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The earliest preschools were actually charity preschools established to take care of rural and urban poor children when their parents were at work.
France (1767)
Johann Frederich Oberlin opened an infant school which was called “Salle d’ Aisle (Hall of refuge) in France. This school was set up purely for the purpose of caring and schooling small children while their parents labored in the fields. This form of preschools expanded in France and Germany.
Scotland (1816)
Social reformer, Robert Owen established the institute for the formation of character for the children of cotton mill workers. In 1818 first Infant school was opened in London.
Italy (1829 )
A Roman catholic priest named Ferrante Aporti created Italy’s first infant school and incorporated a curriculum for intellectual, physical and moral training for preschool children as he felt that children need to be prepared for higher learning.
The main draw back of all these preschools was like older children in formal schools, these children were expected to sit in classrooms and learn mathematics, reading and writing.
In 1907: Maria Montessori, a physician and former director of an institution for children with mental retardation opened her “Casa de Bambini (Children’s House) in Rome. She had applied her methods developed for children with mental impairments to the non disabled urban poor children.
The concept of her preschools was that children go through a series of phases during which they
are particularly ready to learn skills for reading and arithmetic. If these early periods are missing
in schooling process, later difficulties in learning may result. She believed that freedom for children must be combined with self discipline and respect for authority.
The individual initiative and self direction allowed to children in a Montessori were combined
with group exercises and learning social manners. The children learned to read, write, count and express themselves artistically. Maria Montessori methods have become widely accepted and became world famous.
Germany (1837)
Frederich Froebel thought that early childhood was a special time and most learning should be acquired through play and imitation. Preschoolers should not be focusing on formal instruction and rigid classroom activities. He started kindergarten (Children’s garden) as he thought that garden setting was appropriate for the young children.
Froebel’s educational theories became so popular that they have spread to Austria, Belgium, Canada, Great Britain, Hungary, Japan, Netherlands, Switzerland and United states. In 1872 National Education Association of United States made an official recommendation that kindergarten become a regular part of the public school system.
London (1910)
Rachel and Margaret Macmillan established the first Nursery school which began as a health clinic that was later expanded into an open air school. Their programme was designed to provide comprehensive prevention oriented services to meet young children’s social, physical, emotional and intellectual needs.
Nursery school movement gained popularity in United States in 1920 based on Macmillan sisters’ model that attached a great importance to parent involvement within the preschool program. By early 1930’s approximately 200 nursery schools in U.S were established which were mostly associated with colleges and universities including some child development laboratories in the country.
United States of America (1965)
Head Start, the first preschool program was created by an American president Johnson. The federal government helped to create this half a day program for low income preschool children. It began as a summer pilot programme that included an education component, nutrition and health screenings and support services for families.
The areas of development which preschool education covers varies from country to country. However following main themes are represented in majority of the systems.
- Personal, social and emotional development
- Communication including talking and listening
- Knowledge and understanding of the world
- Creative and aesthetic development
- Physical development
- Mathematical awareness and development
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