Foundation of Education

1. The History of Early Childhood Education
Week 1: 12/01/2015

2. Child Development includes the a) physical, b)intellectual, c)
social, and d) emotional changes that occur from birth to
adolescence.
Although people change throughout their lives,
developmental changes are especially dramatic in childhood.
During this period, a dependent, vulnerable newborn grows
into a capable young person who has mastered language, is
self-aware, can think and reason with sophistication, has a
distinctive personality, and socializes (effortlessly) with others.
Many abilities and characteristics developed in childhood last
a lifetime.
INTRODUCTION

3. A variety of factors influence child development:
Heredity guides every aspect of physical, cognitive,
social, emotional, and personality development.
Family members, Peer groups, the School
environment, and the Community influence how
children think, socialize, and become self-aware.

4. Biological factors such as nutrition, medical care,
and Environmental hazards in the air and water
affect the growth of the body and mind.
Economic and Political institutions, the Media,
and Cultural values all guide how children live their
lives.

5. Critical life events, such as a family crisis or a
national emergency, can alter the growth of
personality and identity.
Most important of all, CHILDREN contribute
significantly to their own development. This occurs as
they strive to understand their experiences, respond
in individual ways to the people around them, and
choose activities, friends, and interests.
Thus, the factors that guide development arise from
both outside and within the person.

6. Does this Make Sense?
On your own, put this list in order (most important to least
important), in terms of which factors YOU think most affect
kids’ development): Heredity, Family, Peers, Media, School,
Community, Biological Factors, Environmental Factors,
Economic Factors, Political Factors, Cultural Factors, Critical
Life Events
Now, join two or three others and share your lists, discussing
your opinion, and see if you can revise your lists to come to
an agreement.
Quick Activity: Go back to the list, privately; can you pick the
five influences that most affected you, as a child? You might
consider writing about this, as part of next week’s journal
(share only what you are comfortable sharing).

7. Why is the study of child development
important?
1. One reason is that it provides practical guidance
for parents, teachers, child-care providers, and
others who care for children.

8. Why is the study of child development
important?
2. A second reason is that it helps society to support
healthy growth.
Understanding early brain development, for
example, means that parents can provide better
opportunities for intellectual stimulation, and
society can reduce or eliminate obstacles to
healthy brain growth.

9. Why is the study of child development
important?
3. Third, the study of child development
helps therapists and educators better assist
children with special needs, such as those with
emotional or learning difficulties.

10. Why is the study of child development
important?
4. Finally, understanding child development
contributes to self-understanding. We know
ourselves better by recognizing the influences that
have made us into the people we are today.

11. A Look Back---Children Through Time
• The concept of childhood and treatment of
children through history has always been tied to
economic, religious, and social factors.
• During the 20th century, the view of early
childhood as an important part of human
development was valued.

12. John Amos Comenius (1592-1670)
• Was a bishop in Czechoslovakia
• Supported the idea of universal education.
• He understood and stressed the importance of the early years.
• Emphasized the value of active learning, hands-on experiences, and the
involvement of parents in their children’s education
• His 1658 publication, ‘The World of Pictures’ is viewed as the first
picture book for children
• TEACHERS SHOULD WORK WITH THE NATURAL ORDER OF A CHILD’S
DEVELOPMENT.
• 1997 Life magazine “The Invention of Childhood”
• #55 http://www.tostepharmd.net/hissoc/top100events.html

13. Influential People in the History of Early Childhood
Education
• John Locke (1632-1704)
• English doctor and philosopher.
• Children were born tabula rasa (blank slate).
• Experience would determine what a child would become.
• Education should be pleasant; get rid of harsh discipline and restrictive
practices (like swaddling).
• Children are gradually filled with ideas, concepts, and knowledge from
experiences in the world.
• He concluded that the quality of early experiences, particularly how
children are raised and educated, shapes the direction of a child’s life.

14. French philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau
(1712 – 1778)
• Claimed that children at birth are innately good,
not evil (which some people were suggesting)
• Their natural tendencies should be protected
against the corrupting influences of society.
• Recognized that children’s way of thinking and
learning is different than that of adults

15. Johann Pestalozzi (1746-1827)
• All people, even the poorest, had the right to an education
as a way of helping them develop their moral and
intellectual potential.
• Stressed education according to nature, tied to experience
and observation.
• Stressed the importance of the mother in children’s earliest
experiences
• He actually worked with children (unlike Rousseau),
developing educational methods that we still use today.

16. Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852)
• Stressed that nature and the child’s
developing mind were connected
• Children are at different stages at different
times.
• Stressed the importance of play in young
children’s development – play was a pure
and natural mode of learning.

17. Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
• Developed the theory and techniques of
psychoanalysis. In the psychoanalytic view, early
experiences shape one’s personality for an
entire lifetime, and psychological problems in
adulthood may have their origins in difficult or
traumatic childhood experiences.

18. John Dewey (1859-1952)
• The father of progressive education
• American attack on traditional forms of public schools.
• In the late 1800’s, schools were very teacher-centered and
subject-centered, not child-centered
• There were harsh punishments and rote learning was the
norm (memorization through repetition (how you learned
your alphabet).
• He developed a child-centered approach
• Lots of his principles are still having an influence: nursery
school, emphasis on play and parent education

19. John B. Watson (1878-1958)
• Believed that all human behaviors could be
explained as learned responses to stimuli in
the environment, an approach known as
behaviorism.

20. Maria Montessori (1870-1952)
• True feminist of her time; first female doctor in Italy
• Worked with children with cognitive disabilities
• Thought their problems were more educational than medical
• Government asked her to take charge of a children’s day nursery
• Very impressed with the great capacity of children to learn so much
during the first years of life: absorbent mind (sponge)
• If you expose their minds to appropriate learning experiences at
appropriate developmental times, their minds will grow.
• Used the term prepared environment to describe the match of the right
materials to the child’s stages of development
• Some of these are related to sensory discrimination (sorting by size,
sound, shape, smell, etc) and some children learn through practical
skills (polishing shoes, setting a table, etc)
• More advanced materials for teaching reading, math, etc. Sandpaper
letters, for example. http://www.monctonmontessori.com/

21. Jean Piaget (1896-1980)
• Claimed that children construct new knowledge by applying their
current knowledge structures to new experiences and modifying them
accordingly. His perspective was called constructivism.
• He thought children were like other organisms in that they adapted to
the environment around them (he was a biologist)
• Ex: if the temp becomes too warm or too cold, we shiver or sweat in
attempt to adapt. In the same way, we adapt mentally to challenges in
the environment.
• When something new presents itself, it doesn’t fit the old structure, so
in order to return to equilibrium, adaptation takes place.
• He called cognitive structures schemata. Babies are only born with a
few (think index cards), but with experience, they create new cards and
dividers to store their information.

22. Erik Erikson (1902-1994)
• His psychological theory, which spans childhood
and adulthood, focuses on specific social tasks that
need to emerge for healthy development in each
of the eight stages.
• Like Freud, he saw each stage defined by conflict,
but he thought conflict was healthy and resulted in
opportunity for personal growth.

23. B.F Skinner
• The most famous of Watson’s followers
• Has had an enormous effect on all aspects of education
• Behavioral modification: behavior can be changed or
modified by manipulating the environment (socially and
physically)
• Emphasized that almost all behaviors are learned through
experience and can be increased or decreased based on
what “happens next”
• Ex: if something pleasant consistently happens after a child
engages in a specific behavior, he is likely to repeat the
behavior.

24. videos
• http://literacyworks.org/mi/assessment/findyourstrengths.html
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mkin1FhojCo&feature=related
– Freud’s Id, Ego and SuperEgo
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLLVYx0IPPU
– Piaget
– http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/09/15/piagets-stages-of-
cognitive-development-experiments-with-kids/
– Gardner
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEFpaY3GI-I&feature=related
– Skinner
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AepqpTtKbwo&feature=related
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPHcw2vz9H0&feature=related

25. Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences
 Each person has various levels of different intelligences
 Unique “cognitive profile”
 7 Intelligences:
 Verbal linguistic
 Logical Mathematics
 Musical
 Visual Spatial
 Bodily Kinesthetic
 Interpersonal
 Intrapersonal

26. Written Assignment
 Now that you have had a general overview of some of the main
influential theorists, it’s time to reflect on which ones make
sense to you.
 Write a reflection paper (2-3 pages double spaced).
 Choose two theorists: one that you MOST agree with and one
that you MOST DISAGREE with.
 In your introduction, tell me of your two choices.
 Then, in the first half of the paper, write about the one you most
like. A) briefly summarize what he or she believed in B) What do
you like about the theory and why? C) What do you not like
about the theory and why?
 Now, in the second half of the paper, write about the one you
most disagree with and repeat the steps (above – a, b and c).