Friedrich Froebelian Approach

Friedrich Froebel
Friedrich Froebel was born in Oberwiessbach, Thuringia, Germany on the 21th of April 1782. During his lifetime he was at the forefront of a new idea which changed people’s views on children. He died on the 21th of June 1852 in Marienthal which is near Thuringia aged 70. He was one of the most influential educational reformers of the 19th century. (Brosterman ,1997)
Froebel’s system allowed children to compare, test and explore. His philosophy also consisted of four basic components which were free self activity, Creativity, Social participation and Motor expression. His approach became known internationally over the years and is a well established part of the school system in America as well as many other parts of the world

Froebel believed that parents provide the first as well as the most consistent educational influence in a child’s life. Since a child’s first educational experiences occur within the family unit, the child is already familiar with the home environment as well as the occupations carried out within this setting. Froebel believed that providing a family setting within the school environment would provide children with opportunities for interacting socially within familiar territory in a non threatening manner. (Brosterman ,1997)
A Froebelian approach is not a method. There is no set formula or recipe to follow or prescribed curriculum to adhere, nor is there a series of ideas and activities which practitioners can dip in and out of. It is a whole way of thinking about children and childhood based on a set of values and principles. A Froebelian approach may overlap with other approaches but it also has some features which are distinctive. (C.G.Mooney,2000)

She was the first woman in Italy to receive a medical degree. She worked in the fields of psychiatry, education and anthropology. She believed that each child is born with a unique potential to be revealed, rather than as a “Blank Slate” waiting to be written on.(Montessori Biography ,North American Montessori Teachers Association).
Maria Montessori is the founder of the Montessori Method of education. She started her first class “Casa dei Bambini” or Children’s House in 1907. She equipped the room with child sized tables, chairs, armchairs and materials similar to those she used in her previous work with mentally ill children. The children are in control of this environment which empowers them. She was given an assistant who had no teaching experience, which she appreciated as she tried her new methods for which a background in education would have hindered. She did not give her assistant limitations but only showed her how to present the materials. .(Montessori Biography ,North American Montessori Teachers