Influencing Early Childhood Education: Key Figures, Philosophies and Ideas

Introduction

Part 1 Thinking about early childhood in the nineteenth century
Robert Owen (1771-1858)
Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852)

Part 2 Progressive ideas of the twentieth century
Margaret McMillan (1860-1931)
Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925)
Maria Montessori (1870-1952)
Susan Isaacs (1885-1948)

Part 3 Psychoanalytic theories and their impact
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) and psychoanalytic theories
Child-focused psychodynamic theories
John Bowlby (1907-1990) and theories of attachment
Emotions and learning

Part 4 Constructivism and behaviourism
Burrhus Skinner (1904-1990), behaviourist theories and approaches
Jean Piaget(1896-1980) and constructivism
Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) and social constructivism

Part 5 Challenging theories and practice
De(constructing) schooling
Deconstructing early childhood
Deconstructing development

Part 6 Weighing up the evidence?
Final thoughts

References

Thinking about early childhood education will offer an academic and critical approach to the wealth of theories that underpin elements of current practice in early childhood care and education. It will focus on analyzing the rise and interconnectedness of theories of learning and development. It will range from key nineteenth century movements to progressive ideas of the twentieth century, encompassing psychoanalytic theories, deconstructing theories and constructivism and behaviourism.