Early Childhood Education

Historical Background

The development of young children is addressed in historical evidence from the ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome (by the work of Plato and Aristotle and Quintillian) to the Middle Ages in Europe (by the work of Martin Luther, John Amos Comenius, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Johann Pestalozzi, and Friedrich Froebel).

In Colonial America it was typically the role of the parents to educate the youngest children in the family, although there is evidence of some New England families using the services of private dame schools to help their children learn basic reading skills. By the early 1800s, infant schools were established in large cities across the country (New York, Philadelphia, and Boston) as a primary means of addressing the needs of disadvantaged youth. Modeled after the schools run by Pestalozzi in Europe, these schools typically used a play-based method of teaching. Even at this time there was controversy as to the roles of rote memorization and discipline in the education of young children.

Education and Psychological Development

The phrase developmentally appropriate practice is commonly linked to early childhood education. Educators working with young children understand that there is a predictable sequence of growth and development and apply this knowledge of how young children grow as they develop and learn to prepare learning environments that meet the “age appropriate” educational needs of the children in their setting. As all children grow at varying rates, educators must consider the “individual appropriateness” of learning experiences. The work of Jean Piaget serves as the foundation for what today is considered developmentally appropriate practice. Piaget's work established that children's cognitive development evolves in a series of stages (sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operations), with each stage bringing a unique opportunity for young children to construct their own knowledge by interacting with the environment and with those around them. By using these developmental profiles, early childhood educators can encourage unique child-centered learning experiences that highlight the development of the whole child (physical, social, emotional, and cognitive).

[Page 270]The work of Lev Vygotsky also contributed greatly to the study of young children. He believed that the sociocultural aspects of learning had to be considered and he highlighted the role of language in reaching higher cognitive processes. His theory supports assistance by others in helping the young child to a more complex level of development if the child is near his or her own limit of ability or zone of proximal development (ZPD). The learning theory known as constructivism has its roots in the “active learning” models of both Piaget and Vygotsky.

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