This article reexamines the intellectual history of the first public kindergartens, established in St Louis, Missouri, by William Torrey Harris and Elizabeth Blow in 1873. This piece argues that historians have overlooked a critical influence on the establishment of the first public kindergartens; namely, Harris and Blow's conviction that…

What is the role of early education and care in advocating and providing for nature play in an era when children's exposure to nature play and risk is threatened? This review deconstructs the word "nature," as well as discusses nature's role in centuries of theorists and early childhood care pioneers. The article concludes with some…

Constructivist thought and practice connect easily with forms of art education that emphasize choice and student agency. This article traces the contemporary forms of constructivism that vie with more structured pedagogical approaches in American schools and recommends policies and procedures that may preserve the qualities of constructivist…

Rachel and Margaret McMillan created an open-air nursery in Deptford, London that has influenced early years education for 100 years. Their vision for young children living in poverty and deprivation to have access to fresh air through outdoor learning, nutritious meals, and an enriching environment to explore and develop has been embraced and…

A central principle of 1970s feminism was a concern with making women visible and the historical creation of women's public voices is an important methodological premise of feminist research. When written, biographies of female actors "recovered" from the condescension of posterity, can illuminate the telling of individual and collective…

Although Montessori education is often considered a form of playful learning, Maria Montessori herself spoke negatively about a major component of playful learning--pretend play, or fantasy--for young children. In this essay, the author discusses this apparent contradiction: how and why Montessori education includes elements of playful learning…

Although Montessori education is often considered a form of playful learning, Maria Montessori herself spoke negatively about a major component of playful learning--pretend play, or fantasy--for young children. In this essay, the author discusses this apparent contradiction: how and why Montessori education includes elements of playful learning…

In this response to commentaries, the author states that she chose the term "revolution" because it comes from the Latin word "revolutio," which means "a turn around." Leading researchers in the early 20th century were advocating that young children were mathematically inept and that mathematics education was useless before elementary school…

The task of re-evaluating the legacy of Susan Isaacs is a complex one. Of course there is the need to acknowledge the role and work of a key woman thinker and (in some senses) activist, clearly unconventional and forward-thinking, whose specific contribution seems to have been largely overlooked by malestream history. As a contemporary to some of…

Elizabeth Peabody, a radical feminist, used early 19th-century ideas of the "woman's sphere" to suggest that a career in early childhood education was "the ideal solution to the problem of what educated American women should do with their lives," and she credited Froebel's "genius" in identifying a way in…

The creation of the Head Start program occurred at break-neck speed with many dramatic turns and many colorful players. No one tells the story better than Edward Zigler in "Head Start: The Inside Story of America's Most Successful Educational Experiment"--a detailed and personal, behind the scenes look at the program's inception. From this…

It is now axiomatic that challenging behaviors are defined more profitably by their functions (their motivations) than by their topographies (what they look like). The notion that challenging behaviors can be defined on the basis of their function has led in the past 30 years to a dramatically reconfigured approach to assessment and intervention.…

Over the years parents, professionals, and politicians have come together to advocate on behalf of children's rights. Advocacy can occur individually, collectively, or a combination of both. Although some advocacy efforts are more successful than others, it is the process of the advocacy and voices behind it that matter most. In this guest…

Praxeological research is a necessary contribution to the research field in early childhood education and care, which is currently dominated by an evidence-based paradigm that tends to consider the measurement of predefined outcomes as the most valid form of research. We analyse the history of the evidence-based paradigm in the field of medicine…

Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) has a long and proud history as an association of members dedicated to the cause of childhood education. The word "association" originates from the word "associate," for which there exists several definitions, with the common distinction of joining together or uniting in partnership. When…