General pedagogy: General pedagogy is an important work of Herbart, a famous German philosopher and educator (J.F. Herbart 1776- 184 1). His political stance is conservative, representing the interests of the big bourgeoisie and holding a certain hostile attitude towards the people, but his educational theory has incisive views in many aspects.
Herbart was the first bourgeois educator who tried to establish pedagogy as a science in modern times. He clearly pointed out that pedagogy is a science, which should be based on philosophy, ethics and psychology, not just on past experience and habits. He demanded that philosophy should be the guiding direction of the whole pedagogy; Use ethics to determine the purpose of education; Establish an educational methodology based on psychology. The publication of 1806 General Pedagogy marks that pedagogy has become an independent discipline.
The main educational viewpoint of German educator Herbart is that the highest purpose of education is the perfection of morality and character. Pedagogy should establish educational teleology according to ethics and educational methodology according to psychology. Education should cultivate students' interests and develop their potentials. Teaching can be divided into four steps: clarity, association, system and method. This is the so-called "four-stage teaching method", and his students later developed it into a five-stage teaching method, emphasizing the authoritative role of teachers. Herbart's educational theory has had a great influence on the educational practice and thought after 19 century, and is regarded as the representative of traditional educational theory.