1. The practice of early childhood education is a human service.

All human service

professionals, whether they are educators, trainers or classroom teacher, perform their service
from philosophical and theoretical perspectives. Practitioners and home schooling caretakers
should be knowledgeable about their philosophy because it is reflected in their performance
and interactions with learners. We need understand the history of early childhood education
because it provides a foundation to our work. With burgeoning development in the field of
early childhood education and care and new interest in alternative approached to early years
provision internationally, there is a danger that an understanding of the histories and legacies
on which present day provision for care and education is built might be allowed to slip away.
There is the potential, amidst constant and persistent policy changes, that those whose work
involves a concern with early childhood education will have fewer and fewer opportunities to
ask where ideas began, how ideas and practices have developed and what roots lie beneath
present-day practices and philosophical ideas. Through lens of history gives insight to
understanding present states and challenges of early childhood education and as a tool for
informing the shape of early childhood education in the future. Through discovery in history,
some key figures whose work has influenced thinking and development of provision for
young children. The following section outlines the four figures who in different ways
contributed to the development of early education.
2.
a. Freidrich Froebel was a German educator whose philosophy of education influenced such
people as Horace Mann and Maria Montessori. Based on the belief that a young child
possessed innate qualities that would unfold gradually within a natural setting, he established
kindergartens where free expression, creativity, social interaction, motor activity and learning
by doing were the focus. Froebels garden for children was inspired by his philosophy that
early education can be a joy and effective when well-trained kindergarten teachers are
encouraged to think of young children as healthy, flourishing plants. Like plants, children, in
their quest for growth and development, required watering (nurturing) and care (health).
According to him, the inner understanding comes from the childs inner direction for her own
play and what the choice of games can mean to the self-selecting child. The childs outer
understanding emerges from the natural outer forces on the childs play as when a child is

running and feeling the wind on her face or when the playing child compares the relationship
between stationary objects and her running, skipping and hoping. Froebel developed a series
of gifts for children to use in the kindergarten classroom. The basic toy is a ball. Froebel
thought that the ball was a basic design that reacts to its use in play in a fundamentally
mathematical manner. Froebels games, when placed in use by the developing child
represented movement in the outer world when acted upon by the child for her own purpose.
Froebel also believed that playing with blocks gives fundamental expression to a childs soul
and to the unity of life. Blocks represent the actual building blocks of the universe. The
symmetry of the soul is symbolized as a child constructs with blocks, bringing them together
to form a whole. Through proper use of the Gifts, the child progresses from the material to
the abstract: from the volumetric lessons offered by blocks, through the two-dimensional
planar ones elucidated by play with parquetry tiles (flat, geometrically-patterned wooden
shapes), to deductions of a linear nature drawn from stick laying, to use of the point in pinprick drawings. Points, in turn, describe a line, and the child completes the logic by returning
from 2-D to the 3-D realm of volume through peas work (joining small malleable balls with
short sticks) and on to solid three-dimensional work in clay. Since Froebel recognized that
education begins in infancy, Froebel saw mothers as the ideal first teachers of humanity.
Women, he believed, were best-suited to nurture children and became the Kindergartners
(teachers) for his schools. As such, the Froebel Kindergarten offered the first significant
careers for women outside the home. At that time, women were not expected (or often
allowed) to work professionally. The Kindergarten attracted ambitious, intelligent women,
who received advanced educations and developed businesses of their own. The more famous
women who advanced Froebels cause include Helen Keller, Kate Douglas Wiggin, Elizabeth
Peabody, Phoebe Hearst, Mrs. Leland Stanford, Mrs. Grover Cleveland, and Elizabeth
Harrison. However, Froebel also believed that men, especially fathers, were a fundamental
part of a child's education. For Froebel, education was a family activity, hence his famous
quote; "Come, let us live for our children. Froebel had an enormous effect in childhood
education and also laid foundation for many women to developed professional careers as
kindergarten teachers. On the kindergarten contribution by Froebel, what we understand the
best kindergartens are real gardens for children. The environment must stimulate and
offered variety and encouraged kids to be curious.

b. Jean Piaget is pioneer of how children learn. Anyone who has taken a child psychology class
will have studied the developmental and learning theories of Jean Piaget, the Swiss
psychologist. Fascinated with how children reasoned, he began researching and writing
books on the subject of child psychology. His research and subsequent theories have become
the basis and foundation of our understanding of normal child development. Piaget trained as
a Zoologist and began studying psychology as the result of his interest in the connection
between biology and logic. As professor of Psychology at Geneva University his work
became mainly concerned with cognitive stages of development in children. Such studies
have had an influence on practices for teaching in schools, as Piaget believed that learners
assimilate and accommodate new knowledge at times of conflict with their existing
understanding of the world. Piagets many experiments were concerned with observing and
analyzing egocentric behavior in young children in the belief that overcoming such behavior
was the goal of development. He saw learning as a process, which evolves as result of
children interacting with environment and moving through certain stages of cognitive
development. The constructivist model that Piaget theories are based on is an education
program that believes children are always learning. The curriculum is based on children
experiencing an activity and learning from it. Children might go on an outing to a farm and
the teacher will use this outing in the classroom to teach the children about science,
mathematics and English. This type of school focuses on a childs physical, mental emotional
and cognitive abilities. The Constructivist model realizes that not all children learn at same
pace so the curriculum is set up so children can learn on an individual basis or in small
groups depending on the cognitive level they are at. The most interesting Piaget work is
Stages of Cognitive Development. Piaget had four developments which included The
sensorimotor stage (birth until 2 years) this is Piagets first stage and infants are relying on
behavioral schemes to understanding their surroundings. Within this stage Piaget said the
babies develops object permanence which is when the child cant see an object but still
knows that the object exists. The preoperational stage (2 until 7 years) the child thinks with
their imagination. The concrete operational stage (7 until 11 years) children start to think
with factual logic. The formal operational stage (11 until beyond) children can think with
logic to move onto the next stage they would need to develop the right amount and type of
schematas. Schematas were what Piaget believed to be cognitive structure that describe the

environment and guided the persons reaction. The reason I chose Piaget was because some
of the techniques he proposed were interesting. Piaget was studying children in the early
1900s and at this time he proposed that we need to look at the relationships between children
and other children and children and their parents, he noticed that one side always is telling
other side what to do and lesser side can only agree. Piaget believed that everyone should be
equal in order to have respect for each other. Piaget made everyone believe that to teach
children we need to look at how we are teaching through a childs point of view, he said
children are curious and they need to learn from the environments they are in, by asking
questions instead of being told information. Piaget also stated that not all children are going
to learn the same material at the same time and described how different children may learn at
a slower of faster pace than others; he said curriculum should be taught to fit individuals or
small groups based on learning ability.
c. Whilst discussing important figures from west who contribute in early childhood education
we are not forgotten figures from east. Among the list Ibn khaldum is one of them. Ibn
khaldun was a great scholar of Islamic science as well as many other sciences such as history,
geography, politics and education. Ibn Khaldun discussed the educational process in the
perspective of the development of society. He expounded his theory of education in the
framework of Islamic society and focused his attention on education from a religious and
ethical point of view. His contribution in children education has designed framework on
current educational systems generally. One of the greatest contribution of his work was how
to conveying information or knowledge to children at their level of comprehension.
Knowledge should be given to children gradually in stages, lower to higher according to their
understand level. Progressive teaching method to the children shows that the education will
prove more effective for them. For instance, the main principles of information and sciences
should be taught and taking into consideration learning capacity of the children these matters
should be explained briefly. Therefore the subjects to be taught should be provided with this
method until completion. The subjects to be taught should be provided with this method until
completion. Such a method will result in the children showing more ability to the given
information. However ample of time must give to children to learn to absorb the given
information because the children during this period will have learnt to absorb the given
information. Related to this, the teacher should revise the subjects with a little more

elaboration and continue to provide the information in a wider aspect until completion. Then
the children knowledge and adjustments shall be enhanced accordingly. The teacher shall up
issue the subject three times over from the beginning. During this period, the teacher shall be
children reaching their utmost skill. The subject needs revision three times over and then
children become well familiar with the subject. Ibn Khaldun emphasized this correct method
of teaching so that the children expand his learning curve effectively and to have better
understanding in any subject. Another great work from Ibn Khaldun is children should not be
forced to memorise. In any occasion, for first time the children or student learning on lesson
which teacher explain the difficult and deeper aspects of subject, force the children or student
to memorise the subject. Most of teachers accept this condition as the correct form of
teaching. However, the children brains are not capable of understanding this. Its difficult
enough for them to learn a lesson. This result in the children becoming lazy, their mind
rejects the information and the period of learning is prolonged. This is subsequently a result
of poor teaching method to children and student. The teacher should not impose upon the
children whether they are new or accustomed to the subject. Teacher should not overload the
children with lessons beyond their capabilities and capacities, or should not interrupt beyond
the subject scope under study or begin a new subject before the current one is completed.
Otherwise the issue will be scrambled and subjects will become complex. When teaching,
one must provide thought and revision. In nutshell, the great way teaching to children is
memorization should be avoided. Ibn Khaldun had emphasized the importance of teaching.
He advises teachers to teach in a comprehensive manner and to gradually teach subjects in
stages, moving from easier to the difficult level. Beside that he mentioned that the aggressive
behavior towards children will turn them off from lessons, create laziness, making them
unwilling learners as well as negatively affecting their behavior. Lastly, he said that education
should consist of theory and practice. Education should be revised and repeated until a good
level is attained.
d. Another renowned Muslim scholar who emphasized early children education is Al-Ghazali.
Al-Ghazali is one of the most illustrious Muslim scholars, who wrote many works, and
became renowned for his learning. His ideas on education dominated Islamic educational
thought for centuries after his death. Here, the focus is how he saw the education of the child
and the role of the teacher. He once said that parents should observe their childrens

education since birth. Know that the method of bringing up children is one of the most
important and essential matters. The child is a trust in the hands of his parents and teacher,
and his pure heart is an unblemished precious stone, free of any engraving or form. It is
amenable to being engraved and moulded in any direction. If it is habituated and taught to be
good, it will be raised upon this. Such a child will be well-chosen in this world and the next,
and his parents, teachers and educators will all share in his reward. He also emphasized that
the pupils should bring with simplicity and not boast with parent wealth and must be polite
and attentive to all. Al-Ghazali also wrote that the teacher who teaches of the young is
undertaking great responsibility. The teacher must therefore be as tender to his pupils as if
they were his own children. The teacher must set example to children whereby must correct
moral lapses through hinting and above all the teacher himself must carry own integrity so
that this action accord with his precepts. The teacher should never criticize the subject taught
by another. Teacher must adapt their teaching to the pupil's capacity and ability, and not to
overburden the pupil's capacity, nor give them fright. Teacher must respect the less gifted
pupil, who might if lost; leave safe foundations for standards children would never reach. In
nutshell, Al-Ghazali stressed that parent and teacher who are grown people must preached the
children with virtues and shape children into mankind being respectful and beneficial to
community and society. Al-Ghazali, instead focus on children own development but stressed
how bring up them and put them in community circular. He believed that if elder people,
teacher and parents, be responsible and the children will be responsible as they do. The
teacher role is considering a noble and for this present the being teacher is not just mere a
career but take upmost duty to contribute greatness to community and nation. With true
intention will pay off with promising future.
3. In conclusion, early childhood is a crucial stage of life in terms of a child's physical,
intellectual, emotional and social development. Growth of mental and physical abilities
progress at an astounding rate and a very high proportion of learning take place from birth to
age six. It is a time when children particularly need high quality personal care and learning
experiences .Education begins from the moment the child is brought home from the hospital
and continues on when the child starts to attend playgroups and kindergartens. The learning
capabilities of humans continue for the rest of their lives but not at the intensity that is
demonstrated in the preschool years. With this in mind, babies and toddlers need positive

early learning experiences to help their intellectual, social and emotional development and
this lay the foundation for later school success and also for nation.
(2628 words)
Reference

Early Childhood Education: History, Philosophy and Experience - By Cathy Nutbrown, Peter
Clough, Publisher; SAGE, 2014
Early Childhood Education: History, Theory, and Practice -

By Harry Morgan, Publisher;

Rowman & Littlefield, 2011

The Muslim 100: The Lives, Thoughts and Achievements of the Most Influential Muslims in
History - Muhammad Mojlum Khan, Publisher; Kube, 1 Sep 2009
Materials on Muslim Education in the Middle Ages; Luzac and Company, London, 1957.