that there is unity of man, nature,
god.
He said that human personality development is
possible only by integrating the physical and
spiritual development.
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9. Main Principles of his Philosophy
1.The Law of Unity
According to Froebel there is one eternal
law- the law of unity that governs all
things, men and nature. All things ,
animate or inanimate originate from God.
Man and nature are one.
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10. Main Principles of his Philosophy
2. The Principle of Development
The development in child can be
attained only through the development
within. By development, he meant all
increase in hulk or quantity, increase in
complexity or structure, an improvement
in power, skill and variety in the
performance of natural functions
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11. Main Principles of his Philosophy
3.The Principle of Self-Activity
It is only through self activity that the
real growth and development is possible.
Forced activity is artificial and unnatural
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12. Main Principles of his Philosophy
4.Development through social institutions
The school is the miniature society. The
development of the child takes place
through the environment of the school
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13. Froebel’s Educational Principles
1.Unity with God
The aim of education is not to make the
mind of the child a jumble of words
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14. Froebel’s Educational Principles
2.Education through play
Play is an essential factor in the growth
of the child. The free and unfettered
natural development of the child takes
place through play.
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15. Froebel’s Educational Principles
3.Education according to the Nature of the
child
Education should be in conformity with
child’s nature and needs.
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16. Froebel’s Educational Principles
4.Education through Freedom
The child should be educated in free
atmosphere. Freedom means obedience to
self-imposed law.
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17. Froebel’s Educational Principles
5.Education Through Assistance
The teacher is like a gardener who
carefully nurses and protects children in
order to secure their full and free
development along most desirable lines.
The educator assists the educant who is
developing according to the law of his
nature
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18. Froebel’s Educational Principles
6.Education through Group life
All social institutions like the home, the
school, the church and the state, etc., are
the agencies of development of the
individual.
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19. Froebel’s Educational Principles
7.Education through Gifts
He devised songs, gestures and
construction as the chief means of
stimulating the imagination of the child
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20. Functions of Education
Education should lead and guide man to
himself and in himself to peace with
nature, and to unity with God. It should
lift him to knowledge of himself to
mankind , to a knowledge of God and of
nature , and to the pure and holy life
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21. Meaning of Kindergarten
He opened the first kindergarten, an
institution of children of age 4 to 6,
Blankenburg in 1837.
Kindergarten is a German word which
implies a children’s Garden.
Froebel conceived the school as garden,
the teacher as the gardener and the
students as tender plants.
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22. Objectives of Kindergarten
To give the children enjoyment in
agreement with nature,
To strengthen the bodies of children
To exercise their senses
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23. Objectives of Kindergarten
To awaken their minds
To acquaint them with nature and their
fellows
To lead them to unit
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24. Main features of Kindergarten
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25. Self Activity
When the child moves in
a free atmosphere, indulging
in various activities, it
develops the ability to think
independently which is essential
for self- realisation. His slogan is
“Education through self- activity”.
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26. Play
According to Froebel,” Play is the purest,
most special activity of man at his stage….
It gives ,therefore , joy, freedom,
contentment, inner and rest, Peace with
the world.
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27. Songs , Gestures and
Construction
These three are the first expression of the
child.
What is to be learnt by the pupil is first
expressed in a song, then it is dramatised
or expressed in gesture or movement and
lastly illustrated through some
constructive work such as paper or clay.
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28. Selection of Songs
He has given songs in his book “Mother
and Nursery songs”. There are fifty play
songs
The child begins to use language through
these songs.
Each song is accompanied by a game like
“hide and seek”.
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30. Gifts and Occupations
Gifts and occupations were
used by Froebel in his play
way method.
Gifts are simple educational
toys which are presented to
the child in a definite order,
without any change in their
forms.
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31. First Gift
Six coloured balls contained in a box. The
balls are of different colours.
The child is to roll them about in play.
The occupation consists in rolling them.
The balls are intended to give the
students an idea of colour, materials,
motion and direction.
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33. Second Gift
Sphere, Cube and Cylinder made of hard
wood contained in a box.
Child plays with them and notices the
difference between stability of the cube
and the mobility of the sphere.
He learns that the cylinder is both
movable and stable and it harmonies the
quality of both.
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35. Third Gift
Big wooden cubes subdivided into light
wooden cubes
The child can have elementary idea of
addition and subtraction through these.
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37. Fourth Gift
Large cubes divided into eight oblong
prisms in each of which the length is twice
the breadth and breadth is twice the
thickness.
This assists the child to construct different
kinds of buildings and patterns when
combined with the third gift.
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39. Fifth Gift
Similar to third Gift. Consists of large cube
divided into twenty seven small cubes,
three of which are again divided
diagonally into halves and three into
quarters.
The child can make beautiful patterns and
forms by combining the third , fourth and
fifth gift.
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41. Sixth Gift
Similar to gift four. It is a large cube
divided into eighteen whole hole and nine
small oblong blocks.
Many designs in forms and construction
can be made by the child.
It is also useful in teaching numbers
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43. Seventh gift
Set of square and triangular tables made
of fine wood in two colours.
It provides material for many exercises in
geometrical forms and mosaic work.
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45. EIGHTH GIFT
Froebel's Gift 8 signifies a move from the
surface to "the line." Gift 7 shapes allowed
the child to represent objects in two-
dimensional form. Gift 8 represents the
edges or outlines of these objects.
It's important to note that, although
Froebel used these items in his
Kindergarten, he did not establish the
sequence of the Gifts after Gift 7.
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46. EIGHTH GIFT ….
This was done by his followers after his
death and several numbering schemes
developed over the years.
Traditionally this set was divided into two
sets, straight lines and curved lines
(rings). Most sets include some or all of
the following pieces: 1", 2", 3", 4" and 5"
sticks and 1", 1.5", and 2" diameter rings,
plus 1", 1.5", and 2" diameter half rings
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48. NINTH GIFT
Ninth in a series of 10 Gifts, features small
objects, often in a variety of colors, to
represent the point.
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50. TENTH GIFT
To best explain Gift 10, it is important to
recap Froebel's system. Froebel divided
his kindergarten activities into Gifts and
Occupations.
The Gifts were materials that could return
to their original form while Occupations
were crafts that could not be undone. to
be used to connect them. Once the peas
dried, the creations were set.
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51. TENTH GIFT ……
Due to their limited technological means,
the early kindergartens did not have a
solution for a framework Gift. Actual
construction of frameworks was handled
in the Occupation of peas-work. This
involved soaking dried peas overnight until
they were soft enough for toothpicks
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55. THE PLACE OF TEACHER
The teacher is not to remain passive,
He has to suggest ideas of occupation
when gifts are offered to children
He is also required to demonstrate certain
activities to them
He also sings a song with a view to help
the child to form appropriate idea.
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56. DISCIPLINE
Teacher has to inculcate sympathetically
values like love, sympathy, humility,
co-operation and obedience to elders.
The child should be made to realize that
discipline depends upon his love for
order; goodwill and mutual understanding.
Women should be trained for training
children at this stage.
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58. Merits of Kindergarten
Stressed the importance of play
Considered school as a miniature society ,
where children get training in important
things of life.
Stressed the necessity of study of child’s
nature , his instincts and impulses.
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59. Merits of Kindergarten….
Gifts and occupations gives a newer
approach to the method of teaching.
Sufficient scope for activity in a
kindergarten
Various gifts provide sensory training
Inclusion of nature study in the curriculum
helps to develop love for the nature and
world in the mind of the students
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60. Limitations
Expects too much from the child.
Too much stress has been laid on the
development from within. The importance
of the environment has not been fully
recognized.
Songs given by him are out of date.
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61. Limitations….
Gifts of Froebel are formal in nature. The
order of presentations of gifts is arbitrary.
They do not serve much purpose of sense
training
Does not provide for the study of
individual child
There is a little correlation in the teaching
of various subjects
Play will distract from serious learning.
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62. Froebel’s influence on Modern
Education
Emphasis on Pre-Primary Education
New conception of school
Respect for children’s individuality
Stress on the study of the nature of the
child
Education through play
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63. Froebel’s influence on Modern
Education……
Sense training
Activity in Education
Nature study in Education
Women Teachers at The Nursery stage
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64. 1.Emphasis on Pre-Primary
Education
The present Educator fully recognizes the
importance of education in early years.
Today we find a large number of schools
catering to the needs of such children
Froebel had also realised that until the
education of nursery years was reformed
nothing solid and worthwhile could be
achieved
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65. 2. New conception of school
His kindergarten school was a little world
Where responsibility was shared by all.
Individual rights were respected by all.
Brotherly sympathy was developed and
voluntary co-operation practiced by all.
His school was a society in miniature.
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66. 3. Respect for child’s
individuality
Froebel lived for children, worked for
children and died for children.
He had profound love and sympathy for
children
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67. 4.Stress on the study of the
nature of the child
Froebel stressed the need for the study of
the nature of the child, his instincts and
impulses.
Modern Educator is very careful to see
that adequate scope is provided for the
free play of the impulse and instincts of
the children.
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68. 5.Education Through Play
He believed that play is the highest phase
of self development
He introduced Play-way in the activities of
the school. Today we find that the
principle of play way has been accepted
by every teacher.
We teach children through songs,
movements, gestures, dramatization ,
handwork etc.
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69. 6.Sense Training
He introduced gifts for training of the
senses of the children
This activities are practiced in more
number of schools as they help in the
training of senses
Audio-Visual aids form an integral part of
the present system of Education
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70. 7. Activity in Education
Froebel was the first educator to make self
activity as the basis of education.
Learning by Doing is the slogan of the day
The present school has become a place of
activity and joy for the children
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71. 8. Nature study in Education
To Froebel , nature study was a means of
bringing the child nearer to God.
He advocated that it will enable the child
to understand the world in which he lived
and to develop habits of careful
observation
Now most of the schools offer nature
study to students
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72. 9.Women Teachers at Nursery
Stage
It is because of Froebel we find a trend to
entrust the education at the pre-primary
to women teachers who are considered to
be more suitable for this task of
instruction at this stage.
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Review
Froebel Biography
Books
Philosophical Principles
Educational Principles
Functions of Education
Meaning of Kindergarten
Objectives
Main features
Merits
Limitations
Froebel’s Influence on Modern
Education