Jean-Jacques Rousseau
1712–1778 · Geneva and FrancePhilosopher whose novel-treatise Emile set out an education that follows the child's natural development.Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy · Jean Jacques Rousseau ↗
Core ideas
- Child-centred "negative education": education should work in harmony with the development of the child's natural capacities.Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy · Jean Jacques Rousseau ↗
- Children should learn from experience and discovery more than from books and lectures.Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy · Jean Jacques Rousseau ↗
What modern research supports
- Discovery learning works when it comes with support such as feedback and examples.Alfieri et al., 2011
What is outdated or needs correcting
- Leaving children to discover things entirely alone teaches less than explicit teaching.Alfieri et al., 2011
- Book V of Emile says a woman "is made to please and to be in subjection to man" - a view of girls' education modern readers reject.Project Gutenberg · Emile (Foxley translation), Book V ↗