ECE History and Regulations
Pinkivory727
HistoryofECE.pptHistory of ECE
- The U.S. educational system is based on European educational attitudes and philosophies.
- European immigrants brought their educational system with them.
As you review the historical perspectives of education, remember – how a society defines childhood influences how it educates its children.
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Medieval Times
- Children were considered adults by 7 years of age
- No formal educational system
- Primary goal of life was survival
- Common belief was people were naturally evil; children needed harsh correction
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Renaissance
- Period of enlightenment – concepts of equality & brotherhood emerged
- Economic opportunities expanded for families
- Family situation could improve if children were educated; families needed help educating children
- German school system began
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Early Influencing Individuals
- John Amos Comenius
- John Locke
- Jean Jacques Rousseau
- Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi
- Friedrich Wilhelm Froebel
- John Dewey
- Read about their influences in your textbook.
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Jan (John) Amos Comenius
(1592-1670)
- A Protestant Bishop
- Believed children should see the world with the help of pictures
- 1638 – wrote Orbis Pictus, the first children’s picture book
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Jean Jacques Rousseau
(1712 – 1778)
- A writer & philosopher, not an educator
- Wrote that children were not inherently evil, but naturally good
- School environment should be flexible to meet the needs of children
- Believed that children had the ability to choose what they need to learn (free play!)
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Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi
(1746 – 1827)
- Stressed the development of the whole child
- Education meant the development of the senses, and allowing children to make discoveries
- Added practical skills to school – parallel to a firm and loving home
- Children should be taught in multiage groups, not individually with tutors
- Known as the first early childhood educator
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Friedrick Frobel
(1782 – 1852)
- Nicknamed: “Father of the kindergarten”
- 1837: opened first kindergarten in Blakenburg, Germany
- For 4-6 year old children
- Educational program included learning through play, blocks, pets, outdoor activities, educational toys and songs & finger plays
- Began teacher training institute for both men & women
- Believed teachers should be sensitive, open and easily approachable
- Kindergarten and teacher training beliefs were a strong influence on Maria Montessori
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Kindergarten --
- A German word meaning “children’s garden”
- Froebel believed that children grow, develop & bloom slowly over time when provided with appropriate individual care
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One of my favorite Froebel quotes
- “Children are like tiny flowers; they are varied and need care, but each is beautiful alone and glorious when seen in the company of peers.”
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Some of Froebel’s Gifts
being used by children today.
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The first kindergarten in US
- 1856 in Watertown, Wisconsin
- Opened by Margareth Schurz, a student of Froebel for German speaking immigrants
- 1884: National Education Association established a department of kindergarten instruction
- 1929: National Association for Nursery Education started (NANE)
- 1964: NANE became NAEYC
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Highlights of teacher training
- Normal Schools – Massachusetts in 1830
- First state funded school specifically established for public teacher education
- “. . Believing that the success of a republican form of government depended upon an educated populace . . “
- Emphasis was on common everyday learning
- Advocated teaching as a a profession
- 1899 – the Kindergarten Training School began in Wisconsin at the University of Wisconsin-Stout
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Kindergarten: A Wisconsin Constitutional Commitment
- Wisconsin made a constitutional commitment to early education in 1848
- Article X of the constitution called for school districts to be as uniform as practical and free to all children between the ages of 4 and 20 years of age
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Social & Political Influences
(mid 1900’s)
- WWII - child care centers established near factories (Look for information about the Kaiser Shipyard Child Care Centers)
- Russia launched the first satellite – Sputnik –Was the U.S. losing the space race?
- President Johnson’s War on Poverty & the civil rights movement resulted in Head Start, which began in 1965
- Feminist Movement and women’s right to work
- Changes in the ‘typical American family’
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Interesting Quotes
- President Roosevelt (1944) stated:
“(we) do not believe further funds should be provided for actual operation of child care programs.”
- He was stressing that child care was a war need only.
- Eleanor Roosevelt wrote in 1945:
“Many thought they (the centers) were purely a war emergency measure. A few of us had an inkling that perhaps they were a need which was constantly with us, but one that we had neglected to face in the past.”
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