Objectives This study was conducted to explore the significance of achieving harmony between sensation and reason in elementary Practical Arts education. In particular, Friedrich Schiller's “Letters on the Aesthetic Education of Man” were employed as a theoretical framework to examine the educational meaning of sensory experience, focusing on the concepts of the sensuous drive, the formal drive, and the play drive. Methods A literature-based methodology was adopted. Schiller's original writings and a wide range of Korean and international scholarly studies were reviewed. Through a theoretical analysis centered on the three fundamental drives, the educational value of sensory experience in Practical Arts was investigated. Results It was revealed that sensation should not be suppressed or treated merely as a tool for acquiring functional skills in Practical Arts. Rather, it must be placed at the center of learning and integrated with reason to cultivate children's moral development and holistic growth. Sensation was shown to be closely linked to emotion, empathy, and ethical sensibility, and Practical Arts was identified as one of the few subjects that offers rich opportunities for such embodied experiences. Conclusions The study suggested the need for instructional designs centered on sensory experience and for pedagogical strategies that integrate sensation and reason. Furthermore, it proposed a practical direction for expanding Practical Arts education beyond technical instruction toward aesthetic and moral cultivation. Sensory education was argued to be a core component of Practical Arts and should be reestablished as such to reinforce the educational legitimacy and unique identity of the subject.
Jiyeon Choi (Thu,) studied this question.