The Development of Early Childhood Education in Europe and North America : Historical and Comparative Perspectives

The public provision of early childhood education has developed at different rates across individual countries over the past two centuries. This book provides the historical background to explain how these national differences occurred, with particular reference to welfare and educational systems, to highlight how particular influences grew. Front Matter....Pages i-x Introduction: The Longue Durée — Early Childhood Institutions and Ideas in Flux....Pages 1-28 Front Matter....Pages 29-29 The Spread of Infant School Models in Europe during the First Half of the Nineteenth Century....Pages 31-50 Religious Cleavages, the School Struggle and the Development of Early Childhood Education in Belgium, France and the Netherlands....Pages 51-70 Development and Diffusion of Early Childhood Education in Italy: Reflections on the Role of the Church from a Historical Perspective (1830–2010)....Pages 71-91 The Role of the State and the Church in the Development of Early Childhood Education in Spain (1874–1975)....Pages 92-111 From Poverty Relief to Universal Provision: The Changing Grounds for Childcare Policy Reforms in Norway....Pages 112-131 Common Traditions, Split Paths: Early Childhood Education and Care in the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic (1949–1990)....Pages 132-149 Saving Money or Saving Children? Nursery Schools in England and the United States....Pages 150-172 Towards Early Childhood Education as a Social Right: A Historical and Comparative Perspective....Pages 173-194 Professional Profiles in Early Childhood Education and Care: Continuity and Change in Europe....Pages 195-214 Front Matter....Pages 215-215 Modernizing Early Childhood Education: The Role of German Women’s Movements after 1848 and 1968....Pages 217-234 Women’s Activism on Childcare in Italy and Denmark: The 1960s and 1970s....Pages 235-253 Early Education and the Unloved Market of Commercial Childcare in Luxembourg....Pages 254-274 Preschool, Childcare and Welfare Reform in the United States....Pages 275-288 The History of Kindergarten as New Education: Examples from the United States and Canada, 1890–1920....Pages 289-308 Back Matter....Pages 309-312 "Cover"--"Half-Title" -- "Title" -- "Copyright" -- "Table of Contents" -- "List of Tables and Figures" -- "Notes on Contributors" -- "1 Introduction: The Longue Durée â#x80;#x93; Early Childhood Institutions and Ideas in Flux" -- "Part I ECE(C) Developments in the Long Term" -- "2 The Spread of Infant School Models in Europe during the First Half of the Nineteenth Century" -- "3 Religious Cleavages, the School Struggle and the Development of Early Childhood Education in Belgium, France and the Netherlands" -- "4 Development and Diffusion of Early Childhood Education in Italy: Reflections on the Role of the Church from a Historical Perspective (1830â#x80;#x93;2010)" -- "5 The Role of the State and the Church in the Development of Early Childhood Education in Spain (1874â#x80;#x93;1975)" -- "6 From Poverty Relief to Universal Provision: The Changing Grounds for Childcare Policy Reforms in Norway" -- "7 Common Traditions, Split Paths: Early Childhood Education and Care in the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic (1949â#x80;#x93;1990)" -- "8 Saving Money or Saving Children? Nursery Schools in England and the United States" -- "9 Towards Early Childhood Education as a Social Right: A Historical and Comparative Perspective" -- "10 Professional Profiles in Early Childhood Education and Care: Continuity and Change in Europe" -- "Part II Actors and Critical Junctures in the Development of ECE(C)" -- "11 Modernizing Early Childhood Education: The Role of German Womenâ#x80;#x99;s Movements after 1848 and 1968" -- "12 Womenâ#x80;#x99;s Activism on Childcare in Italy and Denmark: The 1960s and 1970s" -- "13 Early Education and the Unloved Market of Commercial Childcare in Luxembourg" -- "14 Preschool, Childcare and Welfare Reform in the United States." "In recent decades policies aiming at work-family reconciliation, at social integration and at the development of children's human capital have strongly influenced the expansion of early childhood education and care throughout much of the Western world. There are, however, striking differences between national regimes regarding the extent of these services, their organisation and their position within the welfare state and educational system. Many of these differences cannot be satisfactorily explained by reference to recent policy decisions, but must be understood in the context of the historical background of provisions for children below school age. This book focuses on long-term developments in early childhood education and public child care, to the extent that it was institutionally intertwined with early childhood education, starting with the first initiatives in the early nineteenth century. Its comparative overview demonstrates that salient features of present-day national regimes have their roots in critical historical junctures, times at which societal conflicts were settled - at least temporarily - by new policy arrangements. These arrangements then directed development down a path which it could only leave given a new crisis"-- Provided by publisher