The Significance of Comenius’ (Komensky’s) Work for Recent System of Infant Education

The first part of this study, written by D. Čapková, deals with an analyse of Comenius’ ideas. The author points to native and European, social and educational sources of the educational system of Comenius which the education of young children in the first six years of their age is an important part of. The function of educational thoughts of Comenius is considered in all relations of that time and in the context of the whole of Comenius’ work, i. e., in the development of his ideas till the conception expressed in his General Consultation on the Reform of Human Affairs (De rerum humanarum emendatione consultatio catholica). Comenius drew attention to the problems of the universal education for all men (therefore also for infants). The conception of it was based on his ideas about man's position and relations in the universe, on his ideas about the development of man. Such an understanding of the meaning of human life also determined his definition of the aims of education and his definition of individual components of the content of education of all youth and already of Infants. The conception of six components of the content of infant education is characterized especially as maturing in the whole of the pansophic and panorthotic work of Comenius. The principal questions, namely those of the methodology, are stressed in order to point in which way Comenius was successful in presenting a conception of universal many-sided education of infants. Comenius’ idea was to develop all physical and psychical abilities of every child, to harmonize physical and mental health of children. In the second part of the study V. Mišurcova explains how some questions dealt with by Comenius are solved on another level today. She cites recent tasks of infant education, the tasks of building a system of communist education. Further there is explained how to solve the problems of the aims, content and methods of infant education in the changed conditions of complicated social development of today. In the conclusion of the study some useful suggestions from the work of Comenius are stressed, e. g. to deepen philosophic foundations of theoretic principles of our system of infant education; to define more precisely the problematics of general aims of education and of infant education in special; to consider the system of the components of education; to harmonize instructional and educational work with the development of infants; to consider relations of all factors of education, especially educators and children.