Friedrich Froebel was a German educator who established the concept of kindergarten in the early 19th century and laid the foundations of modern education. He believed that children have unique needs and capabilities and should be nurtured through play, creativity, social interaction, and motor skills development. In 1840, he created the term "kindergarten" for his Play and Activity Institute that emphasized games, songs, stories, arts and crafts to stimulate children's imagination. Froebel developed educational materials and activities based on the principle that play allows children to learn and develop intellectually, socially, emotionally and physically in a way that represents the divine inner law. His philosophy focused on meeting children's needs prior to formal

1. Subject: Foundation of English
Summited to:Lecturer: SoeungSopha
Summited by: MeasChanleakhena
Academic Year: 2012-2013
WESTERN UNIVERSITY
Department of English
The Pioneer of Education

2. The Pioneer of Education
Friedrich Froebel was born in Oberweissbach; a village in Thuringia, Germany on April 21st,
1782.,who laid the foundations for modern education systems based on the recognition that children have
unique needs and capabilities.
Friedrich was the youngest of six children. His father was a pastor and his mother died nine
months after his birth, leaving him to his own devices. Friedrich grew up with a love of nature and a
strong Christian faith, central to his thinking as an educationalist.
Frobel‟s philosophy of education was based on four major principles: free self- expression,
creativity, social participation and motor expression. He began to focus on the needs of children just prior
to entering school. Froebel envisioned a place where 4 to 6 year old children would be nurtured and
protected from outside influences.
Before implementing these in the kindergarten, he originally devised these concepts for the child
in the family. However, these became linked with a demand for the provision of care and development of
children outside of the home.
In 1840 Frobel created the word kindergarten (infant garden) for the Play and Activity Institute he
had founded in 1837 with its emphasis on play as well as featuring games, songs, stories, and arts and
crafts to stimulate the child‟s imagination and develop physical and motor skills.
He considered the purpose of education to be to encourage and guide man as a conscious, thinking and
perceiving being in a way that becomes a pure and perfect representation of the divine inner law through
his own personal choice. Education must show him the meaningsof attaining that goal.
Name: MeasChanleakhena
Room: W101
Shift: Afternoon
Subject: Foundation of Education

3. Frobel believed that humans are productive and creative and fulfillment comes through developing
harmony with God and the world. The emphasis of the early years setting was on practical work and the
direct use of materials. Through exploring the environment, the child‟s understanding of the world
unfolds. Frobel believed in the importance of play in a child‟s learningas a creative activity.
To Froebel, play provided the means for a child‟s intellectual, social, emotional and physical
development. Froebel believed that the education of a child began at birth, and that parents and teachers
played a crucial role in helping children in this activity. “Play is a mirror of life”,he wrote, leading to self-
discipline and respect for law and order. He developed a series of materials known as „gifts‟ and a series
of recommended activities „occupations‟ and movement activities. Gifts were objects that were fixed in
form such as blocks. The purpose was that in playing with the object the child would learn the underlying
concept represented by the object.
In conclusion, he is a favor people which has appeared opus that make next generation following
him. As i am a student in education function we are proud what he keeps his experiences for us.
We will get patient keep his opus and try to research for education function strengthen in future.