The Nature and Function of Language
The history of education has developed slowly. In 1870, the Fosters Elementary Education Act was documented, establishing elementary schools for 5-13 year olds. It then wasn’t until 1905 that the Board of Education introduced Nursery Schools. However, 1944 was a pivotal year. The Butler Education Act made education compulsory and free for all children. It was this act that also introduced the 11+. In 1967, the Plowden report was documented, which intended to provide Nursery education for all 3 year olds. Although it was criticised as, then, it was believed that children should be being taught, as they could not understand that children could learn through play. As a result, the Education Reform Act 1988 was passed, which imposed a National Curriculum with 9 standard subjects. Throughout Europe, Great Britain and Ireland, the 19th Century witnessed the societal change of the move away from an agrarian to an industrial society. Huge numbers of people flocked into the cities to seek employment. The result, the development of a wealthy merchant class, the growth of poor housing, an increase in poverty and poor health for a vast number of industrial workers. Against this background, there were developing theories of those working for the care, education and welfare of the youngest members of those societies. To name a few would be, Margaret McMillan, Maria Montessori, Susan Isaacs, and Jean Piaget. However, previous theorists such as Freidrich Froebal and Rudolf Steiner had already developed their own theories of how the curriculum should be influenced. All these theorists are now thought of as “Early Pioneers” as the Early Year Curriculum in the UK is based on the Western Educational principles arising from their work. Freidrich Froebal (1782-1852) influenced nursery practice by bringing “kindergarten” to the UK. He thought of children as plants, teachers as gardeners and with the right devices, the children would ‘grow’ as he thought “It is development, not moulding or forcing which is the real agent in education.” Froebal was very keen for the children to enjoy being outside and gaining knowledge about nature. This could be due to the fact that he lived and grew in a village in Germany where the trade was based on selling herbal remedies made from plants that grew locally. This may have had an impact on this area of Froebal’s theory. His four basic ideas were: § Free Self Expression – This idea was established because he thought that children should be allowed to choose what they want to do. This is used in today’s society as in Nurseries, children can choose from a range of toys to play with and are allowed to paint what they desire. This meant that the adults, either teacher o parent, did not have to set tasks. This is now called “Free Flow Play” in today’s nurseries. § Creativity – He invented finger play, songs and rhymes. He encouraged the children to draw, make collages and model with clay. He used a term “Symbolic behaviour” as he realised it is important for children to understand that one thing can stand for another. E.g. a tall wooden block can stand for a building. From this he developed two categories of activities – Gifts and Occupations. Gifts are specially shaped wooden blocks that allow the children the choice to use them for what they wish.