Early Childhood Education Timeline

By stbaker
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    John Locke

    One of the first to influence early childhood studies, John Locke brought about this idea that children are "blank slates," also refered to as tabula rasa. His theory was based on the idea that children learn directly from the experiences that they have. The events that children experience in the home, school, and socioeconomic status etc. are what create differences in learning.
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    Maria Montessori

    In the late 1800's, Maria Montessori brought on a new idea that children learn through sensory experiences. The Montessori method of teaching came out of this theory and the method is now used in a large number or public and private Montessori schools. These schools put an emphasis on the learning environment that the children experience and uses the environment as another "teacher." To this day, there is a contunious growing number of Montessori schools and research done based on this theory.
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    Jean Piaget

    Jean Piaget brought on a theory of cognitive development based on stages that children reach during a certain time (age) frame. Piaget, along with John Dewwy and Lev Vygotsky, created the idea of constructivism. This is a cognitive theory that has the belief that children activiely seek knowledge. He is known for the experiements and observations he conducted on children's mental and physical development.
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    Abraham Maslow

    Abraham Maslow developed an idea called self actualization. This "self actualization" is acheived through satisfaction of human needs. Maslow's theory created a pyrimid in which he believed children moved from phase to phase to eventually reach self actualization.The theory is based on the idea that children can only fully learn and reach their potential when they have satisfaction in each area.
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    Reggio Emilia Approach

    Reggio Emilia is a small city on Italy. After WWII, this approach was brought about when the people of this srea were looking for a change in education. The movement was lead by Loris Malaguzzi. In 1963, Reggio Emilia opened its first municipal preschool. This approach is driven by th interest of children. Project work, documentation, the environment and using teachers as researchers are what drive this approach.Reggio Emilia is quickly becoming more popular and is constantly researched.
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    Head Start Preschool Program

    In 1964, President Lydon B. Johnson declared The War on Poverty in his Union speech. This speech inspried a panel to develop a child development program that would help communities meet the needs of disadvantaged children. Since then, the Head Start program has been used and revisited many times. Today, Head Start programs serve over 1 million children and families a year in all 50 states.
  • No Child Left Behind Act

    The No Child Left Behind Act reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. President Geaorge W. Bush signed it into law on January 8th, 2002. This act requires all public schools that receive funding to conduct a statewide standardized test to all students. This test examined the performance of the school, and if it performed poorly on the tests, then actions were taken to try to imrpove the school.
  • Every Student Succeeds Act

    This act was signed on December 10th, 2015 by President Obama. This act focuses on the areas of strength and progress that have been made in recent years by educators, comunities, parents, and students. The Obama administration created a better law to more clearly define the goals of preparing all students for success in college and careers.