It is based on three pillars namely—reason, religion, and lovingkindness which is opposed to school punishment, or what Don Bosco refers to as the repressive system of education.
Don Bosco wrote only one essay explaining his pedagogical method, The Preventive System in the Education of the Young (1877).
The beginnings of the Salesian Preventive System can be traced to the life and apostolate of Saint John Bosco (1815–1888).
During the second half of the 19th century, Don Bosco began work among poor youth in Turin, especially the homeless and orphans.
This is the consequential onset of bad habits, the process including sanitation therapies, empowerment of energies, and the possibility of alternative work opportunities.