Marian Falski and his primer

Abstract

The article presents the biography of Marian Falski (1881–1974), a prominent Polish pedagogue and educational activist who was involved in the organization of schools and was a pioneer in the field of statistical educational research. Hismost famous work was Elementarz, which is considered the most popular and best-known Polish school textbook. The book was based on the so-called the whole word and analytical method and referred to the psychological laws of perception resulting from the theory of Gestalt psychology. The first edition of this book was published in 1910, and subsequent versions were used until the end of the 20th century. Several generations of Poles learned to read and write with this book.