Early Childhood Education Theories in History PDF

# Early Childhood Education Theories in History Prepared by Dr. Carla Piper Who Am I in the Lives of Children? Feeney, Christensen, Moravcik (2001) ## Education/ School - Institution created by society - to assure survival, stability and convenience. - "School introduces and trains each child...

# Early Childhood Education Theories in History Prepared by Dr. Carla Piper Who Am I in the Lives of Children? Feeney, Christensen, Moravcik (2001) ## Education/ School - Institution created by society - to assure survival, stability and convenience. - "School introduces and trains each child of society with the spirit of service and effective self-direction" (Dewey). - "Have the deepest and best guaranty of a larger society which is worthy, harmonious and lovely" (Dewey). ## Brinkerhoff, 1989 - Socialization Process - process of learning the roles, statuses and values necessary for participation in social institutions. - Anticipatory Socialization - role learning that prepares us for future roles. ## School - Important agent of socialization. - Tasked to impart specific knowledge and skills necessary for functioning in society. - Tasked to transmit society's cultural values. ## Education in Primitive Time ### Aims: Life Skills: 1. Security and survival (tool & instrument making). 2. Conformity (adherence to moral code of the group). 3. Preservation and transmission of traditions (language). ### Function of education to society: #### Socialization - Process by which individuals internalize the norms and values of society and so social and cultural continuity are attained. This is informal education in action. ## Ancient Greece and Rome - Believed that free human beings should strive for excellence in: - Body - Mind - Spirit - Olympic Games for amateur competition - Rejoiced in the Fine Arts - Plato - philosopher wrote _The Republic_ - Established nursery schools - Games, music, stories, drama to illustrate values needed by all good citizens ### Educational Theories in Ancient Greek and Rome | Historical Group | Educational Goals | Curriculum | Agents | Influences on Western Education | | ----------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Greek 1600 B.C.- 300 B.C. | To cultivate civic responsibility and identify with the city state; Athenian: to develop a well-rounded person; Spartan: to develop soldiers and military leaders. | Athenian: Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, drama, PE, literature. Spartan: drill, military songs and tactics | Athens: private teachers and schools; Sophists; philosophers. Sparta: military teachers, drill sergeants | Athens: the concept of a well-rounded, liberally educated person. Sparta: the concept of the military state. | | ROMAN 750 B.C.-A.D. 450 | To develop a sense of civic responsibility for republic and empire; to develop military and administrative and military skills. | Reading, writing, arithmetic, law, arithmetic | Private schools and teachers, schools of rhetoric. | Emphasis on ability to use education for practical administrative skills; relating education to civic responsibility. | | Arabic | To cultivate religious commitment to Islamic Beliefs; develop expertise in math, science and medicine | Reading, writing, mathematics, religious literature, scientific studies | Morsque; court; schools | Arabic numerals and momputation, re-entry of classical materias on science and medicine. | | Medieval | To develop religious commitment, knowledge, and ritual; to re-establish social order, to prepare persons for appropriate roles | Reading, writing, arithmetic, liberal arts, philosophy, theology, crafts and chivalry. | Parish, cathedrals, universities, knighthood | Establishing the structure, content, organization of the university as a major institution. | ## Aristotle - Plato’s pupil (384-322 B.C.) - More interested in the world visible to the senses - Logical organization of thought - Defined human beings as "rational animals." - Valued education of young children: - Excellence must be habitual - Good habits must be established early in life - Believed in the potential excellence of human beings - mind and body - Valued children’s play ## The Renaissance - Sir Thomas More (England) and Desiderius Erasmus - 1466-1536 - Encouraged parents and teachers to avoid using severe punishments as a way to motivate children. - Felt children would learn if the subject matter was enjoyable. - Erasmus became advocate of higher education of women. - Turned attention away from church to that of the individual and stimulated revival of ancient literature - Invention of the Gutenberg printing press made books available ### Educational Theories in The Renaissance | Historical Group | Educational Goals | Curriculum | Agents | Influences on Western Education | | ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Renaissance | To cultivate a humanist who was an expert in the classics - Latin and Greek | Latin, Greek, classical literature, poetry, art | Classical humanist educators and schools | An emphasis in literary knowledge, excellence and style as expressed in classical literature. | | Reformation | To cultivate a sense of commitment to a particular religious denomination; to cultivate general literacy. | Reading, writing, catechism, religious concepts and rituals | Vernacular elementary school for the masses; classical schools for the masses. | A commitment to universal education to provide literacy to the masses; the origins of the school system with the supervision to ensure doctrinal conformity. | ## The Reformation - Martin Luther - 1483-1546 - Former monk broke from the Catholic church and began Protestant Reformation. - Believed in universal education for boys and girls. - New religious societies dedicated to good works including education of orphans and the poor children. - Tended to emphasize the sinful nature of children. - John Amos Comenius – 1592-1670 - Bohemian (Czech) monk and writer - Developed teaching methods and produced some of the earliest materials for early childhood education. - Wrote of the importance of language acquisition ## The Enlightenment - New emphasis on the potential of humankind. - To understand the universe. - To transform society. - Effort to make education more practical and scientific. - Move away from influence of religion to a more humanistic view of life. - Advances in astronomy and mathematics led to scientific revolution. ## John Locke (1632-1704) - Academic, doctor, philosopher, political theorist - Believed that child comes into world with a mind like a blank slate (tabula rasa) - Knowledge is received through the senses and then converted to understanding by application of reason. - Believed that infants should not be restricted by swaddling (wrapping tightly) - Believed that young children should be allowed to explore - Believed in gentler forms of discipline – not corporal punishment - Believed in the importance of nurture over nature - "Child's mind is a blank slate." ## Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) - French philosopher, writer, social theorist - wrote novel _Emile_. - "Innate goodness will flower when children are raised out of contact with corrupt society." - Children learn best through direct experience and exploration of the environment. - Children learn through natural, undirected play free of adult interference and guidance. - Education began at birth and continued throughout life. - Believed in natural growth process (stages of development) - Valued the natural interests and development of the child. ## Johann Pestalozzi (1746-1827) - Swiss educator influenced by Rousseau. - Looked to nature and the emotions (including religion) rather than human reason alone. - Influenced “progressive” educational ideals of United States and Europe. - Devoted his life to education of orphans and poor children. - Rejected practice of "memorization" and advocated exploration and observation as basis of learning. ## Pestalozzi ### Head - Hands - Heart - Believed all children have a right to education. - Believed education had potential to awaken the potential in each child – and lead to social reform. - The aim is to educate the whole child. - Intellectual education is only part of a wider plan. - Concerned with equilibrium between elements - head, hands, and heart - and the dangers of attending to just one. ## Robert Owen (1771--1858) - Welsh industrialist and social reformer - Abolished child labor in his own textile mills and established schools to improve children’s lives. - Mutual consideration could transform society. - Infant school - the first in England offered nurturing and emotionally secure setting for children to learn right from wrong. - Sensory learning, stories, dancing, singing, nature study, and physical exercise. - Spontaneous play - vehicle for learning. - "An educator without an education." - Abolished child labor. - A rich man who fought for the poor! ## Friedrich Froebel (1782--1852) - First Kindergarten - 1837 in Germany - Wanted place where children could be protected and nurtured. - Kinder (child) Garten (garden) - Studied with Pestalozzi - Found he loved children despite his own lonely childhood - Viewed play, toys, songs, fingerplays and games as important for child's education - Founded several innovative schools and directed an orphanage - Appreciation of Unity with God - "Gifts" and "occupations" for sensory and spiritual development ## Froebel Facts - Much like Johann Pestalozzi and Jean-Jaques Rousseau, he believed in the "interrelatedness of nature and the child’s developing mind." (Essa & Young, 2003, p. 46). - He pressed that education should be based on the child’s development and that at various ages children are in different stages of development (Essa & Young, 2003). - He viewed childhood was not just a time of evolution to adulthood but is a separate stage in life with value in its own right (Essa & Young, 2003). ## Gifts and Occupations ### "Gifts" - special teaching materials - Designed to enhance sensory and spiritual development. - Blocks, yarn balls, geometric shapes, wooden tablets, natural objects. ### "Occupations" - learning activities - Solids - Plastic clay, card-board work, wood-carving - Surfaces - Paper-folding, paper-cutting, parquetry, painting. - Lines - Interlacing, intertwining, weaving, thread games, embroidery, drawing. - Points - Stringing beads, buttons, etc.; perforating. - Reconstruction - Softened peas, wax pellets, sharpened sticks or straws. ## Froebel's Gifts - Froebel drew his mathematical and scientific knowledge to develop a set of 6 gifts, wooden blocks of different shapes, for children to explore. These were introduced to children in a structured way despite being open-ended resources. Block play popular in many nurseries today has been heavily influenced by Froebel’s gifts. The gifts are helpful in making children active. ## Symbolism - Froebel placed symbolism on shapes within his philosophies; the sphere/circle represents unity and connectedness, the cube represents diversity, and the cylinder represents both qualities of diversity within unity (Wolfe, 2002). ## Significant Kindergarten Ideas - Activity is the basis of knowing. - Play is an essential part of the educational process. - Teacher supports the development of positive impulses in children. - Teaching of young children should differ in content and process from teaching older children. - The teacher is an affectionate leader. - Teaching materials called gifts and occupations for sensory and spiritual development. ## Elizabeth Peabody - Studied with Friedrich Froebel in Germany. - Founded first English speaking kindergarten in Boston - 1860. - Founded first kindergarten teacher education program. - Mission kindergartens popular due to flux of immigrants to U.S. - Emphasized importance of cleanliness, courtesy, development of manual skills, physical activity, and preparation for later schooling. - Won public support of Kindergarten. ## The Nursery School - Two sisters - Margaret (1860-1931) and Rachel McMillan - Raised in US and Scotland but moved to England - 1911 - Established the first open-air, play-oriented nursery school in England. - Concerned with the care and nurture, as well as learning of children. - Many poor children in England needed additional care for health and nutrition. - Emphasized perceptual motor skills and imagination. ## Nursery Schools ### Ideas - Identify and prevent health problems. - Prepare low-income children to enter formal schooling. ### Methods - Stimulate child's sense of wonder and imagination. - Teacher’s role - nurture and teach informally. - Outdoor work and play important. - Play in a planned learning environment. - Nutrition, gardening, creative expression, sand box. ## Bank Street College of Education - New York - 1916 - Harriet Johnson, Caroline Pratt, Lucy Sprague Mitchell - Agency for research on child development - “Art of Block Building” – observations of different stages of development. - Combined progressivist ideas with child development theories of Jean Piaget. - Beginning of "developmentally appropriate practice" ## Bank Street College of Education - Development of the whole child. - Also called the Developmental-Interaction Approach. - Began in New York's Bureau of Educational Experiments - beginning of 20th century. - Based on work of John Dewey - Progressive Educator. - Child learns through play and interactions with others in a social democratic community. - Emphasis on social studies and learning trips in the community - bakery, grocery store, firehouse. ## Role of Teacher – Bank Street - Understand child development. - Know that children come to pre-school with diverse learning styles. - Record observations. - Reflect on patterns that nurture the whole child. - Encourage active participation. - Promote a sense of fairness. - Create a sense of community that helps children gain confidence. - Provide concrete opportunities for children to play, explore, experiment, and recreate their experiences. - Know each child based on observation and responsive care and engagement. - Build partnerships. - Communicate effectively with parents. - Bank Street Head Start ## Montessori Approach - Dr. Maria Montessori - 1870-1952 - One of the first women in Italy to receive medical degree - Founded "Casa Dei Bambini" - The Children's House - 1907 - Believed intelligence not fixed but could be stimulated by child's experiences - Children have sensitive periods when they have interest and capacity to learn certain knowledge and skills - Provided a child-size environment and the use of sensory materials ## The Montessori Method - Intelligence can be stimulated by experience. - Children learn best through sensory exploration. - Children are self-motivated. - Children seek out appropriate learning experiences. - The role of the teacher is to observe and direct learning. - Learning is sequential. ## The Montessori Curriculum - Child-oriented learning environment. - Children choose activities. - Self-correcting, sequenced didactic materials. - Materials teach practical life activities and academic subjects. - Emphasis on individual work. - Preserve dignity of the child. - Develop independence and productivity. ## Montessori Classroom - Children grouped in mixed ages and abilities. - Children learn through firsthand experience by doing real tasks. - Includes practical life experiences – buttoning, zipping, gardening, cutting. - Orderly environment is important and attractive. - Children use "didactic" materials to help develop senses and learn concepts. - Children develop ability to concentrate on learning. ## Areas of Child Involvement Montessori provided activities in three main areas: | | Practical Life | Sensory Materials | Academics | | :- | :- | :- | :- | | | Focused on daily living and self-help skills. Cleaning, polishing, Doing buttons, snaps, zipper, shoelaces, etc. Cooking, sewing, sorting, Setting table, walking in line, manners. | Focused on sharpening skill of perception and senses. Learning abstract qualities, Working independently, Learning from mistakes. | Focused on learning language, reading, writing and arithmetic. Songs, stories, Letter recognition, sorting, matching, arranging, Number recognition, sorting, matching, arranging. | ## Montessori Today - Montessori International – http://www.montessori.edu/and http://www.montessori-ami.org/ - American Montessori Society - http://www.amshq.org/ - Montessori Unlimited - http://www.montessori.com/ - The Montessori Foundation - http://www.montessori.org/ ## John Dewey (1859-1952) - University of Chicago and Columbia - University in New York - Sought social and political reforms - Political corruption - Poverty - Problems of industrialization - Harriet Castle - Friend of John Dewey (1847-1924) - Member of missionary family in Hawaii - Desegregate schools and reformed kindergartens in Hawaii - By 1900 classes were integrated - Father of Progressivism