Kindergarten

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(German for children's garden) is used in many parts of the world for the first stages of a child's classroom education. In some places kindergarten is part of the formal school system; in others it may refer to pre-school or daycare.

History

Friedrich Wilhelm August Fröbel invented the concept and founded the first kindergarten (called a Play and Activity Institute) in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg, Thuringia, in the small principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Germany. He coined the term Kindergarten in 1840 to mark the four hundredth anniversary of the invention of movable type by Gutenberg. The first kindergarten in the United States was founded in Watertown, Dodge County, Wisconsin by Margarethe (Margaretta) Meyer Schurz (wife of activist/statesman Carl Schurz ). Margaretta Schurz’s older sister Bertha Meyer von Rönge (wife of Johannes von Rönge) had been founding kindergarten's in Germany from 1849—the Meyer sisters were pioneers of the kindergarten movement in Germany and the United States, and in England, where they also founded the first three kindergartens in London (1851), Manchester (1859) and Leeds (1860). They followed the precepts of Friedrich Froebel. Margarethe Schurz initially taught five children in her home (including her own daughter Agatha) in Watertown, Wisconsin, but was so successful that she opened the her first kindergarten in America in 1856. Her kindergarten became publicly financed in 1873 (the first publicly financed kindergarten was established in St. Louis in the same year byBoth Bertha and Margarethe were students of Froebel and his wife Luise, and became two of their most prominent acolytes Louise Frankenberg tried to start a School of her own in Ohio in 1838. However, despite her dreams and her dedication, Miss Frankenberg's school did not succeed, as she had hoped. Her difficulty with speaking English was one problem. She may have had trouble explaining this new type of school. Even parents who understood may have been slow to accept this revolutionary approach to education. Whatever the reasons, Caroline was disheartened. She left the United States in 1840 and returned to Keilhau, Germany. For a period of six years, 1840–1846, she taught at Keilhau under Froebel's direction. It was in 1840 that Froebel had given the name of "Kindergarten" to his school for young children. She obtained a Kindergarten teaching position in Dresden in 1847. By 1852, she opened her own kindergarten in Bautzen. Perhaps Caroline was strengthened by her additional years with Froebel and her experiences as a Kindergartener. Somehow, she decided to return to the United States. In 1858 she was in Columbus, Ohio, again. Once more Miss Frankenberg set up a school. While her first school had all the elements of Froebel's educational program, this time it was established as a Kindergarten. The term was foreign to the local citizens. Her request for an ad in the newspaper was delayed when the staff encountered difficulty in translating the word "Kindergarten".

(The first publicly financed kindergarten was established in St. Louis in the same year 1873 by Susan Blow, who had been trained by a teacher who had been trained by Bertha), but was closed during WWI because it was a German-language kindergarten. While Schurz's first kindergarten was German-language, she also advocated the establishment of English-language kindergartens. The first English-language kindergarten in America was founded in 1859 in Boston by Elizabeth Peabody, who received her first exposure to a kindergarten from Margaretta Schurz in Watertown.

Kindergarten systems of various countries

Australia/New Zealand

In the state of New South Wales the first year of primary school is called kindergarten. In Victoria, kindergarten is a form of, and used interchangeably with, pre-school. In Queensland kindergarten is usually an institution for children around the age of 4 and thus the precursor to preschool and primary education. Other states and territories may or may not follow either model. In New Zealand, kindergarten consists of the first 2 years before Primary School, from age 3 to 5.

Bulgaria

In Bulgaria, the children go to kindergarten at the age of 3 and leave it at 6, to go to preschool class(1 year) and after that they go to primary school.

China

In China, the equivalent term to kindergarten, pronounced as you er yuan in Chinese. Children go there at the age of 4 (Before that, parents can put their children in the nursery for 2 years.) and leave it at 6. After that, they go to primary school.

France

In France, the equivalent term to kindergarten, maternelle, designates also preschool. Welcoming children aged from 2 to 5, it is not compulsory yet almost 100% of children aged 3 to 5 attend it. It is regulated by the French department of education.

Germany

Kindergartens (German plural Kindergärten) in Germany are not a part of the actual school system, as they are in the USA. The German translation of "pre-school", Vorschule, is used for educational efforts in the Kindergarten, which are handled differently in every German state. Kindergarten establishments (day-care) in Germany are normally for pre-school children between 3 and 6 years of age, and are often run by churches, city or town administrations. They are often in a Kita, a short form of Kindertagesstätte ("children's daycare centre"), which may also house a crêche (Kinderkrippe) for children under age 2 years and 9 months, and/or a Hort which is facilities for school-age children. Attendance is neither mandatory nor free of charge.

India

In India, kindergarten is divided into two stages- lower kindergarten (LKG) and upper kindergarten (UKG). Typically, an LKG class would comprise of children 3 to 4 years of age, and the UKG class would comprise of children 4 to 5 years of age. After finishing upper kindergarten, a child enters Class 1 (or, Standard 1) of primary school. Often kindergarten is an integral part of regular schools. In most cases the kindergarten is run as a private school. Younger Children are also put into a special Toddler/Nursery group at the age of 2–2½. It is run as part of the kindergarten.

Japan

See the article Preschool and daycare in Japan

Korea

In South Korea, children normally enter into kindergarten around the age of 5, and leave it just before 7, to go to primary school. Normally the kindergartens are graded on a three-tier basis. They are called "Yuchi won" (Korean: 유치원).

Mexico

In Mexico, Kindergarten is optional before the age of 5, it may be offered in either private schools or public schools, it is attended primarily by children not old enough to attend primary school (between ages 3 and 6). In public schools, it may be only one year. But in some private schools it may range between 2 or 4 grades, the latter including nursery, for children age 2. Recently the Secretariat of Public Education (Spanish: Secretaría de Educación Pública or SEP) promoted a new change in the educational system, which requires children to attend pre-school at the age of five.

United States and Canada

In the United States and Canada kindergartens are usually administered in an elementary school as part of the K-12 educational system. Children usually attend at ages 5–6. Kindergarten is considered the first year of formal education although the child may have gone to pre-school/nursery school. In Ontario and some parts of Wisconsin there are two grades of Kindergarten; Junior Kindergarten and Senior Kindergarten (JK and SK), although a child often only attends one of the two, not both. In Ontario, for example, Senior Kindergarten is a requirement while Junior Kindergarten is optional. Unlike in France, kindergarten is called la maternelle in Canadian French. After kindergarten a child moves to the first grade.

Singapore

Kindergartens in Singapore provide up to three years of pre-school programmes for children aged 3 to 6. The three-year programme, known as nursery, kindergarten 1 and kindergarten 2 prepares children for their first year in primary school education .

United Kingdom

The first year of school in England and Wales is called Reception, or to a lesser extent Year 0. Pre-school daycare (which is not part of the school system) is called Nursery School and there are also part time playgroups. Kindergarten is very occasionally used instead of nursery school, but this is mainly for marketing purposes. Kindergarten is not a commonly used term in Scotland, where Nursery School is also a form of pre-school daycare with structured activities and learning. The first year of classroom education in Scotland is called Primary 1.

Function of Kindergarten

Children, usually aged 3–6 years old, attend kindergarten to learn to communicate, play, and interact with others appropriately. A teacher provides various manipulative materials and activities to motivate these children to learn the language and vocabulary of reading, mathematics, science, and computers, as well as that of music, art, and social behaviors. For children who previously have spent most of their time at home, kindergarten may serve the purpose of training them to be apart from their parents without anxiety. They usually get their first idea of friendship while they play and interact with other children on a regular basis. Kindergarten also allows parents (especially mothers) to go back to part-time or full-time employment.

After kindergarten, depending on the school, the children would advance to the next level which is usually referred to as first grade.

Many private businesses in the USA name their day-care businesses 'Kindergarten' or, misspelled, 'Kindergarden'.

Kindergarten may be half a day in length (either morning or afternoon) or may be a full day.

What should kindergarten activities include?

There seem to be many positive learning and social/behavioral benefits for children in kindergarten programs. At the same time, it is widely felt that what children are doing during the kindergarten day is more important than the length of the school day. Gullo (1990) and Olsen and Zigler (1989) warn educators and parents to resist the pressure to include more didactic academic instruction in all-day kindergarten programs. They contend that this type of instruction is inappropriate for young children.

Also, an all-day kindergarten program can provide children the opportunity to spend more time engaged in active, child-initiated, small-group activities. Teachers in all-day kindergarten classrooms often feel less stressed by time constraints and may have more time to get to know children and meet their needs.

Readings

All day Kindergarten is becoming increasingly popular to helping close the achievement gap. School districts that have not yet moved to full day kindergartens are looking for funds to extend the school day. States are offering incentives for school districts, especially in the poorer districts. Benefits of full day Kindergarten include an easier transition into 1st Grade. According to an Education Week article teachers feel that students are exposed to more than they would in a two to three hour day. Students adjust well to the extended day. There are opponents who question the reason for full day Kindergarten. There are those who feel that all day kindergarten is not an effort to improve student achievement, but more of an effort to fulfill obligations of the No Child Left Behind Act. They feel that full day Kindergarten is a contributing factor for the teacher shortage.

Cryan, J. R., Sheehan, R., Wiechel, J., & Bandy-Hedden, I. G. (1992). Success outcomes of full-day kindergarten: More positive behavior and increased achievement in the years after. EARLY CHILDHOOD RESEARCH QUARTERLY, 7(2),187-203. EJ 450 525.
Elicker, J., & Mathur, S. (1997). What do they do all day? Comprehensive evaluation of a full-day kindergarten. Early CHILDHOOD RESEARCH QUARTERLY, 12(4), 459-480. EJ 563 073.
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Koopmans, M. (1991). A STUDY OF THE LONGITUDINAL EFFECTS OF ALL-DAY KINDERGARTEN ATTENDANCE ON ACHIEVEMENT. Newark, NJ: Newark Board of Education. ED 336 494.
Morrow, L. M., Strickland, D. S., & Woo, D. G. (1998). LITERACY INSTRUCTION IN HALF- AND WHOLE-DAY KINDERGARTEN. Newark, DE: International Reading Association. ED 436 756.
Olsen, D., & Zigler, E. (1989). An assessment of the all-day kindergarten movement. EARLY CHILDHOOD RESEARCH QUARTERLY, 4(2), 167-186. EJ 394 085.
Puleo, V. T. (1988). A review and critique of research on full-day kindergarten. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL JOURNAL, 88(4), 427-439. EJ 367 934.
Towers, J. M. (1991). Attitudes toward the all-day, everyday kindergarten. CHILDREN TODAY, 20(1), 25-28. EJ 431 720.
West, J., Denton, K., & Germino-Hausken, E. (2000). AMERICA'S KINDERGARTNERS ^*. Washington, DC: National Center for Educational Statistics. Available: http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2000/2000070.pdf.
McGill-Franzen, A. (2006). KINDERGARTEN LITERACY: MATCHING ASSESSMENT AND INSTRUCTION IN KINDERGARTEN. New York: Scholastic. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/043980034X/ref=cm_rv_thx_view/102-6567366-1020952?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=283155

External links

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