TTE 261
Foundations of Technical
Education
Lesson Four
LEADERS IN INDUSTRIAL
EDUCATION
Leaders Who Impacted Technical Education
Many educational leaders had a profound influence on technical education, as we know it today.
This section provides a brief summary of some of the individuals who made contributions to
education related to work.
European Influences:
Francois Rabelais(1490-1553):
Rabelais was a French monk who made his contribution in the 1520’s. He was a writer and a
medical doctor who criticized education in his time. His primary philosophy was to emphasize
the practical aspects of education.
John Amos Comenius(1592-1670):
Comenius was a Czechoslovakian, influential in the 1600s. He wrote a book entitled Orbis
Pictus--first picture book! Comenius is referred to as the "father of modern pedagogy." He
advocated the "method of the arts" which was a rationale for teaching practical subjects. This
method stressed that we should proceed from simple to complex and learn through
"acquaintance" with actual objects.
Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746-1827):
Swiss educational reformer Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi is considered to be a key figure in the
field of technical education. He is, in fact, considered by many to be the "Father of Manual
Training." His reforms have indeed contributed significantly to our discipline as we know it
today. Pestaolozzi was influenced by the writings of Rousseau, and like Rousseau, believed
that education should find its basis in nature and more specifically agriculture.
Unlike Rousseau, however, Pestalozzi’s theories of education went beyond mere philosophy.
In 1774 he opened his first school. Heavily motivated by philanthropic ideals, Pestalozzi’s
school focused on the education of poor children as a means of permanently improving their
social conditions. His students were taught agriculture, manual skills, as well as traditional
subjects of reading writing and arithmetic. Pestalozzi relied heavily upon the use of objects and
manual labor as a means of teaching academic subjects. In so doing, manual training was
woven into the curriculum as part of the general education. He believed that the study of
abstract ideas must begin with the concrete. Speaking of instruction methods, Pestalozzi said,
"There are two ways of instruction, either we go from words to things or from things to
words. Mine is the second method." (Bennett 119)
Francis Joseph Neef (1770-1854):
Neef was a former assistant of Pestalozzi and played an important role in the development of
the first
community and
Neef, as principle of the higher school (5-12 year olds), established with the help of his
children the first true
models from which children could learn more abstract concepts. The mechanical or manual
arts were included as part of the overall
curriculum. Unfortunately
utopian communities of the 19th century, fell apart after a few years because of internal
disagreements among the leadership.
Philip Von Fellenberg (1771-1844):
Philip Von Fellenberg was another key Swiss reformer in the technical education movement.
Fellenberg applied some of the principles of Pestalozzi with more structure and discipline.
Being from a noble background Fellenberg felt strongly that people were assigned to their
station in life by God and that no attempt should be made to alter this natural order. However,
he believed that education was essential to all so that the world may be rid of poverty,
ignorance, disease, and vice.
As a good friend of Pestalozzi, Fellenberg made several attempts to undertake joint
educational ventures but their differences in personality always prevented success. During his
time Fellenberg developed many schools. Each was class oriented, yet each stressed the
importance of manual activities.
For those of the upper class Fellenberg developed the Academy. Along with a study of
multiple languages, history, mathematics, geography, philosophy, chemistry, music, drawing,
gymnastics, and natural science; Fellenberg’s curriculum also included manual labor.
For the poor Fellenberg developed the Farm and Trade School, a direct ancestor to our
agricultural and technical schools of today. Here the students were taught geography, history,
natural science, geometry and religious instruction as well as the agricultural and mechanical
arts. Every attempt was made to connect the school studies and the manual studies.
The children of the middle class could attend Fellenberg’s School for Applied Science. In this
school the study of agriculture was given great prominence in an attempt to improve the
current agricultural methods and machinery.
Fellenberg also established a teaching college or normal school were instructors could be
trained in the methodology used by Fellenberg.
Fellenberg established during his lifetime many important schools that laid the groundwork for
technical education today.
Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852):
German born Friedrich Froebel was a student and co-worker of Pestalozzi. While we owe
much to the pioneering work of Pestalozzi, Froebel was able to build upon this work. From
Pestalozzi’s ideas of training by observation and sense perception Froebel developed the idea
that children are inherently creative and express themselves best through action. Therefore he
felt that handwork lay at the center of all learning.
Froebel converted his theories into practice with the development of the first "Kindergarten" in
1837. In this school the predominate idea was, "As activity precedes thinking, education must
begin with doing; and that from this impulse to activity all education must evolve." (Bennett
166)
In his school students were given a variety of blocks, balls, and other geometric shapes, clay,
& paper. From these students could discover, arrange, invent and control.
While Froebel worked mainly at the kindergarten level his idea of, "self-activity and the
creative tendency of the human mind, " (Samuel Vaughn 24) would have a profound impact
on the way future educators would look at how children learn.
Uno Cygnaeus (1810-1888):
Uno Cygnaeus was a Finnish preacher and teacher who was given the responsibility of
developing the primary or folk school system
for
control. While serving as a chaplain in what is
now
ideas concerning education from observations he made of the differences between the civilized
and uncivilized people of the region. Through studying the writings of both Pestolozzi and
Froebel, Cygnaeus formalized his own ideas into a uniform system.
After studying schools across
school system in
started a normal school for teacher preparation in 1863. In this schoolteachers were prepared
to teach a curriculum that included a Pestalozzian view of manual labor or handcrafts.
Handcrafts or sloyd as they were known in
curriculum to develop general hand -eye coordination and sense of form rather than the
development of a special skill or trade. To emphasize that handwork was part of the general
curriculum Cygnaeus insisted that the handcrafts be taught by the regular teacher and not a
special craftsman. In so doing Cygnaeus drew a sharp distinction between handcraft or
manual arts as part of the general curriculum and handcraft as part of a technical or specialized
education.
In1866 with the implementation of his system of universal education for
all citizens,
became the first nation to have, "handwork an integral part of a national scheme of elementary
education."(Bennett 60)
Otto Solomon (1849-1907):
Otto Solomon was a Swedish educator responsible for an educational movement known as
Educational Sloyd. Through the influence of Cygnaeus, Solomon also came to believe that
sloyd or handicrafts should be taught as part of the general curriculum in the younger grades
and as such should attempt to give educational rather than vocational training.
Unlike Cygnaeus, however, Solomon developed a more structured system for educational
sloyd. There were three key elements to Solomon’s system, "(1) making useful objects; (2)
analysis of processes, and (3) educational method."(Bennett 64) It was Solomon’s focus on
analysis of processes and educational instruction of these processes that most distinguished
him from Cygnaeus. As a result teachers from around the world came to learn educational
sloyd from Solomon at a training school established in Naas. While this system was
developed in
Johann Herbart (1776-1841):
While Herbert is known primarily as great educational philosopher his contact with Pestalozzi
seems to have influenced his view of the manual arts. He believed that the manual arts could
serve as a means of instruction in other subjects. At other points Herbert seems to,
unfortunately, have much in common with many educators of today in that he views manual
training as a way of dealing with discipline problems rather than as a cohesive part of a general
education curriculum.
John D. Runkle (1870s):
While President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Runkle observed the Russian
System of Tool Instruction in 1876 at the Centenial Exposition in
Runkle to establish a similar program at MIT to teach shopwork.
The
Arts was established at MIT for those students who desired to enter industry rather than
become scientific engineers.
Calvin M.Woodward (1870s):
As Dean of Engineering at
the principles they studied. After realizing that his students had little aptitude in tool use he
hired a carpenter in 1878 to instruct the students. Woodward stressed that manual education
should be a part of the general education to teach principles that were common to all trades.
In 1879 the St. Louis Manual Training School started to, "put the whole boy in school." This
school combined skill, culture, and knowledge.
Victor Della Vos (1870s):
As director of the Moscow Imperial Technical School Della Vos determined that
apprenticeship was inadequate to meet the demand for skilled workers in the labor market.
Under Della Vos the institute had instruction shops in which instructors taught theory and
demonstrated the skills to the students. The school also contained construction shops in which
students constructed models, practiced new skills, and refined other skills. This system was
known as the Russian System of manual training.
John Dewey (1890s):
John Dewey was controversial educational philosopher from the University of Chicago.
Dewey believed that subject matter should be taught in a practical way so that the learner
could make connections between the knowledge being taught and his personal experiences.
As a result Dewey strongly advocated the idea of learning by doing. Dewey also helped to
advance the Arts and Crafts movement in America.
Robert Selvidge (1900s):
Robert Selvidge played a crucial role in the development of professional associations related
to technical education. In 1913 Selvidge founded the Mississippi Valley Conference as a way
of sharing different viewpoints on important questions related to Manual Arts. Today many
professional organizations exist to promote the development of the manual arts in all their
diverse forms.
Refer to Fig. 3.1 and 3.2 to better understand the evolution of education related to industry
and the leaders who contributed to our discipline
References
Bennett, Charles Alpheus, History of Manual and Industrial Education
up to 1870, Peoria: The Manual Arts Press, 1926.
Bennett, Charles Alpheus, History of Manual and Industrial Education
1870-1917, Peoria: Charles A. Bennett Co., 1937.
Roberts, Roy W., Vocational and Practical Arts Education: History
Development, and Principles, New York: Harper and Brothers, 1957.
Vaughn, S.J., Content and Methods of the Industrial Arts, New York:
The Century Co., 1924.
For Further Study
1. Select an educational leader who has made a significant contribution to the field of technical
education. You will develop a one or two page paper on the individual you choose.
2. What are the major differences between the Swedish Sloyd System of technical instruction and
the Russian System of technical instruction?
3. What are the major similarities between the Swedish Sloyd system of technical instruction and the Russian System of technical instruction?
4. In what ways are the Manual Training and Manual Arts Movement different?
5. In what ways are the Manual Training and Manual Arts Movement similar?
6. Briefly trace the evolution of Industrial Arts (now Technology Education), this can be done in
brief outline form.
7. Briefly trace the evolution of Vocational Education, this can be done in brief outline form.