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Period: Jan 1, 1500 to
Early Childhood Education History Timeline
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Jan 1, 1524
Martin Luther emphasizes need for schools
Martin Luther, 1438-1546, pushed for establishing public schools. His emphasis on establishing schools was formulated around his strong belief that everyone should know how to read so that they could read the Bible. The importance of literacy for all is still a strong priority in today's education standards. -
Froebel - Father of the kindergarten
Friedrich Wilhelm Froebel, 1782-1852, established the first kindergarten in 1837 in Germany. He has influenced early childhood education from then until now with his theory that development occures through self-activity and play. He also developed a series of toys referred to as "Froebel Gifts" to help students learn through play. -
Child-centered school opens
John Dewey opened the Laboratory School basing his program on child-centered learning, where children learn from familiar hands-on activities. Dewey's theory laid the foundation for today's education theory of constructivism. -
Montessori School Opens
Maria Montessori opened the first Montessori school in Rome. Today, over 4,000 early childhood programs use the Montessori Method, which is based on the theory that children learn best by themselves in a properly prepared environment. -
National Association for the Education of Young Children
NAEYC, originally known as National Committee on Nursery Schools, was started in 1926. NAEYC is a national leader in providing research based standards and resources for educators. NAEYC is a learder in improving and promoting excellence in early childhood education. -
Congress passed NDEA
Congress passed the National Defence Education Act which provides federal funding for science, technology, engineering, math and foreign language education. This act has helped to fuel the emphasis on Common Core standards being taught today. -
Head Start program begins
In the summer of 1965 the Head Start programs began with federal money allocated to provide preschool to low-income families. These services are designed to provide comprehensive services for children and families. As of today over 30 million children have been served through this program. -
No Child Left Behind
Jan 8, 2002, President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 into law. This act supports standard based education to help improve the education of all individuals. This act has changed the way teachers approach their curriculum and has created a set of tests that are administered to kids K-12. -
Preschool for All Initiative
In the State of the Union Address in February, 2013 President Obama emphasized the need for quality early childhood educaiton for 4 year olds. He proposed a new federal/state partnership to insure low income and moderate income children have high-quality preschool opportunities.