Die Erziehungskunst nach Karl Heinrich Seibt. Zur Pädagogik der Aufklärung in Prag
The art of education according to Karl Heinrich Seibt. On the pedagogy of the Enlightenment in Prague

Summary/Abstract: This article reconstructs the art of education course that was delivered by Karl Heinrich Seibt (1735–1806) at the Charles-Ferdinand University in Prague from 1771 to 1799, starting even before Maria Theresa’s school reform. It was not, however, aimed at preparing teachers for public schools, but preparing preceptors for private education. Drawing on hitherto unknown manuscripts of students’ notes from his lectures, the article demonstrates how the course developed in two phases. The first went from 1771 to the trial of Seibt in 1779, where he was combating Montesquieu’s concept of education that saw the climate as the factor in determining the unchangeable character of a nation. The second phase, from 1784 to 1799, was influenced by German Reformpädagogik where Seibt styled himself as a man of compromise between a Rousseauian “Entwickler” (“developer”) and the traditionalist “Naturverbesserer” (“improvement of nature”). He was also more concerned with the practice of education and hygiene in this phase. Finally, the article suggests that Seibt saw the Catholic religion as the most important guarantee of proper moral education.

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