Overview

Kindergarten Narratives on Froebelian Education showcases the latest scholarship and historical understandings concerning the casting of the kindergarten idea abroad: across cultures, continents and centuries. Each chapter reveals previously unknown narratives of intrepid endeavour, political pragmatism and pedagogical innovation that collectively provide insight into the transformation of Froebel’s ideas on early education into a global phenomenon. Across global contexts, each chapter presents a case study of the ideas scattering abroad, illustrative of the movement of ideas, curricula and pedagogical change; in effect taking the kindergarten beyond the geographies and pedagogies of its German beginnings and borders. Chapters draw on historical examples of Froebelian education from The Netherlands, New Zealand, Japan, Sweden, the UK and the USA. In the journal History of Education in 2006, Froebelian history scholar Professor Kevin J. Brehony (1948-2013) lamented the ‘relative neglect’ of the history of early years education at the same time there was a heightened global social and political interest in educating the young child. In this book, an international team of contributors respond to Brehony’s suggestion that historical perspectives can play a role in current debates and suggest ways historical narratives might inform policies and practices in twenty-first century early childhood education, care settings and contexts. Reconnecting past lessons and insights with present and future concerns for early education, young children and their place in society, this important collection also includes an historical timeline charting the spread of Froebelian education ideas and kindergartens across the world.

Full Product Details

Author:   Professor Helen May (University of Otago, New Zealand) ,  Dr Kristen Nawrotzki (University of Education in Heidelberg, Germany) ,  Professor Larry Prochner (University of Alberta, Canada)
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint:   Bloomsbury Academic
Weight:   0.322kg
ISBN:  

9781350069930

ISBN 10:   1350069930
Pages:   224
Publication Date:   31 May 2018
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations Notes on Contributors Kevin J. Brehony 1948-2013 Rosemary Deem Preface, Helen May and Kristen Nawrotzki 1. Tracking Kindergarten as a Travelling Idea, Larry Prochner 2. Working at Play or Playing at Work? A Froebelian Paradox Re-examined, Kevin J. Brehony Part I: International Movement of Ideas: Froebelian Education in Time and Place 3. Happiness, Play, and Bourgeois Morality: The Early Years of Froebel Schooling in the Netherlands, 1858-1904, Nelleke Bakker 4. Froebelian Teachers Abroad: Implementing a Modern Infant Education System in Colonial Wellington, New Zealand, 1906–1925, Kerry Bethell 5. In the Name of Froebel: Fundraising for Kindergartens in Sweden, 1890-1945, Johannes Westberg 6. ‘Such Marvelous Training’: Grand Rapids, Michigan as a Kindergartening Centre, 1870-1905, Kristen D. Nawrotzki Part II: Curricular and Pedagogical Change: Froebelians Beyond the Kindergarten 7. Kindergarten at the Dewey School, University of Chicago, 1898–1903, Larry Prochner and Anna Kirova 8. Guiding Creativity: English Froebelian Educators and Plays for Children, 1892-1939, Amy Palmer 9. Freeing the Child: Froebelians and the Transformation of Learning Through Play, Self-Activity and Project Work in English Junior School Classrooms, 1920-1952, Jane Read Part III:Radical by Tradition: Long-Term Perspectives on Kindergarten Education 10. ‘Come, Let Us Live With Our Children’: Undokai, The Children’s Play Festival at a Froebelian Kindergarten in Japan, 1889-2015, Yukiyo Nashida and Fusa Abe 11. Relocation, Continuity and Change: Dunedin Kindergartens, New Zealand, 1890s-2010s, Helen May Selected References Index

Reviews

This book honours the contribution of Professor Kevin Brehony (1948-2013), an internationally respected Froebelian scholar, through taking up some of the challenges he explored in which historical perspectives can play a role in current debates, informing policies and practices globally. This is achieved through the dialogic spaces created by the authors which interrogate the internal challenges of Froebelian early childhood education as well as the ways in which Froebelians have engaged with the world beyond that framework at different points in history. It makes an exciting read because it has so much to say that is important for policy and practice in early childhood education globally today. * Tina Bruce CBE, Honorary Visiting Professor, University of Roehampton, UK * This rich collection of new research, written by prominent international scholars in the field of kindergarten history, is a fitting tribute to Professor Kevin Brehony and to the legacy of Friedrich Froebel. President of the International Froebel Society, Professor Brehony's work was well known and respected within the community of early childhood and kindergarten researchers and educators, and he is remembered as the heart of organized international scholarship on Froebel. Early childhood education continues to be contested terrain and this volume speaks to the core and flexibility of Froebel's ideas, demonstrating that after 175 years his philosophy and methods remain vital to scholarly and public discourses on best practices. Today, in debates over work or play, child centered or adult centered pedagogies, Froebelian principles still provide a powerful justification for advocates of child-centered learning. These essays represent the fulfilment of Froebel's own hope, If only the seed be cast abroad, its springing up will not fail nor the fruit be wanting. For early childhood scholars, educators, and policy makers especially, these highly textured, transnational case studies of applied Froebelian pedagogy are essential reading. * Roberta Wollons, Professor, University of Massachusetts Boston, USA * In my opinion, all contributors attempted to highlight core aspects of an educational historical phenomenon, the internationalization of the kindergarten movement, thus successfully contributing to a better understanding and interpretation of contemporary debates concerning the theory and practice in early childhood education. * Historical Studies in Education * The volume is well worth the effort and covers much new ground. * History of Education *

This book honours the contribution of Professor Kevin Brehony (1948-2013), an internationally respected Froebelian scholar, through taking up some of the challenges he explored in which historical perspectives can play a role in current debates, informing policies and practices globally. This is achieved through the dialogic spaces created by the authors which interrogate the internal challenges of Froebelian early childhood education as well as the ways in which Froebelians have engaged with the world beyond that framework at different points in history. It makes an exciting read because it has so much to say that is important for policy and practice in early childhood education globally today. * Tina Bruce CBE, Honorary Visiting Professor, University of Roehampton, UK * This rich collection of new research, written by prominent international scholars in the field of kindergarten history, is a fitting tribute to Professor Kevin Brehony and to the legacy of Friedrich Froebel. President of the International Froebel Society, Professor Brehony's work was well known and respected within the community of early childhood and kindergarten researchers and educators, and he is remembered as the heart of organized international scholarship on Froebel. Early childhood education continues to be contested terrain and this volume speaks to the core and flexibility of Froebel's ideas, demonstrating that after 175 years his philosophy and methods remain vital to scholarly and public discourses on best practices. Today, in debates over work or play, child centered or adult centered pedagogies, Froebelian principles still provide a powerful justification for advocates of child-centered learning. These essays represent the fulfilment of Froebel's own hope, If only the seed be cast abroad, its springing up will not fail nor the fruit be wanting. For early childhood scholars, educators, and policy makers especially, these highly textured, transnational case studies of applied Froebelian pedagogy are essential reading. * Roberta Wollons, Professor, University of Massachusetts Boston, USA *

Author Information

Helen May is Professor of Education and the former Dean (2006-2011) at the University of Otago College of Education, New Zealand. Kristen Nawrotzki is Lecturer at the University of Education in Heidelberg, Germany. Larry Prochner is Professor of Early Childhood Education and the former Chair of the Department of Elementary Education at the University of Alberta, Canada.

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