Early Childhood Theories Child Care Mrs. Tucker

Early Childhood Refers to the period of time from infancy through third grade (or from birth to age 8 or 9)

Johann Pestalozzi (1746-1827) Swiss educator Formed the basis of many common teaching practices still used today Believed that the curriculum should develop the whole child (not just intellect) Believed children should be taught in groups not individually

Friedrich Froebel (1792-1852) Known as the “Father of Kindergarten” Believed that a child’s first educational experience should be like a garden full of discoveries and adventure Also believed that the adults should set the stage and that children should use materials in their own manner (freeplay)

Jean Piaget (1896-1980) Worked with Binet to develop the first intelligence (IQ) tests Discovered a pattern among the wrong answers on IQ tests Therefore believed that children think in fundamentally different ways than adults do.

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development Stage I - Sensorimotor Age: from birth to 2 *Uses senses to learn *Out of sight, out of mind *Learns object permanence by age 1

Piaget’s Stages (continued) Stage II – Preoperational *Age: from 2-6 *Learns symbolic play (balloons=party) *Very egocentric *Judges by appearance (dime is less than penny because of size)

Piaget’s Stages (continued) Stage III – Concrete operational *Ages: from 6-12 *Understands rules *Understands how some rules can reverse (addition/substraction) *Can now understand other’s points of view

Maria Montessori (1870-1952) First female physician in Italy Worked with socially economic children in Rome when she opened Casa di Bambini Believed that any task could be taught to a child is broken into a series of small steps

Maia Montessori (continued) Believed that children “LEARN BY DOING” Believed that children learn at their own individual pace Thought that teachers should not interfere or push children but just observe. Little social interaction with children.

Four Limitations of Montessori Method Lack of social interaction among children and teachers (no dramatic play) Lack of self-expression (no creative arts in pure Montessori schools) Lack of verbal or language development opportunities Lack of gross-motor emphasis

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) Studied irrational side of human behavior Believed that personality developed in a fixed pattern of stages Emphasized the mother/child relationship

Freud’s Stages of Personality Development Oral (Stage One) *Ages: birth – 2 *Mouth is source of pleasure or pain *Example: eating, biting, teething, sucking

Freud’s Stages (continued) Anal (Stage Two) *Ages: 2 – 3 *Bowel movements source of pleasure and control *Toilet training

Freud’s Stages (continued) Phallic (Stage Three) *Ages: 3 – 6 *Genitals source of pleasure *Discover differences between boys and girls *Develops sexual identity *Develops conscience

Freud’s Stages (continued) Latency (Stage Four) *Ages: 6 – 12 *Sexual forces are dormant *Energy put into school or sports

Freud’s Stages (continued) Genital *Ages: 12 – 18 *Gain satisfaction from relationship with others *Puberty and sexual development is forefront

Erik Erikson (1902-1994) Studied under Freud Believed that people experience a crisis at each stage How the crisis is handled influences personality development (See PowerPoint on Stages of Personality Development)