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Freidrich Froebel’s Biography

Childhood Theorist

By Shannon Oates JonesPublished 6 years ago 4 min read
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Froebel is known for his background in training new practitioners and how they connect to families.

Introduction

In this article, I will be giving light upon Friedrich Froebel and his historic background. I have books and articles to support my assignment. Using this evidence, I will show how different books and articles have information based on Freidrich Froebel.

History of Freidrich Froebel

According to Johnston and Williams (2004), Froebel was born on 21 April 1782 and died in 1852, born in his local town Oberweissbach, Germany. Also, they state that he was specifically self-educated until the point when he reached University within Jena, Gottingen, and Berlin. Furthermore, Johnston and Williams (2004) state that Froebel worked within four different sections such as Forestry, Surveying, Architecture, and now in Education.

Bruce (2012) suggested that he wasn’t a romantic, as many people believed that Froebel was a romantic due to his interaction with children and families. Bruce (2012) says,

“He believed that each unique and individual child is part of the whole, through family, community and eventually to the vastness of the universe”.

Froebel was described to have been a German educator who was a founder of the kindergarten, due to his passion for education (cited in Norman, 2009). In the Albisetti (2009), after the 200th year anniversary of Froebel’s birth, he still managed to have some interactions within the Catholic nations. According to Hoskins (2016), Froebel worked in Keilhau, Germany, between 1817 and 1831, and then in Lucerne, Switzerland, between 1831 and 1836. His full name is Friedrich Wilhelm August Froebel.

Froebel’s mother died when he was only very little (eight months old) and he had a very isolated and remote childhood. His father was a Lutheran pastor and was inhabited in his religious duties and expended them so he had little time to spend with Froebel. Freidrich could do little correct to gain attention from his father and step mother (cited in Tovey and Green 2012).

According to Swiniarski (2017), Froebel was born into beautiful surrounding of forests in his home town. Furthermore, he was a theoretician of German Idealism and an abolitionist for educational change. Friedrich was also known for his kindergarten movement. Lawrence (2012) stated that Froebel found people to help him in Germany with his idea to train teachers. He called them his disciples.

Between 1816 and the 1830s, Froebel launched the Universal German Educational Institute. Froebel had a text called The Education of Man which was published in 1826. In 1840, there was no current education for people under seven years of age. In 1851, all kindergartens were banned in Germany and this was issued by the Prussian state. Froebel had his book published which was based on rhymes and songs. His book was called Mother Play and Nursery Songs (cited in Conkbayir and Pascal, 2014).

His professional life, Friedrich Wilhelm August Froebel was born on April 21, 1782, in Thuringia. Froebel’s strict father, a Lutheran pastor, raised him from infancy after Froebel’s mother died. At the age of ten, Froebel was sent to live with an uncle. In his youth, Froebel enjoyed nature and studied botany and mathematics. His first professional position was as a teacher at a school in Frankfurt. He taught in private duty, serving as the in-house educator for the children of noble families, and at several different schools throughout Germany. Froebel served briefly in the Prussian army during the Napoleonic wars.

Also in his professional life, Froebel spent time in Switzerland and also founded an institution for education there in 1831. Upon his return to Germany in 1837, Froebel dedicated his work to the study of preschool education, and he published several magazines and papers on the topic. He founded the Child Nurture and Activity Institute for young children in Blankenburg; the school was designed to integrate play and activity into the educational arena. Shortly after, the Institute became known as kindergarten (child garden). Froebel developed all of the educational play tools in the kindergarten, including building blocks, pattern games, and other educational exercises. His innovations in the kindergarten environment are said to have influenced many fields, including architecture and art.

References

Albisetti, J. C. (2009). Froebel Crosses the Alps: Introducing the Kindergarten in Italy. History of Education Quarterly, 49(2), 159-169. doi:10.1111/j.1748-5959.2009.00193.

Bruce, T. (Ed.). (2012). Early childhood practice: Froebel today (p14). London, United Kingdom: Sage Publications

Conkbayir, M., & Pascal, C. (2014). Early Childhood Theories and Contemporary Issues. (pp 22). London: Bloomsbury.

https://www.goodtherapy.org/famous-psychologists/friedrich-froebel.html

Hoskins, K., & Smedley, S. (2016). Life history insights into the early childhood and education experiences of Froebel trainee teachers 1952–1967. History of Education, 45(2), 206-224. doi:10.1080/0046760X.2015.1069410

Jarvis, P., Swiniarski, L., & Holland, W. (2017). Early Years Pioneers in Context. Abingdon, United Kingdom: Routledge.

Johnston, J., & Williams, L.N. (c2004). Early Childhood Studies. Essex: Pearson Education Limited 2009.

Lawrence, E. (Ed.). (2012) Friedrich Froebel and English education (rle edu k). Froebel and English Education (pp180-182). Abingdon, United Kingdom: Routledge

Norman, A. (2016). Take a risk with Froebel. Early Years Educator 17(11), pp 34–36. doi/10.12968/eyed.2016.17.11.34

Tovey, H. (2012). Bringing the Froebel approach to your early years practice. Abingdon, United Kingdom: Routledge

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