Uno Cygnaeus
Encyclopedia
Uno Cygnaeus was a Finnish clergyman, educator, and chief inspector of the country's school
system. He is considered the father of the Finnish public school system. His accomplishments also include the initiation of high class teacher training, emphasizing the importance of women's education and most importantly introducing the use of crafts (veisto in Finnish, sloyd
/sløyd in Norwegian, slöjd in Swedish, and sløjd in Danish), as a mandatory subject in the school curriculum. He was born in Hämeenlinna
, October 12, 1810. His father died early in his childhood when he was at the age of 8. Uno studied natural sciences and theology at the University of Turku and continued in Helsinki when the university moved over to Helsinki
. In 1837 he was ordained as a priest and started serving in Viipuri till 1839. In Viipuri he served as assistant pastor and prison chaplain in addition to teaching at a private school. This experience and his study of the work of the educational philosophers Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi
and Friedrich Fröbel led to formulation of Cygnaeus’s own educational philosophy and ideas.
Then he was sent off to serve for five years in the far off Lutheran parish of New Archangel, Russian America now Sitka in Alaska
as a punishment for an extramarital affair. This place was a trading post, where Cygnaeus got a chance to observe the barter exchanges between the educated people and the native people. Upon his return, he spent twelve years as a superintendent of a Finnish parish school in St. Petersburg.
In 1855 the Russian senate was commissioned to advance the educational system in Finland after Tsar Alexander II ascended to the throne. The senate collected proposals from different sources. Uno Cygnaeus also sent a proposal which gained the senate’s support and Cygnaeus was appointed to develop a folk school system. He travelled via Sweden and Denmark to the German States and to Switzerland to collect information about different educational systems. He was most influenced by the kindergartens in Hamburg and the Swiss school system. Cygnaeus drew up a plan on the basis of notes, which he took during his journeys and the senate approved his plan in 1861.
Cygnaeus advocated separating schools from the supervision of the church and establishing a teacher training college. Cygnaeus’s plan formed the basis for the folk school regulation, which was laid down in 1866. The Sloyd
system became compulsory for boys in all rural schools (it still is all over the country-2007) and for all male teachers in teacher training institutions. Students learned about metals, about fabrication techniques, about selecting appropriate wood samples from the forests, about the care necessary for working with materials and finally the need for collaborative efforts to accomplish tasks. Sweden adopted these ideas a few years after Finland. A 'Sloyd Training School' was set up in Nääs, Sweden in the 1870s by Otto Salomon. Thousands of teachers from all over the world attended classes at Nääs. Some of the countries in which Sloyd was successfully introduced were the UK, the US, Japan, Brazil, Argentina, Cuba, the Scandinavian Countries. Currently, Sloyd is still part of the compulsory school curriculum in Finland, Sweden and Norway.
The influence of Cygnaeus also reached the United States (Bennet 1937) when Larsson, trained by Otto Salomon, moved to the U.S. and founded the ‘Boston Sloyd School’ in 1888. This institution is still regarded as an important step in American technological education (Phillips 1985). The views of the American educator John Dewey
were based on then current global trends, one of the most important one being the Sloyd
movement begun by Cygnaeus. D.W. Olson, the first American researcher writing about technology education, values Cygnaeus quite high.
Finnish general education still has educative handicraft [“käsityö“] as a school subject. It is divided into two separate subjects: textile work [“tekstiilityö“] and technical work [“tekninen työ“]. They are taught as compulsory subjects from the third grade of primary education. Students can choose either “tekninen työ“ or “tekstiilityö“.
From 1863 until 1869, Cygnaeus served, besides being a chief inspector of the country's school system, as the director of a Finnish seminary at Jyväskylä
. After that he returned to full-time job as chief inspector and 1870–87 he was also a member of the supreme board of education. Cygnaeus died 2.1.1888 in Helsinki.
His cousin, Fredrik Cygnaeus, was a Swedish-language
poet
.
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
system. He is considered the father of the Finnish public school system. His accomplishments also include the initiation of high class teacher training, emphasizing the importance of women's education and most importantly introducing the use of crafts (veisto in Finnish, sloyd
Sloyd
Sloyd , also known as Educational Sloyd, was a system of handicraft-based education started by Uno Cygnaeus in Finland in 1865...
/sløyd in Norwegian, slöjd in Swedish, and sløjd in Danish), as a mandatory subject in the school curriculum. He was born in Hämeenlinna
Hämeenlinna
Hämeenlinna is a city and municipality of about inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Häme in the south of Finland and is the birthplace of composer Jean Sibelius. Today, it belongs to the region of Tavastia Proper, and until 2010 it was the residence city for the Governor of the...
, October 12, 1810. His father died early in his childhood when he was at the age of 8. Uno studied natural sciences and theology at the University of Turku and continued in Helsinki when the university moved over to Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
. In 1837 he was ordained as a priest and started serving in Viipuri till 1839. In Viipuri he served as assistant pastor and prison chaplain in addition to teaching at a private school. This experience and his study of the work of the educational philosophers Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi
Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi
Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi was a Swiss pedagogue and educational reformer who exemplified Romanticism in his approach....
and Friedrich Fröbel led to formulation of Cygnaeus’s own educational philosophy and ideas.
Then he was sent off to serve for five years in the far off Lutheran parish of New Archangel, Russian America now Sitka in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
as a punishment for an extramarital affair. This place was a trading post, where Cygnaeus got a chance to observe the barter exchanges between the educated people and the native people. Upon his return, he spent twelve years as a superintendent of a Finnish parish school in St. Petersburg.
In 1855 the Russian senate was commissioned to advance the educational system in Finland after Tsar Alexander II ascended to the throne. The senate collected proposals from different sources. Uno Cygnaeus also sent a proposal which gained the senate’s support and Cygnaeus was appointed to develop a folk school system. He travelled via Sweden and Denmark to the German States and to Switzerland to collect information about different educational systems. He was most influenced by the kindergartens in Hamburg and the Swiss school system. Cygnaeus drew up a plan on the basis of notes, which he took during his journeys and the senate approved his plan in 1861.
Cygnaeus advocated separating schools from the supervision of the church and establishing a teacher training college. Cygnaeus’s plan formed the basis for the folk school regulation, which was laid down in 1866. The Sloyd
Sloyd
Sloyd , also known as Educational Sloyd, was a system of handicraft-based education started by Uno Cygnaeus in Finland in 1865...
system became compulsory for boys in all rural schools (it still is all over the country-2007) and for all male teachers in teacher training institutions. Students learned about metals, about fabrication techniques, about selecting appropriate wood samples from the forests, about the care necessary for working with materials and finally the need for collaborative efforts to accomplish tasks. Sweden adopted these ideas a few years after Finland. A 'Sloyd Training School' was set up in Nääs, Sweden in the 1870s by Otto Salomon. Thousands of teachers from all over the world attended classes at Nääs. Some of the countries in which Sloyd was successfully introduced were the UK, the US, Japan, Brazil, Argentina, Cuba, the Scandinavian Countries. Currently, Sloyd is still part of the compulsory school curriculum in Finland, Sweden and Norway.
The influence of Cygnaeus also reached the United States (Bennet 1937) when Larsson, trained by Otto Salomon, moved to the U.S. and founded the ‘Boston Sloyd School’ in 1888. This institution is still regarded as an important step in American technological education (Phillips 1985). The views of the American educator John Dewey
John Dewey
John Dewey was an American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. Dewey was an important early developer of the philosophy of pragmatism and one of the founders of functional psychology...
were based on then current global trends, one of the most important one being the Sloyd
Sloyd
Sloyd , also known as Educational Sloyd, was a system of handicraft-based education started by Uno Cygnaeus in Finland in 1865...
movement begun by Cygnaeus. D.W. Olson, the first American researcher writing about technology education, values Cygnaeus quite high.
Finnish general education still has educative handicraft [“käsityö“] as a school subject. It is divided into two separate subjects: textile work [“tekstiilityö“] and technical work [“tekninen työ“]. They are taught as compulsory subjects from the third grade of primary education. Students can choose either “tekninen työ“ or “tekstiilityö“.
From 1863 until 1869, Cygnaeus served, besides being a chief inspector of the country's school system, as the director of a Finnish seminary at Jyväskylä
Jyväskylä
Jyväskylä is the capital of Central Finland and the largest city on the Finnish Lakeland, north-east of Tampere and north of Helsinki, on northern coast of lake Päijänne. The city has been continuously one of the most rapidly growing cities in Finland since World War II. The city is surrounded...
. After that he returned to full-time job as chief inspector and 1870–87 he was also a member of the supreme board of education. Cygnaeus died 2.1.1888 in Helsinki.
His cousin, Fredrik Cygnaeus, was a Swedish-language
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
.