The History of Early Childhood Education Unit One Handout (1)

Early Childhood Services 120, Unit One

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

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.

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.

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.

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).

For each of the following scenarios, decide which category to put it in.

1. Loving grandmother2. Effects of a hurricane3. Gov’t changes to child benefit funding4. Father loses job5. BPA (chemical) widely reported in plastic products, including

toys and bottles6. Mother and brother have ADHD7. Common parenting practice to let babies “cry it out”8. TV campaign educating public about the benefits of breast

milk9. Extended family – parents, 3 siblings, an aunt and

grandmother all live in the home with child10. Gov’t increases funding to daycares11. Kindergarten readiness program designed and implemented12. Neighborhood kids all involved in 4H club13. Parent dies

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.


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.


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.


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.

Refer to the list. These are 30 personal qualities that are important to have when working with children, as a parent, or as a childcare worker.

1.Highlight the ones you feel you already have.2.In a different color, highlight the ones you know you need to work on.3.Make a list of the 10 that you feel are most important.4.Put a question mark beside those that you are unsure of – you are not sure what they really mean and / or what they have to do with working with children.

A Look Back---Children Through TimeThe 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.

John Amos Comenius (1592-1670)Was a bishop in CzechoslovakiaSupported 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

Influential People in the History of Early Childhood Education

John Locke (1632-1704)English doctor and philosopher.Children were born tabla 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.

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

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.

The first to actually teach young children, so the first kindergarten.

• 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.

•Note: This has become the new focus of NB’s Early Childhood Education.

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.

Handout: Exhibit 2-2

John Dewey (1859-1952)The father of progressive educationAmerican attack on traditional forms of public

schools.In the late 1800’s, schools were very teacher-

centered and subject-centered, not child-centeredThere were harsh punishments and rote learning

was the norm (memorization through repetition (how you learned your alphabet).

He developed a child-centered approachLots of his principles are still having an influence:

nursery school, emphasis on play and parent education

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.

Maria Montessori (1870-1952)True feminist of her time; first female doctor in ItalyWorked with children with cognitive disabilitiesThought their problems were more educational than medicalGovernment asked her to take charge of a children’s day

nurseryVery 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/

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.

“A Closer Look” handout and Exhibit 2-4

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.

See handout that was used with Freud for Erikson’s eight stages

B.F Skinner The most famous of Watson’s followers Has had an enormous effect on all aspects

of educationBehavioral 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.

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

Influential Events in Early Childhood EducationLittle change from the 1920s – 1940s.Dewey’s emphasis on child-centered programs

became popular.Froebel and Montessori were out-of-favor for a

while because they were attacked by William Kilpatrick, who was a lecturer at the Teacher’s College in NYC where he was known as “the million dollar professor”.

He was more a great supporter of Dewey, so Dewey’s ideas replaced Froebel and Montessori.

Kilpatrick’s work influenced teachers and parents until the 1960’s, when the Montessori program made a come back.

“A Focus on Maturation” seemed to take over until the 1960s: there was little to do with young children other than to wait for them to mature.

You could influence social growth, though, so the focus for years was on social growth (and they didn’t worry about cognitive (learning) growth.

Day care centers were available, but not used a lot, and had a bit of a “welfare orientation.”

1940s -1950sStrong pressure on families to have the mother stay

at home with the children, until they were at least 3.Lots of research had been done on orphans who had

had little human contact and stimulation, so big push on moms at home to help with development.

“Maternal Care & Mental Health” became a classic (1951) and was about the mental problems that many orphans had when they became teenagers.

The best place for children was with their mothers. This idea was debunked somewhat in the 1960s.

Sputnik & Educational UpheavalIn 1957, the Russians launched the first space

missile, Sputnik.The failure of the Americans became a big social

and political focus.School systems were attacked (why weren’t

Americans and Canadians as advanced as the Russians?).

Outmoded teaching methods, dull curriculum, too little emphasis on science.

Poor kids did worse than rich kids; black kids did worse than white kids (politically this was the time of the Civil Rights Movement and everything was being challenged with respect to equal rights for girls, ethic minorities, the poor.

Early Childhood Becomes a FocusA number of advances in psychological

knowledge took place around this same time.In tune with political and educational

pressures of the time.The biggest change was the replacement of

the “Maturation View” of development with the “Interactional View” of development.

Interactional ViewDevelopment is determined by both

environment and genetic factors.Lots of studies showed the relationship

between experience & development in humans and animals.

“The assumption that intelligence is fixed and its development is predetermined by the genes in no longer tenable.”

The early childhood years were a focus again: intelligence was most affected by experience.

Rediscovery of PiagetPiaget’s work had been ignored, now it was a

focus.“If we pay little attention to the events occurring in

the first years of life, much of the story may be over by the time we begin to educate the child, even if we start as early as age 3, let alone 6.”

Social class also became a focus in these years: social class had a great effect on the kind of language a child developed and on the learning style a child developed.

So, get kids out of the home and focus on the early years.

Howard Gardner (1943 -- )His parents fled Nazi Germany with their first

son who died in an accident before Howard was born.

He was not allowed to play sportsHe was an excellent pianistAttended Harvard UniversityInfluenced by EriksonContinued to work at Harvard

Gardner’s Multiple IntelligencesEach person has various levels of different

intelligencesUnique “cognitive profile”7 Intelligences:

Verbal linguisticLogical MathematicsMusicalVisual SpatialBodily KinestheticInterpersonalIntrapersonal

NB Education Video -- Favorites

Activity / SummaryWith a partner, write one sentence for each

individual that you feel captures the essence of that person and his / her philosophy.

Ex: Froebel, who is credited with organizing kindergarten, put great emphasis on the importance of play.

Written AssignmentNow 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).

The History of Early Childhood Education Unit One Handout (1)

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