On Makiguchi Tsunesaburo's Educational Ideals

This thesis is based on the work of the Japanese educationalist, Makiguchi Tsunesaburo.Makiguchi was born in 1871. He devoted his entire life to helping children achieve a sense of happiness and contentment.From 30 years of working, putting into practice his ideas on education, he established a kind of philosophy and approach that was based on the principles of educational guidance in order to help children.The purpose of this type of education was to ensure children were relaxed and happy and in this way they would feel more encouraged to create "values".The reason that I chose research the work of this educationalist is that I strongly feel that many educationalists these days fail to see what the essence of education really is. I think we need to reexamine the real purpose of education.The objective of Makiguchi's educational method was to provide children with the key to open the gate of knowledge, become a person capable of creating their own set of values and in this way, become a person who could contribute to society. This thesis is roughly divided into four parts:1 The life of Makiguchi2 The results of my research into his first work: "Geography and its relation to the life of it's inhabitants"3 My research into his second work: "The make up and composition of "creative values education"4 A conclusion which hints at how his ideas on education can be applied in the present day. From this educationalist, we can learn the importance of our relationship with nature, the importance of "creative values" education.