Friedrich Wilhelm August Froebel is known as the founder of kindergarten education. He developed a system of education for young children based on principles of play, nature study, and hands-on activities. Some key aspects of his educational philosophy included developing the whole child through physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual growth. He created special learning materials called "gifts" and activities called "occupations" to teach concepts to young children in a play-based way. While his kindergarten system focused on self-directed learning through play, it also emphasized social and moral development. His principles of education had both benefits in nurturing child development but also limitations regarding outdated songs, lack of structure

1. Friedrich Wilhelm august Froebel:
EDUCATIONAL THOUGHTS AND CONTRIBUTION
Dr.M.Deivam
Assistant Professor
Department of Education
The Gandhigram Rural Institute
(Deemed to be University), Gandhigram, Dindigul
District, Tamil Nadu – 624 302

2. Froebel

3. Life history
• Froebel was born in Germany in 1782.
• Mother of Froebel died during his infancy stage
and his father neglected him (His father married
another woman)
• Uncle of Froebel adopted him at the age of
eleven
• He got training as forester at the age of 15
• He spent two years in the forest alone and
possibly developed deep love for nature and
developed the habit of contemplation and
observation.

4. Cont.,
• He studied for two years at the
University of Jena.
• He joined as a teacher at Frankforton
main. He was a successful teacher
served pestulozzis school at verdu for
about 3 years
• He got further education in Berlin
• Froebel opened his first kindergarden at
Blackenburg in 1827.

5. Cont.,
• Extension lectures and training of teachers in line with
kindergarten
• Kindergarten is a German word. It means the garden of
children
• His slogan was: “ Let us live for children”
• The system of kindergarten is based on the principle of
teaching children through play.
• Death: Froebel died in 1862 kindergarten system of
education for pre-school education of children of age
group 3-7.

6. Books
• The Education of man
• Pedagogies of kindergarten
• Mother plays and Nursery songs
• Education by development

7. Aims of Education
• Realisation of unity i.e God
• Realisation of unity in Diversity and Diversity in unity
(God)
• Development of the individuality of the child: Physical
development, Intellectual development, Emotional
development, Social development, spiritual
development
• Environmental awareness
• Nature study
• Development of value system (justice, truth, loyalty,
co-operation)
• Development of good habits of action, feeling and
thinking

8. Principles of Education
• Principle of Manual Work and Handwork:
develop muscles, creativity, ideas, energies are
expressed
• Principles of Nature study:
I) Moral values are developed
II) Religions spiritual development takes place
• Principle of Sense Training:
I) Senses receive the information from the surrounding
and experiences with concrete items help the child to
learn about them
II) The maxim concrete to abstract being followed
at this stage. Thinking (abstract) develops through
concrete experiences

9. Cont.,
• Principles of Unity
I) There is an eternal unity i.e God. All things have there
origin in god, the eternal unity.
II) Man and nature are simply different forms of God.
III) Unity in origin (God is the source of origin of everything)
IV) Unity of purpose (All things strive to achieve divine
perfection i.e God)
• Principles of Individuality through process of
socialization
I) Personality of the child should be developed
II) The child develops in social institutions i.e home,
school, and religious. It is not possible to develop the
individuality without these social institutions.

10. Methods of Teaching
• Teaching through play- Play is the characteristics
activity of childhood. Kindergarten system makes use
of this play behavior for providing learning experiences
to the child. So the child will learn many things easily
and eagerly.
• Gifts and occupations as materials and method of
education – Froebel design special materials known as
gifts and a series of recommended activities known as
occupations for use in kindergarten. The gifts are a set
of geometric shapes such as balls, cubes, cut papers
etc. Occupations such as folding paper, clay modeling
etc

11. Cont.,
• Teaching through songs, gestures and
construction- Froebel says that singing,
gestures and constructing something are the
general nature of children. Hence, proper
organization of these activities is the best
means of their developments

12. Curriculum
• Literature
• Poetry
• Dramatization
• Reading
• Mathematics
• Science
• Social studies
• Christianity
• French
• Music
• Art and Physical
education

13. Salient Features of Froebel’s Kindergarten
• Self-activity:
gives joy, freedom, satisfaction and peace of
mind
• Creativeness:
God created man in his own image; man should
also like god create and bring forth many.
• Social participation:
Man is a social animal. When a child
participates in co-operative activities, receives
physical training but also intellectual, social and
moral education

14. Role of Teacher
• The teacher has to suggest the idea
• 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 ideas.

15. Discipline
• He (teacher) has to inculcate sympathetically
values like love, sympathy, co-operation and
obedience to elders.
• The child should be made to realize that
discipline depends upon his love, goodwill and
mutual understanding.

16. Merits of Froebel’s Kindergarten
• Kindergarten is a school which helps each child
for optimum development according to his
natural endowments in a social environment.
Here children’s growth is natured but not
forced; guided but not moulded.
• He stressed the importance of play in the early
education.
• Child centred education (self-activities)
• Various gifts provide sensory training.
• This system of education stresses the integration
of multiple experiences of children while
learning.

17. Limitation
• Songs as given by him are out of date. These
cannot be used in every school.
• The songs and movements devised by
Froebel may not fit in all situations.
• Too much importance is given handling
shapes and for forms of objects and
mathematical knowledge of pupils.
• Learning is not serious

18. Cont.,
• There are no definite rules to provide the gifts
and games; each one follows his own
procedure.
• Games and gifts may not always impress the
children. Instead, they will not concentrate on
what they have to learn.
• The kindergarten of Forebel does not provide
for the study of the individual attention of the
child.