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Influencing
Early Childhood
Education
Key Figures, Philosophies and Ideas

Linda Pound
Influencing Early Childhood Education
Influencing Early
Childhood Education
Key figures, philosophies and ideas

Linda Pound

Open University Press

Open University Press
McGraw-Hill Education
McGraw-Hill House
Shoppenhangers Road
Maidenhead
Berkshire
England
SL6 2QL

email: [email protected]
world wide web: www.openup.co.uk

and Two Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10121-2289, USA

First published 2011

Copyright 
C Linda Pound 2011

All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes of criticism
and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence
from the Copyright Licensing Agency Limited. Details of such licences (for reprographic
reproduction) may be obtained from the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd of Saffron House,
6–10 Kirby Street, London, EC1N 8TS.

A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library

ISBN13: 978 0 335 24156 9 (pb) 978 0 335 24155 2 (hb)

ISBN10: 0 335 24156 5 (pb) 0 335 24155 7 (hb)
eISBN13: 978 0 335 24157 6

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

CIP data has been applied for

Fictitous names of companies, products, people, characters and/or data that

may be used herein (in case studies or in examples) are not intended to
represent any real individual, company, product or event.

Typeset by Aptara Inc., India

Printed in the UK by Bell & Bain Ltd, Glasgow
 Contents

Introduction vii

Part 1
Thinking about early childhood in the nineteenth century 1
1 Robert Owen 1771–1858 6

2 Friedrich Froebel 1782–1852 12

Part 2
Progressive ideas of the twentieth century 19

3 Margaret McMillan 1860–1931 27

4 Rudolf Steiner 1861–1925 34

5 Maria Montessori 1870–1952 42

6 Susan Isaacs 1885–1948 47

Part 3
Psychodynamic theories and their impact 53

7 Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) and the development of

psychoanalytical theories 56

8 Psychodynamics and young children 61

9 John Bowlby (1907–1990) and attachment theories 70

10 Emotion and cognition 81

Part 4
Constructivism and behaviourism 89

11 Burrhus Skinner (1904–1990), behaviourist theories and

approaches 92
vi CONTENTS

12 Jean Piaget (1896–1980) and constructivism 100

13 Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934) and social constructivism 118

Part 5
Challenging theories and practice in the twentieth century 129

14 De(constructing) schooling 132

15 Deconstructing early childhood 141

16 Deconstructing development 153

Part 6
Weighing up the evidence 165
Final thoughts 177

Bibliography 179
Index 195
 Introduction

A culture should know where its beliefs originate.

(Kramer [1961] 1995: x)

The development of theories and practices related to the rearing of young children is
a fascinating subject. Around the world societies and cultures have chosen to bring up
their young in ways which correspond to what they believe about the nature of young
children and the nature of the society in which they wish to live. This has led to wide
diversity.
While the history and philosophy of early childhood care and education used to
be considered a vital element of the training of teachers and other practitioners in
Britain, it fell out of favour in the latter part of the twentieth century and came to be
regarded as an unnecessary frill. More recently, practitioners and trainers alike have,
however, come to recognise the importance of understanding something of the legacy
of giant thinkers like Piaget and pioneer practitioners such as the McMillan sisters. An
understanding of theory can:

r help practitioners to shed light on what they do and help them to understand
why they do what they do;
r promote reflective practice which supports constant improvement;
r enable practitioners to evaluate new theories or innovative practices, weighing
up their effectiveness and relevance.

This book seeks to explore some of the theories of such thinkers. It will:

r plot the development of relevant theories from the nineteenth century;

r discuss the ways in which particular theories influence practice;
r identify the links between theories; and
r consider both the limitations of theories and their impact on practice and on
future theories.
viii INTRODUCTION

Theory or philosophy?

It is interesting to speculate on whether what lies behind these ideas and practices is
a theory or a philosophy. The word theory stems from Greek and is linked to ideas of
viewing or looking at. In everyday conversation we often say to one another things like
‘I’ve an idea – I don’t know whether it will work. It’s only a theory’. Alternatively we label
opinions as theories – ‘my theory about why so and so does that is . . . ’. In both cases we
are acknowledging that theories are not infallible but are ideas being shaped. In normal
conversation, we accept that theories are not facts but explanations of things that we
have noticed or observed. This view of theories being based on observation, what we
see or observe, also covers theories which go beyond the trivial. Susan Isaacs’ theories
and writings (see Chapter 6) offered an explanation of the learning she observed in
children at Malting House School.
Philosophy, on the other hand, stems from Greek words whose meaning implies
a love of knowledge. But this is by no means the whole story. Theory may be thought
of as a set of beliefs – or perhaps a philosophy which guides action. In the case of
Steiner Waldorf education (see Chapter 4) or Montessori education (see Chapter 5),
the philosophy is based on a set of theories which guide practice. Some beliefs are
not recognised as theories but they still guide our actions. Our theories or views of
how children learn or what they should learn are often informed and shaped by cul-
ture. It is likely that what guided practitioners in foundational (Miller and Pound
2011) or traditional contexts was a philosophy – a set of values about the nature
of children, their learning and the contexts in which they learn most effectively.
There was no theoretical or empirical data which guided their views other than the
evidence of their own eyes (Board of Education 1933). The pioneers of early educa-
tion developed practice which was based on firmly held philosophies and personal
theories.
Within what have been called the traditions of early childhood education
(Blackstone 1971; Clift et al. 1980; Tizard 1974), risk has often been regarded as
an important element of early childhood education. Woodwork benches and real
tools were standard equipment for nursery schools and classes well into the 1980s
and 1990s – and still are in some areas. In Steiner Waldorf practice for exam-
ple, from a very early age – perhaps 2 – children are given opportunities to use
knives (Heckmann 2008). This practice is mirrored in forest schools. Rogoff (1990)
provocatively uses a picture of a child of less than one year of age wielding a ma-
chete in order to cut fruit – an image which frequently evokes cries of horror from
audiences of English practitioners. Risk-taking is an area about which contempo-
rary thinkers from many different disciplines have expressed concern. While on
the one hand tighter and tighter constraints are imposed to prevent harm to chil-
dren, others express deep concern about the absence of opportunities for young
children to learn to manage risk by exploring risky situations safely (see for ex-
ample Furedi 2001; Lindon 1999; Tovey 2007). A failure to learn to manage risk
safely results in a loss of independence and autonomy (see for example Walsh
2004).
 INTRODUCTION ix

Personal or informal theories

Whether we recognise it or not we all hold personal theories. Keenan and Evans
(2009) write about formal and informal theories. They suggest that formal theories
have sets of linked laws or hypotheses, can be expressed in a variety of ways includ-
ing mathematically and are logical in their structure. Informal or implicit theories, on
the other hand, ‘may be little more than organized sets of intuitions or expectations
about our world’ (Keenan 2002: 18). They go on to claim that although developmental
psychology has no formal theories, its informal theories ‘are somewhat more devel-
oped than the intuitive expectations about human behaviour that we all hold’ (Keenan
2002: 27).
These views raise some interesting questions. The first relates to the nature of hu-
man development, an area in which all who work with young children must have
some interest. Throughout this book, reference will be made to many different theories
of development and no further exploration is needed at this point. The second ques-
tion is about the nature of intuition. Claxton (2000: 50) suggests that intuition gives
practitioners the ability to:

r function fluently and flexibly in complex domains;

r extract intricate patterns of information;
r make subtle and accurate judgements;
r detect and extract the significance of small, incidental details of a situation
that others may overlook;
r take time to mull over problems in order to arrive at more insightful or creative
solutions;
r and to apply this perceptive, ruminative, inquisitive attitude to one’s own
perceptions and reactions.

It is the ability and willingness to reflect (or ruminate), that helps to prevent our
implicit, informal theories about children and learning from becoming prejudice or
dogma. Gardner (2006) asserts that no one in any field of employment can claim to
be a professional unless they are prepared to become a reflective practitioner. He goes
further in suggesting that anyone who fails to do so should be counselled out of their
chosen profession. Nowhere can this reflective approach be more necessary than in the
field of early childhood – where practitioners are working with young children who are
in many ways amongst the most vulnerable members of any society and are therefore
determining the shape of society.
The third question is about the extent to which theories of child development
should or do inform practice. Writing about the primary curriculum around the time
of the introduction of OFSTED, Alexander et al. (1992: 18) reminded teachers that
‘teaching is not applied child development. It is a weakness of the child-centred tra-
dition that it has sometimes tended to treat it as such and, consequently, to neglect
the study of classroom practice’. In the years since Alexander et al. wrote their report,
x INTRODUCTION

the term child-centred has largely been replaced by the idea of learner-centredness.
This is perhaps in part a response to what was seen as a derogatory overtone in the use
of the term child-centred, perhaps most closely associated with Piaget. However it is
undoubtedly also a reflection of the impact of the work of Urie Bronfenbrenner (see
Chapter 12) who developed an ecological systems theory (1979). Within that theory
children are seen as being central to a series of systems, beginning with the close family
(microsystem) and moving out to what Bronfenbrenner terms the macrosystem, which
includes the attitudes and ideologies of the culture within which the child is growing
up (Pound 2009).

Pedagogy

This in turn raises the issue of pedagogy. For many writers (see for example Siraj-
Blatchford et al. 2002; Collins et al. 2001) pedagogy relates mainly to teaching or:

r the instructional techniques and strategies which enable learning to take place;
r the interactive process between teacher and learner;
r the actions of the family and community.
(based on Siraj-Blatchford et al. 2002: 10).

Other writers cite the long-established tradition of pedagogy in Europe, seeing

it as a more holistic and theoretical pursuit, involving social responsibility for the
well-being and development of children. In this tradition, the pedagogue regards care
and education as being of equal concern – with changing nappies seen as part of
the process of promoting development, and mealtimes as part of the teaching pro-
cess (Petrie et al. 2009). Whichever view you take, throughout this book the terms
pedagogy, teacher or teaching imply an integral relationship between care and educa-
tion.

The development of theories

At the heart of this book is a desire to explain (and therefore better understand) the way
in which theories about how children develop and learn have evolved. The process by
which theories become accepted, or not, is sometimes difficult to understand. The work
of Bronfenbrenner, for example, helped to change views of learning from being largely
child-centred to placing the child as learner at the heart of community and culture.
Outside academic circles Bronfenbrenner is largely unknown. However, on his death
he was described as the person ‘whose theories profoundly altered the understandings
of what children need to develop into successful adults’ (Pound 2009: 11, citing the LA
Times obituary for Bronfenbrenner).
Often the impact of a theory depends a great deal on external influences. In
Bronfenbrenner’s case he, an American, began writing at the time of concern about
the rise of Soviet influence and anxiety about the state of education in the United
 INTRODUCTION xi

States. His view that children and their development need to be seen as the focus
of a society struck a chord. It is speculated that it was social conditions that ini-
tially led to the popularity of John Bowlby’s ideas (Riley 1983). As men returned
from the war, nurseries were closed and women were once again expected to become
home-based in order to ensure employment for men. Bowlby’s ideas of maternal at-
tachment (explored more fully in Chapter 9) complemented the social imperative
and thus gained favour. The McMillan sisters famously began developing provision
for young children in response to the widespread poverty and accompanying mis-
ery at the turn of the nineteenth to twentieth century which they claimed society
regarded ‘without perturbation’ (Nutbrown et al. 2008: 45, citing McMillan 1927). It
was only when the impact of poverty prevented sufficient soldiers being recruited for
the Boer War that politicians and other policy-makers began to see the need to take
action.
Theories develop in relation to current constructions of childhood. James et al.
(1998) hypothesise two distinct clusters of views of childhood – the presociological
and the sociological. The first category includes:

r the evil child, who requires strict discipline and punishment, may also be the
subject of institutionalised violence as adults strive to restrain childish impulse.
This view may be recognised in the doctrine of original sin, but is still current
in, for example, the media treatment of the two boys convicted of murdering
Jamie Bulger, and in the popularity of boot camps.
r the naturally developing child is linked to the theories of Piaget which have been
described as containing ‘the secrets of human learning and knowledge hidden
behind the cute and seemingly illogical notions of children’ (Pound 2005: 38,
citing Papert).
r the unconscious child, derived from Freudian theories but ironically while open-
ing up ‘adult self-exploration . . . (it) has done little to broaden our understand-
ing of children’ (James et al. 1998: 20).

These views are not discrete and may be mingled with ‘sociological’ views of chil-
dren (James et al. 1998) where understanding has grown of:

r the socially constructed nature of childhood;

r the view of childhood from children’s own perspectives;
r the politicisation of childhood.

Many of these aspects will be returned to later in this book (see Part 5).

The structure of the book

This book is designed to be easily dipped into but it also sets out to provide a big-
ger picture of the ways in which thinking about early childhood has been shaped
by new theories and by social and cultural events. It is divided into six parts. Each
xii INTRODUCTION

part has an introductory section, followed by a series of chapters relating to individ-

ual theorists or groups of related theories. Part 1 focuses on nineteenth-century de-
velopments in thinking about and provision for early childhood. Part 2 details the
many progressive and pioneering ideas (including those of Steiner and Montessori –
still household names today) which arose in the first half of the twentieth century.
Part 3 highlights psychoanalytical theories, beginning with Freud and including con-
temporary ideas about the emotional aspects of development. Part 4 considers the
competing roles of behaviourism and constructivism in shaping practitioners’ views of
children’s learning. In Part 5, the many theoretical challenges which emerged, mainly
over the second half of the twentieth century, will be considered. These include post-
modern analyses, the de-schooling movement and discussion of the deconstruction
of developmental theories. Part 6 differs from the other five in that it focuses not on
theories relating to the care and education of young children but on the nature of
evidence.
Each part will include some key dates to give a context to the theories and to provide
a sense of chronology. Each chapter and the introductions to sections will offer ideas
for further reading and some reflective questions. Broadly in each set of questions, the
first two are aimed at readers new to this area of study while the second two aim to deal
with more complex issues.

Conclusion

This introductory chapter attempts to highlight the complex nature of the theories
and philosophies which have shaped early childhood care and education. In the chap-
ters that follow many of the themes that have emerged in this introduction will be
returned to. The ideas may sometimes be confusing but there is often a mismatch
between:
r what we say and do;
r what we understand from what others say and do;
r the informal or implicit views in our heads and the explicit formal theories
which are shared with others.

In a book on a topic such as this, it would be impossible to ignore the fundamental

importance of our beliefs about the relative role of nature and nurture, genetics and
experience on learning and development. These areas will arise over and over again.
Finally it is important to remember the different stakeholders or audiences for which
theorists and thinkers are writing or outlining their ideas. Owen (see Chapter 1) was
primarily a philanthropic employer – he was foregrounding the lives of his employees.
The McMillan sisters (see Chapter 3) were political animals, members of the Fabian
Society, anxious to improve the lot of the poor but with a wider vision, going beyond
those with whom they were working. So as you read consider not only the theories and
philosophies themselves but who they were aimed at.
 INTRODUCTION xiii

Reflective questions

1. What might your personal theory about children and learning include?
Take some time to reflect on this.
2. Where did your ideas come from? It may have been a carer or teacher
that had a particular influence on your thinking. Perhaps it was some
insights gained as a child or as an adult about when learning seemed
effective.
3. What views of children and childhood seem most prominent at the
moment in media and policy documents?
4. What are the differences between teaching and pedagogy in your view?

Further reading

Holland, P. (2004) Picturing Childhood: the myth of the child in popular imagery. New York: Tauris
and Co. Ltd.
Keenan, T. and Evans, S. (2009) (2nd edn) An Introduction to Child Development. London: Sage.
Part 1
Thinking about early childhood
in the nineteenth century

In many ways it would have been appropriate for this book to begin much earlier in
thinking about the ways in which societies have thought about young children and
their learning. Ancient Greek and Chinese philosophers have undoubtedly influenced
ideas about education and learning today (Pound 2008). Indeed it is claimed that their
ideas have shaped the whole pattern of eastern and western thinking (Nisbett 2003).
However, it is Comenius, born in 1592, who is described as ‘the father of modern ed-
ucation’ (Nutbrown et al. 2008). He was amongst the first to develop picture books
for children, publishing an illustrated text book in 1658. More importantly he recog-
nised the holistic nature of children’s development and the important role of sensory
experience in promoting learning. It was he who encouraged adults to ‘teach gently’,
ensuring pleasure for both child and adult (Nutbrown et al. 2008: 24).
But James et al. (1998: 14) have asserted that the work of Rousseau in the seven-
teenth century might be the most relevant starting point since it is his work that high-
lights the need for society to take responsibility for children. If, as Rousseau believed:

childhood innocence is to be nurtured at all costs, then we must attain publicly

recognizable standards in the treatment of children; all adults must assume
responsibility for children . . . Children can no longer be routinely mistreated,
but neither can they be left to their own devices. . . . Our contemporary concern
for children’s education begins therefore, with Rousseau and with a childhood that is
recognizable through encouragement, assistance, support and facilitation. [Author’s
italics.]

Eighteenth-century influences on nineteenth-century theories

Two philosophers, both born in Switzerland in the eighteenth century, have had an
immense influence on the way in which theories and philosophies of early childhood
have developed in western Europe in particular.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Jean-Jacques Rousseau was born in 1712 in Geneva. He died 66 years later but the influ-
ence of his writing was to impact on thinking about childhood for much longer. One
2 EARLY CHILDHOOD IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

of his contemporaries, Madame de Stael, suggested that he ‘had succeeded in restor-

ing happiness to childhood’ (Jimack 1974: xxv). Other more critical contemporaries
blamed the publication of Rousseau’s renowned book Emile for the ‘provoking, obsti-
nate, insolent, impudent, arrogant’ children of Paris (Jimack [1762] 1974: xxv). These
are not the only anomalies in Rousseau’s story. As indicated in the introduction to this
book, it was Rousseau’s ideas about liberty (James et al. 1998) that led to views of chil-
dren as innocents. He regarded children as part of nature, corrupted only by human
society and he made other people believe that children were worthy of attention.
Despite these worthy views and the recognition which Rousseau received for his
ideas, their impact on his own life appears minimal. His best known book Emile was
written after his own failed attempts to tutor two young boys. Later he writes of the
importance of kindness but it is said that, as a result of his writings, many parents
bathed their children in cold water and dressed them flimsily, in order to rear them,
‘à la Jean-Jacques’, more closely attuned to nature. He himself had five children all
of whom were to be placed in an orphanage soon after birth, apparently against the
wishes of their mother, and unsurprisingly, an action he is said to have later regretted
(Jimack [1762] 1974).
Rousseau’s work is often contrasted with that of John Locke. It has been suggested
that Locke’s writing influenced that of Rousseau (Slentz and Krogh 2001). One suspects
that if true, this can only have been in a negative way, since their views appear dia-
metrically opposed. For Rousseau, nature was what drove development while for Locke
all learning was driven by experience. It may be easier to think of eighteenth-century
thinking on this subject, as Ezell (1983) does, as a kaleidoscope with many brightly
coloured elements – the pattern being imposed externally through reflection rather
than regarding the parts themselves as having an order. Perhaps the truth is that we are
all influenced, positively or negatively, by the theories that have preceded us.
Nonetheless Slentz and Krogh’s (2001: 40) simple characterisation of these widely
differing and complex views may give pause for thought:

A teacher who prefers materials designed for teaching correct answers or pro-
cedures is one who believes that the environment has a strong influence and
that children’s learning progress is, in large part, the result of the ways in which
the teacher prepares and manipulates the environment. This teacher has been
influenced by Locke, whether aware of it or not. On the other hand, a teacher
who prefers open-ended activities and materials as well as an unstructured day
and believes that children grow best if allowed to play and learn freely, largely
through their own direction, whether aware of it or not has been influenced
by the thoughts of Rousseau.

Johann Pestalozzi

Johann Pestalozzi was born in Zurich in 1746. He, like Rousseau, believed that education
should be in tune with nature. So much did he admire Rousseau that he named his
only son, Jean-Jacques, after Rousseau. Like Rousseau, Pestalozzi is regarded as making a
major contribution to modern approaches to the education of young children. His work
 EARLY CHILDHOOD IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 3

has been described as ‘the starting point for modern educational theory and practice’
(Green and Collie 1916: 1). Unlike Rousseau whose work was essentially theoretical,
Pestalozzi made several attempts to link theory and practice. Some were successful –
his school at Yverdun in Switzerland for example attracted many notables including
Friedrich Froebel and Robert Owen. Pestalozzi [nd] suggests that adults should focus on:

not a perfection in the accomplishments of the school, but fitness for life; not
the acquirement of habits of blind obedience and of prescribed diligence, but
a preparation for interdependent action.

Sadly, despite the fact that Pestalozzi has been described as being more practical
than Rousseau (Slentz and Krogh 2001), all his schemes eventually ended in failure.
This may have been because although he promoted the importance of a practical edu-
cation, Pestalozzi was not himself a very practical man (Pound 2005). He was however
committed to providing a similar education for rich and poor. This aim of providing for
the needy has been reflected in the use of his name in the establishment of Pestalozzi
Children’s Villages around the world, caring for orphans, refugees and war victims.

Nineteenth-century contexts

In the chapters that make up Part 1 of this book, the focus will be on two key figures in
this period, Robert Owen and Friedrich Froebel. Both were strongly influenced by the
work of Pestalozzi, and indirectly by that of Rousseau. Before considering the work of
these two men it may be useful to think about the broader context within which their
work was developing. The strongest influence, as we shall see – certainly for Robert
Owen – was that of the Industrial Revolution, accompanied as it was by ‘deprivation,
squalor, hardship and suffering’ (van der Eyken 1967: 59).

European models

It was a country pastor in Germany working in a rural community who is credited with
inspiring the first nursery provision. Johann Oberlin, visited by Robert Owen, has been
called the ‘founder of the nursery school movement’, setting up as he did provision
for children of mothers working in the fields, in 1779. The village in which he worked
was in Alsace, then part of Germany. He developed teaching methods which included
educational visits, the use of story and a focus on play. In Paris, the first crèche was set
up in 1844 for working mothers by Firmin Marbeau and by 1869 there were 68 crèches
throughout Paris. Similarly, jardins des enfants were established in Belgium. Compulsory
education was introduced in Britain in 1870. In a political ‘fudge’ provision for children
under 5 years of age was left ambiguous, a decision which was to have long term effects –
as will be seen in Part 2. By 1908, half of all Belgian children aged between 2 and 5,
and a quarter of those in France were already attending nurseries. Britain was decrying
the state of health of the poor working classes and simultaneously embracing policy on
4 EARLY CHILDHOOD IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

the care and education of the young which was to leave most of them in inappropriate
and poor quality conditions.

The broader context

The nineteenth century was a remarkable period of change and development. In addi-
tion to the impact of the Industrial Revolution there was dynamic thinking at work.
Charles Darwin and his most famous work, On the Origin of Species, although not pub-
lished until 1859, impacted on thinking. Amongst these ideas was a view of human
development as a biological process – the privilege of nature over nurture. Darwin was
interested in eugenics, a theory put forward by his cousin Francis Galton. He was also
fascinated by the development of his own children. This is reflected in the publication,
shortly before his death, of observations that he had collected of the development of
one of his sons. Changing views of the role of women in life outside the home are
also evidenced by the work of Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole. Mary’s work
is less well known than that of Florence Nightingale but her active presence in battle
hospitals of the Crimean War, demonstrates changing attitudes.

Reflective questions

1. Consider Slentz and Krogh’s comparison of Locke and Rousseau.

Where do you think your informal theories and practice fit within
those ideas?
2. What evidence do you see in today’s provision for young children of
a desire to be in touch with nature?
3. Which in your view has had more influence, the ideas of Rousseau or
the practical implementation of those ideas by Pestalozzi?
4. To what extent do you think that rich and poor children in the eigh-
teenth and nineteenth centuries would have benefitted from being
educated together?

Key dates

1592–1670 John Comenius

1632–1704 John Locke
1658 Publication of Comenius’s illustrated text for children
1712–1778 Jean-Jacques Rousseau
1740–1826 Johann Oberlin, founder of the first nursery school
1746–1827 Johann Pestalozzi
1762 Publication of Rousseau’s book Emile
1771–1858 Robert Owen
 EARLY CHILDHOOD IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 5

1779 First nursery school established in Germany by Oberlin

1782–1852 Friedrich Froebel
1792–1866 Samuel Wilderspin
1798–1875 Firmin Marbeau, founder of day care movement in
France
1805 Pestalozzi opens school at Yverdun
1805–1881 Mary Seacole
1808 Froebel works with Pestalozzi at Yverdun
1809–1882 Charles Darwin
1816 Owen establishes New Lanark infant school
Froebel establishes Universal German Educational Institute in
Griesheim
1818 Owen visits Yverdun
James Buchanan, teacher at New Lanark, opens the first English
infant school
1820 Samuel Wilderspin opens infant school at Spitalfields, as master
1820–1910 Florence Nightingale
1837 Froebel’s Play and Activity Institute opened at Bad Blankenburg
1840 Froebel renames Play and Activity Institute at Bad Blankenburg
Kindergarten
1844 First crèche established in Paris by Marbeau
1854 Froebelian training begins in England
1859 Publication of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species
1860 Florence Nightingale establishes the Nightingale Training
School for nurses at St Thomas’s Hospital in London
1877 Darwin publishes observations of his son Doddy’s childhood

Further reading

Blackstone, T. (1971) A Fair Start: the provision of pre-school education. London: Allen Lane/LSE.
(See Chapter 2.)
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