Teacher training in pedagogical handicraft education in Iceland 1892–1939

• Main Authors: Þorsteinsson, Gísli, Ólafsson, Brynjar
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Icelandic
• Published: Icelandic Journal of Education 2015
• Subjects: Pedagogical handicraft education; sloyd; teacher education; handicraft; cottage craft; Uppeldismiðaðar handmenntir; slöjd; kennaramenntun; handverk; heimilisiðnaður; Borg; Hafnarfjordur; Iceland
• Online Access: https://ojs.hi.is/uppmennt/article/view/1979

The article reports the development of pedagogical handicraft (sloyd) in the training of teachers in Iceland, from 1892 to 1938. Teacher training in pedagogical handicraft started in 1892 in Flensborg public and high school in Hafnarfjordur, influenced by the sloyd movement in Scandinavia. Sloyd comprises school activities which use craftwork to produce useful and decorative objects. It is a pedagogical system of manual training which seeks to develop the child in general, through learning technical skills in woodworking or in sewing and knitting, and making useful objects by hand (Borg, 2006; Salomon, 1893). However, the meaning of sloyd in relation to education refers to the debate amongst philosophers of those times about the value of craft for general education (Borg, 2006). The purpose of sloyd was to use craftwork as a tool in general education to build the character of the child, as well as encouraging moral behaviour, greater intelligence, and industriousness (Jón Þórarinsson, 1891). The ideology of sloyd spread to different countries in the 20th century and became a basis of early handicraft education in many countries. Sloyd for boys and girls was introduced in the 1880s in the Nordic countries. Uno Cygnæus in Finland and Otto Salomon in Sweden were major leaders in the development of a systematic sloyd model for school education. They emphasized the usefulness of constructing objects through formal educational methodology. The model was disseminated by Salomon through thousands of teachers from all over the world who attended his classes. In many countries, sloyd had a noted impact on the early development of manual training, manual arts, industrial education and technical education. Sloyd was introduced in Iceland in 1890 and became a compulsory subject in elementary schools in 1936. The beginning of a pedagogical handicraft education in Iceland was based on models which arrived in Iceland with teachers who had studied in Scandinavia at teacher training institutions for sloyd. They became pioneers in ...