A Brief History of Early Childhood Education by Diana Harmon

By dmhlee
  • Period: to

    Early Childhood Education

  • First Kindergarten opened in Germany

    Friedrich Frobel opens the first Kindergarten in Blankenburgh, Germany. Frobel is considered to be the "father of Kindergarten" and he devoted his life to the development of an educational system for young children. Frobel belived that children should be able to play, and have toys as well as be taught be teachers.
  • First American Kindergarten opened

    Margartha Schurz, a student of Frobel's, opened the first Kindergarten in the US. It was developed for German speaking children in her Home in Wisconsin. She would later inspire the first English speaking Kindergarten in Boston.
  • First Kindergarten opened assosicated with Public Schools in America

    Influenced by Elizabeth Peabody, William Harris allowed Susan Blow to open the fisrt Kindergarten associated with public schools in St Louis, Missouri. By the 1880's many teachers were invested in teaching 5 year olds and were creating activities to use in the classroom.
  • Casa di Bambini Opened in Rome

    Casa di Bambini was opened in Rome by Maria Mostessori because she believed that children lacked proper motivation and environment. She went on to design materials and a teaching prodcedure. She believed that education began at birth and the early preschool years are of great importance.
  • Piaget publishes The Language and Thought of the Child

    Piaget published his works which would become one of the most important forces to drive Child Development in the 20th century. Piaget researched child thought process and how children's ability to learn changes with age. He developed a theory that relies on both maturation and environmental factors that influence cognitive development.
  • NAEYC Founded

    What would later become NAEYC, The National Committee on Nursery Schools is founded by Patty Smith Hill. Naeyc will go on to become one of the largest assosciations for early childhood educators.
  • Head Start is Founded

    The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 will become the foudation for Head Start and President Johnson's War on Poverty. Head Start was developed to help disadvantaged preschool aged children. Head Start is still an active part of the ECE field 50 years later.
  • Developmentally Appropriate Practices is published by NAEYC

    Developmentally Appropriate Practices articulated the expectations and standards of a high-quality preschool program. DAP explained the need to create programs based on a what is known about child development research and what professionals observe about children's interests and abilities.