Elementi ta' pedagogija f'Dun Gorg Preca : hjiel mill-kitbiet tieghu

Abstract

Fr George Preca (1880-1962), a Maltese priest, can be considered one of the main contributors in the history of Education in Malta. He is not only the founder of the Society of Christian Doctrine, but he is also the author of several books which are related to the education of children. Many people, who have listened to him, wrote about the way he used to teach or communicate his message to people. Various aspects of the pedagogy drawn out both from these descriptions, and from his books, can still be considered relevant when compared with pedagogical and methodological theories developed during the late 19th century and throughout the 20th century. In this research, I will first give an overview of Preca's initiatives, with regards to the social condition of the island between the crucial years of the 19th and 20th centuries. I will then analyse three of Preca's books Taħdit għat-Tfal (Discourses for Children), Gwida għal min Igħallem it-Tfal (A Guide to Those Who Teach Children) u Il-Katekiżmu tal-Magħżulin (The Catechism of the Elect), and elicit from them elements of his pedagogy. I will proceed by presenting modern methods and concepts which developed in education in view of the human sciences. These are the Munich Method, the Experiential Method and the concept of Constructivism. I will conclude my study by analyzing the relevance of Preca's pedagogy in the light of the modern methods and concepts described.