Pestalozzi and education as human formation for virtue: reflections on the Stanz Letter

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-795X.2025.e98381

Keywords:

Moral education, Human nature, Virtue

Abstract

This article seeks to develop a critical analysis of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi's Stanz Letter, in which he reflects on his educational experience working with poor children in the service of the Helvetic Republic (modern-day Switzerland) in the 18th century. Methodologically, the study adopts the perspective of Cultural History, emphasizing the analysis of culture and society. Through this letter, it is evident that Pestalozzi returned to his role as a schoolteacher, aiming to establish a pioneering model of public education for the working classes, shaped by the needs of the state and Enlightenment ideas about human nature, which he also embraced and promoted. The Stanz Letter reveals the development and application of Pestalozzi's educational philosophy in the institute he founded, drawing inspiration from the family dynamics prevalent during that period of modernity. Additionally, as Pestalozzi describes his practice of moral education, a pedagogy of virtues emerges – one understood as a project for the formation of individuals in goodness, justice, and truth, achieved by observing and respecting the natural development of the child. This approach, Pestalozzi believed, would ultimately contribute to the establishment of a public education system aligned with the societal needs of the time. In conclusion, Pestalozzi's experience at Stanz allowed him to refine his approach to moral education, centered on fostering individual autonomy through the cultivation of duty as a guiding principle for life in society, alongside the exercise of reason.

Author Biographies

Simone Valdete dos Santos, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul

Full Professor at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), holds a degree in History from the University of Vale do Rio dos Sinos (1994), a master's degree in Education from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (1998), a PhD in Education from the University Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (2003) and a PhD in Education in the sandwich modality from the Universidade Federal Fluminense (2000). Participating Member of the Postgraduate Committee in Education at UFRGS (term 2021-2023). She carries out research on the following topics: youth and adult education, professional education, rural education, teacher training, professional education integrated with EJA, environmental education and history of education. She was Director of Professional and Technological Education Policies at the Secretariat of Professional and Technological Education of the Ministry of Education from 2011 to 2012. She served as Director of the Faculty of Education at UFRGS from 2012 to 2016. She developed a research internship at postgraduate studies level PhD at the Center Interdisciplinaire de recherche normand en éducation et en formation (CINERF) at the Université de Rouen / France from April to July 2018, under the guidance of Professor Stéphanie Gasse.

Vinícius Lima Lousada, Rio Grande do Sul Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology

Instituto Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, IFRS, campus Alvorada, RS, Brasil.

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Published

2025-01-07

How to Cite

Valdete dos Santos, S., & Lima Lousada, V. (2025). Pestalozzi and education as human formation for virtue: reflections on the Stanz Letter. Perspectiva, 43(4), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-795X.2025.e98381

Issue

Vol. 43 No. 4 (2025): Digital Technologies and Education Dossier: Between Disruption and Challenges

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Articles in continuous demand

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Copyright (c) 2025 Simone Valdete dos Santos, Vinícius Lima Lousada

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