Unpacking Child -Centeredness: A History of Meanings

This study examines the historical development of the term child-centered in the discourse of early schooling in America. My discussion begins with the founder of the kindergarten, Friedrich Froebel, and traces the development of the kindergarten in the America until the 1930s. I explore how underlying meanings of the term child-centeredness have changed---which were lost and which survived---by tracing the educational and philosophical currents of each historical context. The term balances on many layers of complex and sometimes contradictory meanings that have been forged over the years by competing interest groups, each appropriating the term and, adding to and taking away from the existing meaning, molding it to their own purposes. In the process, some underlying meanings were lost, others were added. Meanings were changed and then shared within and sometimes across groups. The term has masked complex and contradictory underlying assumptions about children and their learning and development that should be addressed.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Education

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Chung, Shunah

Contributors dc:contributor

• Daniel J. Walsh

• Education, History of

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI9955600

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/80371