A Child's Work: Freedom and Guidance in Froebel's Educational Theory and Practise - Softcover

Liebschner, Joachim

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0718830148 ISBN 13: 9780718830144

Publisher: Lutterworth Press, 2001

Synopsis

This book considers Friedrich Froebel's work and ideas in the light of the continuing debate over methods of primary education, raising the old conflict between child-centred and traditional education; concern about the role of teacher in the classroom; and the renewed challenge of 'play' as a tool of education. 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. The events of Froebel's life are carefully documented in "A Child's Work", together with their influence on his ideas and their spread. The author shows how the early death of Froebel's mother and a home lacking in love were to provide the impetus behind one of Froebel's overriding aims: the fostering of family life. The shaping of his educational thought and philosophy through contact with the ideas of other educators, especially his 'spiritual father' Pestalozzi, and philosophers such as Kant, Hegel and Krause, is examined. Froebel's continuous reassessment of the function of play in a child's life came to fruition in the concept of the Kindergarten and the creations with which he peopled it. Illustrations from original sources complement the thorough explanations of these educational innovations in the book. From the soft ball on a spring, the simplest of the Gifts, to the unravelling of more complex ideas in the "Mother Songs", Froebel incorporated the various facets that he saw as important in play: the notion of the symbolic and the surmise, the tension between the known and the unknown, the development of physical dexterity and care for the environment. As we continue to shift towards an emphasis on a more formal, more restrictive and less creative mode of education, it is an appropriate time to re-examine Froebel's contribution to educational thinking, which was revolutionised by his ideas. His respect for a child as an independent, searching and creative person learning through his own actions, and for the teacher as facilitator and guide, led to monumental changes. Froebel's legacy challenges us to examine the assumptions underlying current trends in education, and our attitude towards educating young children.

About this title

Review:

A modern look back at the life of one of history's most influential educational theorists, Friedrich Froebel -- inventor of kindergarten. Author Joachim Liebschner is a former librarian/archivist of the Froebel archive at Roehampton College in Surrey, London, England. Liebschner discovered new sources during his own travels to Froebel's home land (in what was then still communist East Germany). This book provides new insights into Froebel's motivations and his efforts to establish early childhood education for the world. This biography also features modern translations of Froebel's original German text. A well-written and valuable resource for those studying the origins of preschool education. Scott W. Bultman

About the Author:

Joachim Liebschner has been working in the field of education for over 40 years, and has taught in primary schools and universities. He has been an external examiner for the theory and practice of education for London University and Froebel College, University of Dublin. He has lectured on Froebel in the USA, Ireland and Malta, has been involved in the National Froebel Foundation of which he is a Trustee. Other titles by Joachim Liebschner published by the Lutterworth Press: Foundations of Progressive Education: The History of the National Froebel Society

About this edition

• Publisher: Lutterworth Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0718830148
• ISBN 13: 9780718830144
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 176