Kindergarten Narratives on Froebelian Education Transnational Investigations

Kindergarten Narratives on Froebelian Education showcases the latest scholarship and historical understandings concerning the casting of the kindergarten idea abroad: across cultures, continents and centuries.

Each chapter reveals previously unknown narratives of intrepid endeavour, political pragmatism and pedagogical innovation that collectively provide insight into the transformation of Froebel's ideas on early education into a global phenomenon. Across global contexts, each chapter presents a case study of the ideas scattering abroad, illustrative of the movement of ideas, curricula and pedagogical change; in effect taking the kindergarten beyond the geographies and pedagogies of its German beginnings and borders. Chapters draw on historical examples of Froebelian education from The Netherlands, New Zealand, Japan, Sweden, the UK and the USA.

In the journal History of Education in 2006, Froebelian history scholar Professor Kevin J. Brehony (1948-2013) lamented the 'relative neglect' of the history of early years education at the same time there was a heightened global social and political interest in educating the young child. In this book, an international team of contributors respond to Brehony's suggestion that historical perspectives can play a role in current debates and suggest ways historical narratives might inform policies and practices in twenty-first century early childhood education, care settings and contexts. Reconnecting past lessons and insights with present and future concerns for early education, young children and their place in society, this important collection also includes an historical timeline charting the spread of Froebelian education ideas and kindergartens across the world.

Helen May is Professor of Education and the former Dean (2006-2011) at the University of Otago College of Education, New Zealand.

Kristen Nawrotzki is Lecturer at the University of Education in Heidelberg, Germany.

Larry Prochner is Professor of Early Childhood Education and the Chair of the Department of Elementary Education at the University of Alberta, Canada.

List of Illustrations
Tribute to Kevin J. Brehony (1948-2013), Rosemary Deem, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK
Preface, Helen May, University of Otago, New Zealand and Kristen Nawrotzki, University of Education, Heidelberg, Germany
1. Tracking Kindergarten as a Travelling Idea, Larry Prochner, University of Alberta, Canada
2. Working at Play or Playing at Work? A Froebelian Paradox Re-examined, Kevin J. Brehony
Part I: International Movement of Ideas: Froebelian Education in Time and Place
3. Happiness, Play, and Bourgeois Morality: The Early Years of Froebel Schooling in the Netherlands, 1858-1904, Nelleke Bakker, University of Groningen, the Netherlands
4. Froebelian Teachers Abroad: Implementing a Modern Infant Education System in Colonial Wellington, New Zealand, 1906–1925, Kerry Bethell, Massey University, New Zealand
5. In the Name of Froebel: Fundraising for Kindergartens in Sweden, 1890-1945, Johannes Westberg, Uppsala University, Sweden
6. 'Such Marvelous Training': Grand Rapids, Michigan as a Kindergartening Centre, 1870-1905, Kristen D. Nawrotzki, University of Education, Heidelberg, Germany
Part II: Curricular and Pedagogical Change: Froebelians Beyond the Kindergarten
7. Kindergarten at the Dewey School, University of Chicago, 1898–1903, Larry Prochner, University of Alberta, Canada and Anna Kirova, University of Alberta, Canada
8. Guiding Creativity: English Froebelian Educators and Plays for Children, 1892-1939, Amy Palmer, University of Roehampton, UK
9. Freeing the Child: Froebelians and the Transformation of Learning Through Play, Self-Activity and Project Work in English Junior School Classrooms, 1920-1952, Jane Read, University of Roehampton, UK
Part III:Radical by Tradition: Long-Term Perspectives on Kindergarten Education
10. 'Come, Let Us Live With Our Children': Undokai, The Children's Play Festival at a Froebelian Kindergarten in Japan, 1889-2015, Yukiyo Nashida, University of New England, Australia and Fusa Abe, Shoei (Glory) Junior College, Japan
11. Relocation, Continuity and Change: Dunedin Kindergartens, New Zealand, 1890s-2010s, Helen May, University of Otago
Selected References

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