Early Childhood Theories Essay

Introduction Several theorist and theories have impacted early childhood, and the way educators teach today. Some have developed ideas and theories, while others have developed programs such as Kindergarten, the Reggio Emilia Approach, and the Montessori Program. This essay will cover the following theorists’ contributions to early childhood: Jerome Bruner, John Dewey, Sigmund Freud, Friedrich Froebel, Howard Gardner, Loris Malaguzzi, Maria Montessori, Jean Piaget, and Lev Vygotsky.

Jerome Bruner Jerome Bruner is known for his theory of cognitive growth in which a child’s intellectual ability develops in stages based on how the mind is used (Smith, M. K., 2002). During his research, he concluded that there are three modes of representation

He believed that children pass through stages as they develop, called psychosexual development (Feldman, 2012). In early childhood, Freud’s stages of development could aid an educator in understanding the behaviors of children, and understanding which behaviors to expect. During the oral stage, from birth till around one year old, a child will nurse and suck things, as well as accepting various things into his or her mouth (Stevenson, 1996). If a child is deprived of nursing too early, he or she will be characterized by envy and sarcasm (Stevenson, 1996). If a child was always satisfied with nursing as soon as he or she requested, he or she is considered overindulged in oral character and will be optimistic and have admiration for others (Stevenson, 1996). During the second stage, from year one to year three, a child is in the anal stage (Feldman, 2012). During this stage, it is likely that the child will be toilet trained (Feldman, 2012). Depending on the child’s desires and how the parents manage toilet training, a child can either become reckless and careless or neat and orderly (Stevenson, 1996). During the phallic stage, from three to five or six years of age, a child becomes interested in his or her genitals and the genitals of others (Stevenson,

d.). Froebel recognized three parts to Kindergarten: creative play, singing and dancing, and observing and caring for plants that stimulates a child’s awareness of the world (Froebel Web, n. d.). Froebel’s goal was for children to develop motor skills while stimulating their imagination (Froebel Web, n. d.). He based the materials in the classroom into two categories, gifts and occupations (Froebel Web, n. d.). Gifts were the materials in the room “that were fixed in *** such as blocks” (Froebel Web, n. d.). This would facilitate learning by understanding the concept the material represented (Froebel Web, n. d.). Occupations were materials that could be manipulated such as clay, paper, and sand (Froebel Web, n.