1

Founders and Contributors in Early Childhood Education

The earliest years of children are also their best learning years since cognition and acquisition of knowledge

are at peak. Young children are driven with so much enthusiasm in learning new things and discovering the world

around them. Relationships support this process such as a mother to her child, and a teacher to his student. However,

different approaches were laid down by various psychologists and educators in the process of child learning. There

were conflicting theories, and some principles that corroborate each other.

Nevertheless, these theories are recognized as pioneers and thresholds to even more creative innovations in

teaching techniques and learning strategies in the early stages of child development.

Here are some of the pioneers and founders who molded the different educational systems all across the

globe and are still relevant up to date.

Jean Jacques Rousseau

Rousseau was born in Geneva, Switzerland wherein his mother died immediately after his birth. This

unfortunate occurrence had a relatively strong impact on his personality and the manner in which he engages with

his peers. At a wee age of ten, his father was incarcerated for a minor offense, leaving him with his Pastor Uncle who

was able to send him to school. At sixteen, Rousseau wandered from place to place, earning from different jobs. He

was most known to be the French Ambassador’s personal secretary in Venice (Nutbrown and Clough 23).

Emile is one of Rousseau’s most significant published works. In this piece, Rousseau laid out some of his

view and principles in Early Childhood Education. In his belief, the keystone in education and its most purposeful aim

is to live righteously (Nutbrown and Clough 23). As a naturalist, Rousseau believed that a child should experience

nature. A child’s growth is divided into three stages:

a. At age twelve, children act like animals.

b. The development stage commences at age thirteen to sixteen.

 2

c. The third stage is the young adult phase, when they start to transition into adults.

Rousseau purports that the practice of imposing education upon children is erroneous, for the child only

needs nature in order to be self-reliant. Children should be guided by reason in his actions. Through this natural form

of education, Rousseau believes that a child who is in sync with his natural self will develop his own ideas and be

governed by his own will, which is exactly what teachers should put forward in the educational system (Peckover 87).

In the modern setting, the learning environment is “divorced” from the natural setting. Despite having

windows, children are forced to focus on the teacher through blinds or shades. The vibrant natural light from the

outside is superseded by man-made lighting to recreate the former. Rubber mats are used in playgrounds in place of

earth. Fences are erected and trees are cut down. This should not be the case as per Rousseau, since children are

supposed to learn in a natural environment (Peckover 91).

Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi

Pestalozzi’s early life played a vital role in his later beliefs and interests. His father died at age thirty-three,

leaving his mom a widower with three young children and limited financial resources. Nevertheless, Pestalozzi’s mom

was able to rely upon their faithful servant, Barbara to take care of the kids with her. They devoted their lives to raise

the children in a loving and comfortable environment. Through this, the roots of his belief grew and bore fruits; he

believed since then that ‘original goodness of man and of his dedication to the poor’ resulted from the unfailing love

and attention given by his mother and servant.” Throughout his whole life and career, he carried such belief and

gratitude to the women who influenced his principles, as well as attitude towards life (Bowers and Gehring 307).

In order for children to succeed in their education, Pestalozzi recognized the importance of a close

relationship between home and education. The two should go hand-in-hand with one another. His doctrines

perpetually emphasized the role of a mother in child development (Bowers and Gehring 308).

Pestalozzi’s main motivation, as an educator, was to change the approach to teaching, and that is to

educate for the sake of society’s well-being. Contemporary educational practices such as rote memorization which he

compared to “catechizing” is nothing but a parrot-like learning of unintelligible sounds (“How Gertrude teachers her
 3

children” 95). He suggested that the children should absorb new information through gradual steps that would

correspond to the level of the child’s development. Before moving to a new material, the subject matter have to be

well understood. This can be done through hands-on experiences and sensory learning through the use of actual

objects (Laubach and Smith 343).

Friedrich Froebel

Froebel is renowned as the inventor of kindergarten. His emphasis on child centeredness and play

resounded in the whole world through the progressive movement (Best 272). He was born to a Lutheran Minister in

1782 and this profoundly shaped his religious beliefs and experiences as a child. His stepmother never developed a

liking to him. When he turned fifteen, his parents apprenticed him to a forester. He studied plants and trees for two

years. Gleaning from such experience, and for working as a mineralogist for the Royal Museum in Berlin, his

understanding of nature was heightened. His religious dogma influenced the way he perceived child study and

development, to which he focused on in his career (Provenzo 86).

Froebel’s invention of kindergarten was a synthesis of Fichte and Pestalozzi’s theories. Education of a child

should start shortly after birth. The spiritual dimensions of a child was delved into and the child’s tendency to need

and want physical activity. Such is called the ‘theory of play”. His most important contribution to education was the

belief that a child needed to be active and engaged in meaningful play. This is still very much significant in the

modern setup as children have the natural instinct to want to move about and create (Provenzo 87).

“Froebel’s gifts and occupations” refer to a series of twenty devices and activities, a hands-on curricular

system, intended to introduce children to the physical forms and relationships found in nature. The first ten

educational activities were referred to as gifts, and the second set of activities were the occupations. This practice

aims to awaken and develop a child’s recognition of the God-given elements found in nature (Provenzo 87).

Froebel’s philosophy embraced a Christian pantheism, one that assumed that all things in nature (animal,

vegetable, and mineral) are connected (Provenzo 91).

 4

Maria Montessori

Montessori is Italian-born. As her work involved psychiatry, Dr. Montessori developed an interest in the

treatment of children and for many years uncovered many aspects of behavior amongst children. At a young age of

twenty-eight, she became the director of a school specially designed for mentally-disabled children. After two years of

guidance and effort on her part, the children in her institution who had formerly been tagged us uneducable, took the

examination with normal children, and successfully passed. From then on, she began to wonder about the

capabilities of a normal children when even disabled children could transcend the academic expectations around

them (“Theories of Early Childhood: Maria Montessori, Erik Erikson, Jean Piaget, and Lev Vygotsky –

TouroSGOTTESMAN”).

A belief of Montessori is that children are inherently dependent, so all the lessons and concepts should be

systematically offered to the child by the teacher. However, the teacher should not “spoon-feed” the child. The duty is

to lead the child to the lessons. This includes the child’s adaptation to the environment and the facilitation of the

child’s exploration and creativity. This is called the “Prepared Environment” (Frierson 336).

Montessori’s method is more on the interactive side of the learning process. The presence of textbooks are

discouraged since the children are taught to learn directly from the environment and from their peers as well. The

teacher is a guiding instrument in helping the children learn new things from the surroundings. The most vital element

in the Montessori type of child education is the proficiency of teachers. Teachers are expected to be well-trained and

well-versed in the field. In order for the educator to be certified and qualified, one has to undergo rigorous studying

and difficult training through written and oral exams. The teachers serve as the backbone of the educational system

and are expected to mold children into prospective successful individuals (Frierson 337).

The Montessori Method was ultimately recognized internationally. However, the rigid certification of teachers

limited the growth of the Montessori Method despite its observance. This did not stop the utilization of such method,

except for the aforementioned aspect of such (Solan 61).

 5

Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky

Vygotsky is one of the most influential psychologists who is best known for his sociocultural theory. He was

born in Belorussia, now known as Belarus. He received a law degree but also studied a colorful variety of other fields

such as literature, linguistics, sociology, psychology philosophy, and the arts. After deciding to teach literature and

philosophy in his hometown, he decided to also set up a research laboratory and practice clinical psychology

(“Picture Perfect Playgrounds, Inc.”).

Vygotsky believed that social learning precedes development. He stated: “Every function in the child’s

cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first, between people

(interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological) (“Picture Perfect Playgrounds, Inc.”).

He was also known for the Zone of Proximal Development, which is the distance between a student’s ability

to perform a task under adult guidance and the student’s ability to solve problems independently or with peers.

Accordingly, humans use faculties that develop from a particular culture, such as speech and writing, and were

initially acquired in communicating needs. A child’s actions, upon growing up, do not necessarily have actions that

may be considered novel, since everything is drawn from their surroundings. Hence, a collaborative way of learning

among students is the best method to inculcate the learnings that the educator provides for input. This way of viewing

education is contrary to what other theorists and pioneer educators believe (Vasily 13).

Russia’s way of teaching was molded in accordance with Vygotsky’s theory. A child can imitate a number of

actions which may surpass the boundaries of his own potentiality, if not to a limitless extent. With the help of imitation

and collaboration in early childhood education, under adult supervision, the child does much more than he can do

with understanding and learning independently. The divergence between the level of performing tasks which are

accessible under guidance with adult help, and the level of performing tasks accessible to independent activity,

defines the zone of the child’s potential development (Simon 29).

 6

Jean Piaget

Piaget is a well-known French-Swiss developmental psychologist. He has written many remarkable books

and articles which never run out of relevance. Piaget was considered a child prodigy since he demonstrated rare

intellectual ability in the scientific domain. He was originally a biologist, and he thought of students as “little scientists’

in a classroom setup. They are little scientists in the sense that they learn voraciously as individuals who build

concepts and structures in memory to store and retain information. He built his theories by observing his own children

as they play and learned together (Herman 18).

Piaget’s main focus is constructivism, or how an individual constructs knowledge. Cognitive constructivism

is Piaget’s work wherein many studies were derived and many opposing theories were created. Piaget’s theory

proposes that humans cannot be given information, which they get from their immediate surroundings. Humans must

construct their own knowledge in order to learn (Powell and Kalina 242).

According to Piaget, children’s schemas are constructed through four stages of development namely: the

sensorimotor stage, preoperational stage, concrete operational stage, and the formal operational stage. These are

fixed stages that children have to go through in learning. In going through this stages, teachers are bound by the duty

to facilitate this learning process, but may not input anything that the student has the tendency to imitate. The

students has to construct his own ideas for efficient cognition and learning (Powell and Kalina 243).

Piaget’s clinical method of research, based from his background in biology, clashed with the more accepted

behavioral research methods employed in the United States at this point in history (Herman 21).

Burrhus Frederic Skinner

B. F. Skinner was born in Susquehanna, Pennsylvania. His mother was a stenographer, secretary, and

notary public, first in a law office and later in a railroad chief executive's office. His father too was a successful

attorney, having studied law with a local attorney and at New York Law School (Hawkins 258).
 7

Skinner's parents had both been achievers, valued learning, and were ambitious for both themselves and

him. Skinner was also brought up the same way; he grew up to be a brilliant, enthusiastic boy who was thirsty for

knowledge (Hawkins 258).

Skinner stated that his parents never used physical punishment--with the exception of once washing his

mouth out with soap for using a profanity-- mere disapproval sufficed to limit unacceptable behavior. But he was not a

conformist. He was quite independent in his opinions and at Hamilton College he was an intellectual rebel and

somewhat of a prankster (Hawkins 258).

His impact on many fields cannot be forgone. This mostly includes topics on children and education. One

area of particular importance in education is programmed instruction. Skinner learned of a device that had been

developed to present teaching material mechanically and provide feedback to the learner. He saw the potential of

this, because not only did it break down the task into easily-acquired components, it could also provide immediate

feedback, permit each learner to progress at his or her own pace, and virtually assure complete master' of the

material by every learner (Hawkins 258).

Other developments in education were enthused by Skinner as well. For example, one that was begun by a

student of Skinner, Ogden Lindsley, is the system called "precision teaching," which emphasizes pinpointing of

behavior, daily measurement of small performance samples, and graphing of results. Another area of development

that was largely stimulated by Skinner is education and training of persons with autism or retardation. Fuller (1949)

showed that even a profoundly retarded person could be taught, using operant conditioning. This was a remarkable

revelation at that time (Hawkins 258).

“The theory of B.F. Skinner is based upon the idea that learning is a function of change in overt behavior.

Changes in behavior are the result of an individual’s response to events (stimuli) that occur in the environment. A

response produces a consequence such as defining a word, hitting a ball, or solving a math problem. When a

particular Stimulus-Response (S-R) pattern is reinforced (rewarded), the individual is conditioned to respond. The

distinctive characteristic of operant conditioning relative to previous forms of behaviorism (e.g., connectionism, drive

reduction) is that the organism can emit responses instead of only eliciting response due to an external stimulus.

Reinforcement is the key element in Skinner’s S-R theory. A reinforcer is anything that strengthens the desired
 8

response. It could be verbal praise, a good grade or a feeling of increased accomplishment or satisfaction. The

theory also covers negative reinforcers — any stimulus that results in the increased frequency of a response when it

is withdrawn (different from adversive stimuli — punishment — which result in reduced responses). A great deal of

attention was given to schedules of reinforcement (e.g. interval versus ratio) and their effects on establishing and

maintaining behavior.” (“Operant Conditioning, ‘B.F. Skinner’”).

Loris Malaguzzi

Malaguzzi is the founder and guide for fifty years to the schools of young children in Regio, Italy. He

graduated in pedagogy and began his career as a primary school teacher. He then qualified as a psychologist and

founded Reggio-Emilia’s municipal Psycho-Pedagogical Medical Centre where he worked for more than twenty years

(Loris Malaguzzi).

He coined the “Reggio Emilia approach” in teaching. In this approach, Reggio educators strongly believe

that a child has unlimited potential who is eager to interact and connect with the world, rather than an empty vessel

waiting to be filled. A child is driven with curiosity and imagination who delights in taking responsibility for his own

learning. By valuing children in this way educators put much more emphasis on really listening to children. Indeed,

the pedagogical basis of the whole Reggio approach has been called the pedagogy of listening – listening being a

metaphor for the educators’ attempt to gain as real an understanding as possible of children and their learning

processes (“The Reggio Emilia Approach to Early Years Education”).

Unlike other pedagogies that can be guilty of treating early infancy as a preparation for later childhood and

adulthood, and consequently seeing nursery education as a kind of antechamber to later stages of formal education,

the Reggio Approach considers early infancy to be a distinct developmental phase in which children demonstrate an

extraordinary curiosity about the world. Indeed, the name of the schools, scuole dell’infanzia (schools of early

childhood), does not have the connotations of ‘preparation’ and ‘pre-ness’ inherent in the Anglo-American term ‘pre-

school’. This image of the child has a fundamental and far-reaching effect on the learning and teaching that takes

place in the schools(“The Reggio Emilia Approach to Early Years Education”).

 9

With that being said, the following are factors in the Reggio Approach:

a. The image of the child

b. The expressive arts in the pre-school establishment

c. Progettazione

d. Community and parent-school relationships

e. Environment

f. Teachers as learners

John Dewey

Dewey was born to a middle class mother and a local judge of a father in Burlington, Vermont. He grew up

on a farm and each and every one of his brothers are college graduates. John was known to be an average student

in school. His father wanted him to take up engineering but ended up taking philosophy. He spent the next years of

his career in teaching, where his passion lies (Hendley 142).

From such experience, Dewey strongly believed that learning should originate from the interests of the

children, which is the foundation of the projects approach. The educator is there to promote their interests for

discovery and inquiry. The classroom should be a place of democracy and a venue to foster social consciousness

(Hendley 142).

John Dewey is in agreement with John Locke on the question of childhood intellect; Dewey also thought we

should treat children as rational creatures. He wrote not only that children are rational, but also that, in some

situations, children can be good intellectual and moral role models for adults. Dewey presented a conception of

childhood intellect that emerges from his conception of growth, which is an essential aspect of his educational

philosophy (Weidman 155).

 10

Dewey’s view of children as potentially being good intellectual and moral role models for adults is linked to

his appreciation of the distinctive qualities of children’s minds. Since adults may, with age, become more rigid,

narrow-minded, and closed to new experience, a child’s wide-open, flexible, creative attitude can be something

adults can learn from both intellectually and morally (Weidman 156).

Conclusion

Different approaches have long existed and present theorists learn more about the nuances behind early

childhood education as different strategies are being carried out by educators. These approaches may have different

ways of accomplishment but are unified in one aspect: the efficacy of teaching strategies among students. Students

have different learning capacities and teachers have different teaching strategies. No matter the differences, the

outcome still defines a particular approach in a specific group of learners. The approach to be used is based on the

learning and cognitive needs of the learners themselves.

 Works Cited

Best, Ron. "Exploring the Spiritual in the Pedagogy of Friedrich Froebel." International Journal of Children's
Spirituality, vol. 21, no. 3/4, Aug-Nov2016, pp. 272-282. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/1364436X.2016.1231664.

Bowers, Fredalene B. and Thom Gehring. "Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi: 18Th Century Swiss Educator and
Correctional Reformer." Journal of Correctional Education, vol. 55, no. 4, Dec. 2004, pp. 306-319. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=15420380&site=ehost-live

Davydov, Vasily V. "The Influence of L. S. Vygotsky on Education Theory, Research, and Practice." Educational
Researcher, vol. 24, no. 3, 01 Jan. 1995, pp. 12-21. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ504395&site=ehost-live.

FRIERSON, PATRICK R. "Making Room for Children's Autonomy: Maria Montessori's Case for Seeing Children's
Incapacity for Autonomy as an External Failing." Journal of Philosophy of Education, vol. 50, no. 3, Aug. 2016,
pp. 332-350. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/1467-9752.12134.

Hawkins, Robert P. "The Life and Contributions of Burrhus Frederick Skinner." Education & Treatment of Children,
vol. 13, no. 3, Aug. 1990, p. 258. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=sih&AN=9607036925&site=ehost-live.

Hendley, Brian. "{The Education of John Dewey}." Canadian Journal of Education, vol. 27, no. 1, Feb. 2002, pp. 142-
144. EBSCOhost, doi:10.2307/1602193.

Herman, William E. "The Ideas of Jean Piaget: Using Theory to Better Understand Theory and Improve
Learning." Swiss American Historical Society Review, vol. 48, no. 3, Nov. 2012, pp. 18-31. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=31h&AN=83459298&site=ehost-live.

Last Updated April 1st, 2018 01:24 am. “Operant Conditioning (B.F. Skinner).” InstructionalDesign.org,
www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/operant-conditioning/.

Laubach, Maria and Joan K. Smith. "Educating with Heart, Head, and Hands." American Educational History Journal,
vol. 38, no. 1/2, Spring2011, pp. 341-356. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=31h&AN=64872929&site=ehost-live.
 “Loris Malaguzzi | Reggio Children.” Reggio Emilia Approach | Reggio Children, www.reggiochildren.it/identita/loris-
malaguzzi/?lang=en.

Peckover, Christopher. "Realizing the Natural Self: Rousseau and the Current System of Education." Philosophical
Studies in Education, vol. 43, 01 Jan. 2012, pp. 84-94. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1000297&site=ehost-live.

“Picture Perfect Playgrounds, Inc.” A Wealth of Play and Playground Information at Your Fingertips.,
www.pgpedia.com/v/lev-vygotsky.

Powell, Katherine C. and Cody J. Kalina. "COGNITIVE and SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM: DEVELOPING TOOLS for
an I EFFECTIVE CLASSROOM." Education, vol. 130, no. 2, Winter2009, p. 241. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=47349084&site=ehost-live.

Provenzo, Eugene F., Jr. "Friedrich Froebel's Gifts: Connecting the Spiritual and Aesthetic to the Real World of Play
and Learning." American Journal of Play, vol. 2, no. 1, 01 Jan. 2009, pp. 85-99. EBSCOhost,
search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1069222&site=ehost-live.

Simon, Brian, and Joan Simon. Educational Psychology in the U.S.S.R. Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1963.

Solan, Harold A. "Maria Montessori: A Biography." Optometry & Vision Development, vol. 38, no. 2, June 2007, p. 61.
EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=25497526&site=ehost-live.

The Reggio Emilia Approach to Early Years Education, education.gov.scot/improvement/learning-resources/The

Reggio Emilia Approach to Early Years Education.

“Theories of Early Childhood: Maria Montessori, Erik Erikson, Jean Piaget, and Lev Vygotsky -
TouroSGOTTESMAN.” Google Sites, sites.google.com/site/tourosgottesman/theories-of-early-childhood.

Weidman, Nadine. "[Becoming John Dewey]." ISIS: Journal of the History of Science in Society, vol. 96, no. 1, Mar.
2005, pp. 155-156. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1086/433045.