Name: Divine N.

Porol Date: March 6, 2021

Program and Section: BTLEd 3-B Subject: EDUC 323

CASE ANALYSIS ON PESTALOZZI METHOD

Throughout history, numerous people have added great contribution towards

education. But among those well-known names, Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, is one individual
who is perhaps the most dedicated towards with the idea that all students deserve equal
opportunity regardless of any perceived difference.

Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, often referred to as 'the Father of Modern Education', was
born in Zurich, Switzerland, and lived from 1746 until 1827. Pestalozzi was raised and was
able to witness the intense poverty at a young age, with such involvement, it created in him an
intense feeling of equity and an assurance to help the oppressed. With that, he decided to
enter the service, yet just like countless people who at last discover their specialty;
Pestalozzi's way to turning into an educational reformer was a bumpy one. He blundered as a
clergyman, a politician, and a farmer before combining his experiences and his passions to
focus on educational reform. His first attempt to educational reform would be the making of a
school for helpless laborer children known as Neuhof. This first endeavor at change focused
on the creation of products as methods for financial stability for children would receive an
education funded through their own work. Also, he believed that this education would permit
them to get away from the grip of poverty. Neuhof, however, failed financially, causing
Pestalozzi to reconsider much of his approach. As this school failed, Pestalozzi had the option
to consider his way of thinking. Through this reflection and a continued effort to reform
schooling for the poor, Pestalozzi in the end built up his approach with schooling now known
as the Pestalozzi method.

The Pestalozzi method is an approach centered on a child, not on the curriculum and

emphasizes the development of all aspects of a person, including the head, heart, and hands.
According to Pestalozzi, since knowledge already exists in every individual, the motivation
behind teaching is to discover the best approach to unfold the hidden knowledge. With that,
he advocated direct experience, spontaneity and self-activity, as opposed to teacher-centered
and curriculum-based methods used in other schools. Moreover, he upheld an inductive
method, wherein the children initially figures out how to observe, to address its own mistakes,
and to examine and describe the object of inquiry. Lastly for Pestalozzi, on the social level,
this method provides the means of general improvement within the society. For the more the
people in the society develop intellectually, emotionally, morally, and socially through
education, the more educated and regenerated the whole society becomes.

In relation to today’s educational system, Alternative Learning System (ALS) is one

that had been heavily influenced by Pestalozzi. According to DepEd, it is a parallel learning
system that provides a practical option when one does not have or cannot access formal
education in schools, ALS is an alternate or substitute. ALS includes both the non-formal and
informal sources of knowledge and skills. Moreover from the 1987 Philippine Constitution,
Article XIV, Section 2, Paragraph (1) declares that the State shall establish, maintain and
support a complete, adequate and integrated system of education relevant to the needs of the
people and society; and paragraph (4) concisely encourages non-formal, informal and
indigenous learning systems as well as self-learning, independent and out-of-school study
programs particularly those that respond to community needs.

All in all, both— Pestalozzi method and Alternative Learning System has the same
goals and aim which is to develop or enhance every child’s knowledge and skills and more
importantly eradicate poverty in our society through education.

References:

Department of Education (n.d). About Alternative Learning System. Retrieved from:

https://www.deped.gov.ph/k-to-12/inclusive-education/about-alternative-learning-system/

Mesquida, P., Pereira, F. I., & Bernz, M. E. (2017). The Pestalozzi Method: Mathematics as a
Way to the Truth. Creative Education, 8, 1088- 1098. Doi: 10.4236/ce.2017.8707

New World Encyclopedia (n.d). Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi. Retrived from:

https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Johann_Heinrich_Pestalozzi

Silber, K. (2021, February 13). Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi. Encyclopedia Britannica.

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Johann-Heinrich-Pestalozzi

The 1987 Constitution (1987). The Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines. Retrieved
from: https://www.jhpestalozzi.org