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Historical Overview: People and Beliefs That Shaped the Field
Chapter 2 Historical Overview: People and Beliefs That Shaped the Field
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Starting Questions Why do we have programs outside the home for children as young as infants? Do you think parents or schools are best equipped to care for and/or teach infants, preschoolers, school-age children? What do you believe should be the primary goals and functions of early childhood centers?
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Historical Trends and Themes
View of children innately good or evil, trainable, valuable Role of families/women in home and society women in the workforce International influences on American education Effects of Socioeconomic Status Purpose of Early Childhood Programs Custodial care, education, social change
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Education in the 1600s Children viewed as small adults
Children’s sinful nature needed to be curbed through harsh punishment and strict discipline Parents viewed as important teachers Dame Schools provided care and moral training for children while adults worked Schools mandated by law in 1647 in Massachusetts
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Key Thinkers of the 1600s Johann Amos Comenius John Locke
Believed children had great potential for learning Advocated for active learning John Locke Valued firsthand experiences for learning Promoted playful learning Viewed children as blank slates
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Education in the 1700s A more favorable, romantic view of children emerged Valued harmonious, authentic education experiences set in rural environments
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Key Thinkers of the 1700s Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Promoted indirect manipulation of children’s will Development unfolds naturally through free exploration Teachers (mostly men) viewed as more successful than parents in educating children Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi Valued interaction, hands-on exploration, and reflection as educational methods Valued mothers as child’s first teacher Believed all children were capable of learning
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Education in the 1800s Modern early childhood programs take shape (kindergarten is born) Renewed emphasis on keeping infants at home with mothers led to separation of early childhood programs and elementary programs Working mothers relied on Day Nurseries, which provided only custodial care
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Key Thinkers of the 1800s Friedrich Froebel
Created the first “Kindergarten” in Germany Envisioned a gentle, garden-like place where development could unfold naturally Resisted overly academic instruction Preferred education out of the home, with women as teachers Developed hands-on materials for active exploration
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Key Thinkers of the 1800s Elizabeth Palmer Peabody
Promoted Froebel’s methods in America Included individualized instruction to suit each child’s abilities Created the American Froebel Society Regulated training programs Advocated including African American women in teacher-training programs and increased access to school for children of slaves and Native American children
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Education in the 1900s: Progressivism Dawns
Scientific methods and approaches became more favorable than previous religious emphasis As kindergartens began to become rigidly academic, several educators emerged to re-emphasize play
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Key Thinkers of the 1900s G. Stanley Hall and Arnold Gesell
Created the child study movement Copious observations and interviews of children led to new knowledge of development Advocated for an interdisciplinary approach, integrating services for health and education
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Key Thinkers of the 1900s John Dewey
Valued children’s psychological and social dimensions Believed education should emerge from children’s interests and align with their developmental level Sought to instill a love of learning as the primary aim of education (eclipsing any academic or skills goals) Valued play as an important part of education
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Key Thinkers of the 1900s Caroline Pratt Lucy Sprague Mitchell
Created an education system designed to teach children how to think and problem solve Advocated for the importance of intrinsic motivation Lucy Sprague Mitchell After working closely with Pratt, Mitchell developed the Bank Street College of Education Valued the importance of relationships as a key to education
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Progressivist Principles Shift
The 1957 launching of the Soviet satellite Sputnik rocked the foundation of Progressivism Increasing academic performance became the new agenda for education; play fell out of favor Montessori’s method and constructivist practices began to take hold
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Key Constructivists Jean Piaget Lev Vygotsky
Based work on numerous observations of children Analyzed children’s problem-solving processes, defined distinct stages of children’s cognitive development Lev Vygotsky Emphasized language acquisition as a key influence on cognitive development Believed social and cultural influences greatly impacted children’s development Promoted importance of teacher guidance as children work on challenging tasks
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Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development
Birth–2 years Sensorimotor Infants realize the relationship between sensations and their motor actions. Infants reach and grab items they see; they put items in their mouth; they move their body to make objects move, such as a mobile. Around 9 months infants also learn that objects exist even when they can’t see them—called object permanence. 2–7 years Preoperational Children begin to think symbolically. They begin to use and master language—a symbol system; symbolic dramatic play emerges where children can use a item to represent something else—like a block for a car. Piaget’s Stages of Cognitve Development (adapted from Vander Zanden, 2003)
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Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development (cont.)
7– 11 years Concrete operations Children begin to think rationally, they begin to be able to understand conservation—that while an item’s shape may change, the mass, weight, number, length, or volume does not. For example, a younger child will see a ball of clay flattened and think the flat one has more now because it is longer. Children in this stage understand that the lump may be flattened to be longer but that it remains the same amount. Piaget believed this happened because older children can reverse the flattening action in their heads and imagine the lump as a ball again. 11–older Formal operations Abstract thinking develops. Children can now think on the bases of hypotheses and propositions, not just based on concrete objects. Children can master more complex scientific and mathematical operations using reversibility and reciprocity. Piaget’s Stages of Cognitve Development (adapted from Vander Zanden, 2003)
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Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development
Task is: Child is: Below child’s level, too easy Frustrated, distracted from learning Bored, distracted from learning Given cues, verbal prompts Assisted by teachers Optimal Learning happens in The Zone Challenging, not overwhelming Beyond child’s level, too challenging New, with familiar elements
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Current Issues Social and legal movements, fueled by the work of individuals and families, have led to integrated schools - open and accessible to all children Intervention programs seek to equalize impact of poverty As communities become more diverse, classroom practices must rely on culturally responsive practices
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Culturally Responsive Practices
Value individual culture and diversity, including: Linguistic diversity Ethnic, racial diversity Diverse abilities Diverse beliefs, family traditions Religious diversity Preserve home language and family culture Validate individual children’s ways of thinking and sharing
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Reflection Questions Do any people or beliefs support your own beliefs? Does anything you read challenge your beliefs or assumptions? How do you think Horace Mann’s quote fits in with a discussion of the history and changing aims of education? “Education, then, beyond all other devices of human origin, is the great equalizer of the conditions of man— the balance wheel of the social machinery.”
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