Early Childhood Education Case Study

In order for school leaders to be effective administrators in today’s public schools there are many events within the history of American education they need to understand and know. It is important, as a leader, to know how the public school system has evolved over the years, and understand why current and past laws have been put in place. They also need to know the history behind early childhood and secondary education to understand why things vary between the two. Leaders need to also understand the history and experiences of the diverse cultures within their schools.

Understanding the history of the laws that are in today’s school system is just as important as knowing the actual laws. For example, how did we come to have a law about student’s attendance at school? In today’s school
There were many views and beliefs of how children should learn in school, particularly in the early years. Gutek (2013) explains that Jean-Jacques Rousseau believed that children should not be pressured to learn before they were ready (p. 247). Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi believed children learned best through sensory learning through object lessons (Gutek, 2013, p. 250). In 1837, Friedrich Froebel established several schools that incorporated kindergarten. “He began to emphasize the importance of play in children’s early development, adapted object lessons to children’s readiness, devised games and physical exercises, and wrote songs and rhymes” (Gutek, 2013, p. 253). As an educational leader, it is important to understand how kindergarten and early childhood development has evolved over the years. Leaders need to understand that the way teachers instruct kindergarten students is more than because it is developmentally appropriate. There is a history of the foundation of kindergarten and how it has come to be what it is