Jean-Jacques Rousseau

-Highlighted the importance of childhood, child is "noble savage" pure, intune with nature

-Children are innately noble and good, that their way of learning is different from that of adults, and that they should be removed from the corrupting influences of society

"give your pupil no kind of verbal instruction; he should recieve none but from experience."

Johann Pestalozzi

-set the model for what a teacher of young children should be. admired for his teaching methods and concern for poor children. espoused the need for active learning and education for the whole child. Influenced many contemporaries, especially froebel, and educators today .

-young children learn actively, from concrete experiences, a philosophy he implemented in the schools he established.

-"the first development of thought in the child is very much disturbed by a wordy system of teaching"

Friedrich Froebel

-created kindergarden, "garden for children" where play was promoted as the way children learn. developed early childhood materials, including blocks; materials and activites called "gifts for play".

-credited with begining the kindergarten, placed great emphasis on the importance of play

"play is the highest phase of child development"

Maria Montessori

-developed the casa dei bambini, childrens house for slum children in rome; developed comprehensive program, including theoretical formulation, materials, curriculum, and child sized furnishings.

- developed a successful method of early education that is still widely followed today

"the greatest crime that society is committing is...wasting money it shoudl spend for its children"

erik erikson

-psychosocial theory

-identifies needs of children at different ages/stages, beginning with a need for trust for infants, autonomy for toddlers, initiative for preschoolars, and industry for schoolager; highlights the importance of social interactions in development.

-his theory spans childhood and adulthood, focuses on specific social tasks that need to emerge for healthy development in each of eight stages

"it is human to have a long childhood; it is civilized to have an even longer childhood"

Jean Piaget

- cognative developmental theory

-intelligence is adaption to the environment

- thinking is qualitatively diffent at each stage; infants and toddlers learn throuh movement and the senses; preschoolars use symbols to organize ideas; schoolagers aquire logical structures of thought

-one of the most influential theories on ece, describes how childrens thinking is unique in each of four stages

"we should not allow children a competely free rein on the one hand, nor channel them too narrowly on the other hand"

B.F. Skinner

- behaviorism

- enviroment is important in shaping all aspects of behavior. consistent positive consequenses (positive reinforcement) ensure that behavior will be repeated; behavior modification is application of behaviorism.

-almost all behavior is learned, and can be increased by positive consequences and decreased by negatve consequences

"teachins is the expediting of learning: a person who is taught learns more quickly than one who is not"

Lev Vygotsky

- sociocultural theory

-believed social and historic forces shape intellectial ability: we are the product of our times. thus, his cognitive theory reflects the marxist-leninst philosophy of russia during his lifetime. language is a primary tool for conveying society's values.

- stresses the importance of the social context of development; childrens learning is often promoted through assistance from adults or older peers who help the child learn new skills within the sone of proximal development.

"the maturation of a child's higher metal functions occurs...through the adult's assistance and participation."