CHAPTER 2: SCHOOLS FOR YOUNG CHILDREN
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
1. Briefly describe the history of early childhood education.
2. Describe the contemporary models in early childhood education:
o Montessori,
o Behavioris
o Constructivist.
3. Relate the research on various program models.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
1. The History of Schooling
A) Philosophers, such as Comenius, first recognized the importance of active learning in the 17th century.
B) Rousseau recognized that children at different ages need different kinds of learning experiences.
C) Froebel
i. Froebel founded kindergartens to specifically match the developmental needs of pre-school-age children by using play as an instruction medium.
ii. His technique of combining rhymes and finger play is still in use today.
D) Hill
i. Hill emphasized that the process of an activity was more important than the product.
ii. She recognized that promoting free play and expression was a valuable learning experience.
iii. Hill asserted that curriculum should reflect the interest of children, in addition to interactions between the teacher and child. This type of curriculum is currently called emergent or appropriate.
E) Dewey
i. Dewey was part of the progressive education movement, and was the most influential educational philosopher in the United States in the early 1900's.
ii. Dewey's model of education was teacher centered and emphasized rote learning. In contrast to Hill, Dewey believed that activities must have a purpose and that free play had no educational value.
F) Mitchell
i. Mitchell, a student of Dewey, found the Bureau of Educational Experiments in the early 20 h century.
ii. She focused on what she called "the whole child," (the physical, social, intellectual, and emotional domains). .
2. Other Influences in Early Childhood Education
A) Hall encouraged educators to combine the study of psychology and child development.
B) In a major study "Stability and Change in Human Characteristics", Bloom concluded that adult IQ is the product of development during childhood. While Bloom believed that all children can master academic tasks, he suggested that some children need more assistance and time to do so.
C) Bruner asserted that school subjects could be taught best if the information was adjusted to correspond to the viewpoint (or understanding) of the child at his or her current age.
3. Modern Changes In Early-Childhood Education
A) Modern child-care began in 1900's United States to allow mothers to work, but it has been pervasively viewed as less desirable than maternal care.
B) By law, public kindergarten is offered in all school districts, but attendance is not mandatory.
C) Head Start, begun in 1965, is designed to improve the developmental outcome of economically at-risk children. Head start has many positive effects, but continuing intervention is needed to maintain those effects throughout childhood.
D) The Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) bill has lead to mainstreaming, producing radical changes in the education of children with special needs. The current version of this law is called the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
E) Educational and developmental problems may be prevented through Early Intervention Programs. Most often these programs target children with disabilities, or who have sociodemographic characteristics that place them at risk (such as in the case of Head Start).