It was Froebel, a German educationalist, who laid the foundations for modern education systems based on the recognition that children have unique needs and capabilities. Friedrich was the youngest of six children. His father was a pastor and his mother died nine months after his birth, leaving him to his own devices. Friedrich grew up […]
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Maria Montessori The Montessori Method
The Montessori method of education is a revolutionary method of observing and supporting the natural development of children. Montessori educational practice helps children develop creativity, problem solving, and time-management skills, to contribute to society and the environment, and to become fulfilled persons in their particular time and place on Earth. The basis of Montessori practice […]
Read moreLoris Malaguzzi and The Reggio Approach to Early Childhood Education
It was Loris Malaguzzi (1920-1994) who became the inspiration behind the educational experiences in Reggio Emilia. Malaguzzi was a primary school teacher who later went on to study psychology and brought to his lifetime work in education, his interests and experience in theatre, journalism, sport and politics. He is remembered by his colleagues as a […]
Read moreReggio Approach To Early Childhood Education
From the humble beginnings of the first school in Reggio Emilia, Loris Malaguzzi’s objective was to create an classroom environment in which children, families and teachers felt at ease. For children, environments are created where children can express themselves, explore and investigate, think and reflect, be involved in projects, reinforce their identities, communicate and feel […]
Read moreSteiner Education
Steiner schools collectively form the largest, and quite possibly the fastest growing group of independent private schools in the world. Each school is administratively independent with established associations that provide resources, materials and offer sponsorship for the movement. Children’s needs are at the forefront of Steiner’s approach to education. Steiner respected the fact that children […]
Read moreMaria Montessori
Maria Montessori (1870-1952) was a brilliant and original educator, healer, humanitarian and philosopher. Traditionally, women in Italy did not have the same educational opportunities as men. However, Maria won special educational opportunities because of her intellect. She attended an all-boys’ technical school and was interested in becoming an engineer. She was not encouraged to do […]
Read morePioneers of Play
In today’s world of academia and preparation of children at a young age for the needs of future society, strong emphasis is placed on reading, writing and arithmetic at a very early age. The importance of play in a child’s development has often been overlooked. Play is a powerful tool for learning. Play allows children […]
Read moreLev Vygotsky (1896-1934)
Born in Western Russia, Lev Semyonovitch Vygotsky was a pioneering psychologist who attended the Institute of Psychology in Moscow where he worked extensively on ideas regarding cognitive development. Because of the political relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union, Vygotskys’s work remained unknown to the West for many years. When the Cold War […]
Read moreBilingualism
Parents should have no fears about exposing their child to two or more languages from the very beginning. Such simultaneous exposure usually slows the child down a bit in word learning and early sentence construction. Children will probably ‘mix’ words or grammar from the two languages in individual sentences at the beginning. After this earlier, […]
Read moreItard, Jean Marc Gaspard (1774-1838)
Today Itard is recognised as one of the founding fathers of special education. He became the first person to develop a student centered approach within his curriculum that emphasized the individual child. His work with Victor known as “The Wild Boy of Aveyron” earned Itard an international reputation. Itard was born in the small town […]
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