Herbart, Johann Friedrich, << HEHR bahrt, YOH hahn FREE drihkh >> (1776-1841), was a German philosopher and educator who greatly influenced educational theory of the late 1800’s. He believed that education is closely related to ethics (the study of standards of right and wrong) and to psychology. Ethics provides the overall goal of education–to build strong moral character. Psychology furnishes the means of achieving this goal.
Herbart stressed the importance of developing and maintaining students’ interest in learning. He called for four steps in teaching. First, the teacher presents information to students. Second, the instructor helps students analyze the new material and compare or contrast it with ideas they have already learned. Third, the teacher and the class use the new information to develop a general rule or principle. Fourth, the teacher helps students apply the new information in other situations or use the rule to solve other problems. Many educators in Europe and North America adopted Herbart’s four steps, which his followers later expanded into five.
Herbart was born on May 4, 1776, in Oldenburg, in what is now northern Germany. He studied philosophy at the University of Jena. In 1797, Herbart went to Switzerland. There he met the Swiss educator Johann H. Pestalozzi, who inspired many of his theories. Herbart taught education and philosophy at the University of Göttingen from 1802 to 1809 and at the University of Königsberg from 1809 to 1833. He then returned to Göttingen, where he taught until his death on Aug. 14, 1841.
