Week 5 Lecture Notes
While the five individuals discussed in this module are not all early childhood
theorists per se, they all had influence on this area. Their common starting point is
with the nature of the learner, a point that still rings loudly in the halls of
controversy even today. In this module you should become familiar with these five
and their focus on the child and proper stages of development and how the current
issues being discussed in the educational research circles are related to these four
individuals.
Rousseau is most celebrated for his Emile. This fictional text outlines Rousseau’s
thought on the proper education/development of a child to manhood, but it is not to
be taken “literally.” As noted by Gutek, Rousseau’s ideas can be classified as
influenced by the Enlightenment (naturalism). It is important to note Rousseau’s
ideas about the nature of people as corrupted by a corrupting society. Thus, a
natural environment that encourages positive growth is essential. This idea comes
out in other thinkers that followed Rousseau’s work. Note Rousseau’s identified
stages of development on pages 149-152. These stages identify appropriate levels
of education in those contexts for Rousseau and the proper environmental
factors/influences.
Some of the biographical sketch components of Froebels’e life (his issues with his
mother’s death and the need for nurturing, see pages 270-271) played a
seemingly large part in Froebel’s later focus on young children and educational
systems. Do note Froebel’s connection with Pestalozzi - philosophically and
practically. The connection of Froebel’s philosophy with Hegel and Lutheran
theology (see pages 276) is instructive for a view on worldview influence based in
Idealism. Note the more prescriptive pieces of his kindergarten (see pages 277-
280). This is very interesting. How different or alike is this as compared to today’s
kindergarten/early childhood classrooms?
Do note the interesting discussions on pages 389 and 390 placing
Montessori’s views in contrast with Dewey and others. Montessori’s focus on
the natural development of the child (as shaped by her study of Seguin and
Itard (see page 392-393), also interesting to note her generally unknown
connection to the
development of special educational practices) shapes her rather progressive and
practical style of education, but as she recognizes universal principles of learning
(as opposed to Dewey) she takes a right turn. Also in this section, note the
interesting comparisons between Freud and Montessori. For interesting critiques
and explorations of Freud, see Armand Nicholi's Question of God. It’s an excellent
analysis, but slightly out of scope for this course.
Please note Montessori’s focus on “ sensitive periods” in development (see pages
395-396 and 401-405) and the other general methods she promoted (very child-
centered and practical). Pay particular attention to her assumptions about the nature
of children and the natural course of development – a distinctive feature often
criticized.
You do not want to miss Gutek's assessment of Bagley's views on the "short lived,
quick fix" innovations in education (see pages 381-382).
Please read through the various rather practically focused ILRC articles. These are
meant to be digested in light of the four thinkers described within this module's
readings and notes. See the Reading item in this module for specific reading
assignments and a link to online article.
