HERBART

Herbart was born in 1776 at Oldenburg in Germany. His parents were educated. Hence, early education of Herbart was accomplished by his mother. This so much inspired child Herbart that he began to write about spiritual subjects from his early childhood. For higher education, he joined the Jena University where he was powerfully influenced by the ideology of neohumanism which pervaded the whole Idealistic atmosphere of the University.
Here, Herbart imbibed firm belief that it was only through education that spiritual values could be inculcated in the human beings. He completed his university education up to 1799 after which for three years he engaged himself as a tutor to the children of the Governor of Switzerland.
During this period, he gained valuable experience about individual difference, mental development together with principles of educational psychology. Later on, these experiences formed the basis of his educational theory.
Upto 1802, Herbart remained engaged, delivering lectures at Gottiangen University on philosophy and educational theory. In 1809 he became a Professor at Kunishburg University. Here, up to 1835 Herbart tried to modify and mould his education and psychological principles for the purpose of translating them into practice. While working in Kunisburg University, he wrote two famous books namely— (1) Science of Pedagogy and (2) Outlines of Pedagogical Theory. He also opened a school where he conducted various experiments on education and trained some teachers in the art of teaching. He died in 1841.
Herbart's Theory of Ideas
Man has certain mental sensations if he confronts certain objects. He becomes conscious of them and acts in the most appropriate way towards them. To Herbart these simple elements of consciousness are ideas. When man resists in face of destructive forces, ideas take root in his mind. These ideas do not disappear easily. They struggle to be uppermost in the consciousness.
Herbart classifies ideas in three divisions, viz., similar, disparate and contrary. If a new idea happens to be similar to the ideas already in the uppermost consciousness that idea loses its independent entity and fuses with the old ones making up a homogeneous whole. When more than one idea group together in this way they become more magnetic to attract similar ideas.On the contrary, if the new idea is dissimilar or disparate to an already existing idea in the mind it also combines but does not make a homogeneous whole. Two similar ideas mix together, but two dissimilar ideas combine together in a distinguishable manner.
Sounds coming from various instruments of an orchestra fuse together and appear to be one because they are similar notes. Similarity of the notes presents a homogenous whole and it becomes almost impossible to distinguish the notes coming from different instruments.The colour of the floor, the musician and the sound of the musical instrument are three dissimilar ideas. Yet they form a complex whole and they are an object of perception to us as a whole, though the idea of each of them will ever remain separate.
According to Herbart each new idea is accepted, modified or rejected in the above manner according to its being similar, dissimilar or contrary. Thus the fate of every new idea depends upon the harmony or conflict with the previously existing idea. This mental phenomenon goes on whenever something is presented to our consciousness. The accepting, rejecting or modifying of ideas in our minds is called apperception.
The theory of apperception and education. Herbart tries to convince us that apperception occupies a very important place in education. He clearly shows the place of old knowledge in the process of acquiring the new. Stout agrees with Herbart when he says. "The main principle which psychology lends to the theory of education as its starting point is the need that all communication of new knowledge should be a development of previous knowledge."
Carlyle says, "The eye sees only what it brings the power to see," and Browning, "his she taught already that profit by teaching." According to Herbart everyone has his own world even in the same environment. First of all, we estimate the degree of apperception in the minds of the pupils and then try to adjust the instruction accordingly. Instruction is the means by which the ends of education are attained. Instruction will be most successful if it is manipulated to harmonize with the already existing ideas in the minds of the pupils.
Herbart attributed the failure of education of his time to the lack of a sound psychology. His predecessors wrongly attached too much importance to mental faculties missing the significance of ideas already existing in the mind.
They tried to produce many virtues in the pupils by disciplinary methods without thinking that the pupil does not grasp a thing if it is not related to what he has already learnt. Thus Herbart proved to us that if something is to be taught to the child it must be connected with the previous knowledge possessed by the child, otherwise all our efforts will fall like drops of water on stone.
Absorption and Assimilation. From the above explanation it is clear that the teacher should arrange his material in a systematic order. He must be very methodical in his procedure. He must know the order in which he should present ideas before the children one by one.
While learning anything new the child mind reacts in two ways. First of all it attempts to acquire new ideas and then it tries to seek the relation between his newly acquired ideas and the ideas he already possesses.
Herbart calls the first process as absorption and the next as assimilation. The teacher should see that he is able to establish a harmonious relation between the absorptive and assimilative processes of the child mind otherwise his efforts will bear no fruit.Formal Steps of Herbart. Herbart divides absorptions into clearness and association, and assimilation into system and method. The above four sub-divisions, are known as the formal steps of Herbart. By 'clearness' is meant a clear presentation of ideas to the pupils consciousness unless the ideas are clearly presented the child cannot assimilate them.
The process which unites the new idea with the already existing ideas is known as association which apparently involves both absorption and assimilation. As a matter of fact the Appreciative process begins with association. As orderly arrangement in the mind of what has been associated may be termed as 'system'. This process is not active.
Herein comes assimilation or reflection. The mind is deeply engrossed with notices which are beyond the particular ideas just received or previously existing. In the method process the mind attempts to form an organic whole as a result of the above three processes. Language may play a very active part here in giving expression to the harmonised wholes formed in the mind.
It is from the above four steps of Herbart that the five formal steps of instruction have been devised. They are 'preparation', 'presentation', "comparison and abstraction", 'generalisation' and 'application'. Herbart is not dogmatic about his formal steps. He only prescribes them only as an aid to instruction. He does not regard them as indispensable. He gives full discretion to the teacher in applying his own systematic method.