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Period: 3150 BCE to 330 BCE
Childhood in ancient Egypt
Children of ancient Egypt were viewed as “mini adults” since the concept of childhood had not been devoloped yet. Parents played the main role in teaching their children, but most sources of educational instruction were for a father to his son. Only a small group of children, like the sons of scribes or noblemen, received formal education. Children inherited their parent’s possessions and wealth. there was also a great division between social classes, so children rarely had contact. -
Period: 1800 BCE to 300 BCE
Childhood in ancient Greece
The child is still considered an adult project, lacking the qualities to develop to be a virtuous citizen. Some philosophers express the need for education to be adapted to human nature. ex: Plutarch: On the education of children. In Sparta when children reached seven, they were enlisted into pre-military training (learning how to take orders, overcome fatigue and emerge victorious in battle). Plutarch writes that Spartan children’s studies were limited to only what was necessary. -
Period: 384 BCE to 322 BCE
Aristotle's thinking
Aristotle mentioned about different periods for early childhood education: " until 2 years old(first period),it is convenient to adapt them to difficulties such as cold, In the subsequent period(until the age of 5 years), time in which it is still not good to guide them to a study or work in order to let them growing up. they must be allowed enough movement to avoid bodily inactivity, especially with games. Most childhood games should be imitations of the serious occupations of the future age". -
Period: 500 to 1500
Medieval Period
Childhood was viewed more as a time of immaturity when a person was not able to complete any work. Even children were not expected to work full-time, they were expected to contribute to some of the workload(as feeding animals, washing dishes, or caring for their younger siblings). Play was also important to the life of children in the Middle Ages. Education for children was done by parents to them and only wealthier families had money for formal education provided by clergy members. -
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
His work contains a series of basic principles on how Educate children, and it becomes a very fashionable book in French high society. Between his most influential and well-known ideas are that the child is good by nature. Rousseau maintains that is a being
with its own characteristics, which follows a physical, intellectual, moral development and summarizes these
ideas in the phrase: The little man is not just a small man. -
Industrial Revolution
During the Industrial Revolution poor children often worked full time jobs in order to help support their families. Children as young as four years old worked long hours in factories under dangerous conditions. Children performed all sorts of jobs including working on machines in factories, selling newspapers on street corners, breaking up coal at the coal mines. Sometimes children were preferred to adults because they were small and could easily fit between machines and into small spaces. -
UNICEF
The United Nations established UNICEF on 11 December 1946. UNICEF works in countries and territories to save children’s lives, to defend their rights, and to help them fulfil their potential, from early childhood through adolescence. -
children´s rights
Declaration of the Rights of the Child -
World Summit for Children
On 29-30 September 1990 the largest gathering of world leaders in history assembled at the United Nations to attend the World Summit for Children. Led by 71 heads of State and Government and 88 other senior officials, mostly at the ministerial level, the World Summit adopted a Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children and a Plan of Action for implementing the Declaration in the 1990s.
