DOCTORAL THESIS the Froebel Movement in Britain 1900–1939

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DOCTORAL THESIS the Froebel Movement in Britain 1900–1939 DOCTORAL THESIS The Froebel Movement in Britain 1900–1939 Read, Jane Award date: 2012 General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 30. Sep. 2021 The Froebel Movement in Britain 1900-1939 by Jane Read BA, MA A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PhD Department of Education University of Roehampton University of Surrey 2011 0 Abstract This thesis analyses the development of the Froebel movement in Britain from 1900-1939, a critical period with challenges to Froebelian hegemony in early childhood education from new pedagogical models, organisations and disciplines, and from critiques of conservative orthodoxy. It argues that Froebelians were successful in meeting these challenges through pedagogic revision and through realignment of British Froebelians’ focus on the kindergarten to encompass children in junior schools. The findings build on previous studies, providing an in-depth account which concludes that by 1939 Froebelians had a revitalised central organisational structure and a sound base for what had become a major national movement. The thesis claims that revisionist Froebelian pedagogy provided the foundation for practice in nursery, infant and junior schools, reflected in the recommendations of the Consultative Committee Reports of 1908, 1931 and 1933. These successes were driven by relationships formed by the Froebel Society, with organisations, notably the Nursery School Association, and with modernising officials in the Board of Education. The thesis argues that Froebelian women achieved some success in negotiating gendered power relations and presents biographical snapshots to show how ambitious career paths were pursued to advance Froebelian agendas. A qualitative approach was employed, drawing on interpretive frameworks from history, history of education, sociology, gender and cultural studies, with documentary analysis of private records from Froebelian organisations and the Nursery School Association, public records from the Board of Education and the London County Council and secondary published sources. The thesis concludes that despite successes Froebelians were not able to overcome contemporary patriarchal discourse which granted low status to women’s role as nursery and infant teachers and to the education of young children. Froebelians remained an élite and overwhelmingly chose careers in private schools, but nevertheless achieved some success in implementing Froebelian approaches in state nursery, infant and junior schools. 1 Prefatory note The author has previously published on themes which recur in this thesis, notably Froebelian women and networking; professionalization of kindergarten and infant school teaching and the dissemination of Froebelian pedagogy (Read 2000a; Read 2003; Read 2004c; Read and Walmsley 2006; Read 2006b; Read 2010a) 2 Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................. 1 Prefatory note .................................................................................................................................... 2 Table of Contents .............................................................................................................................. 3 List of figures .................................................................................................................................. 11 List of Abbreviations ....................................................................................................................... 12 Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... 13 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 14 1. Introduction............................................................................................................................ 14 1.1 The chimera of influence ................................................................................................ 18 1.2 Exciting times: experiment and progressivism in English education ............................... 19 1900 to 1939 1.2.1 The historiography of the ‘New’ education ............................................................. 19 1.2.2 The historiography of the Froebel movement ........................................................ 21 1.2.3 The terminology of revision ................................................................................... 22 2. Themes ................................................................................................................................. 22 2.1 Professionalization ......................................................................................................... 22 2.2 Class, gender and status: policy formulation and the development of practice ................ 23 3. The Froebel movement in the twentieth century - A Froebel movement? ............................... 24 3.1 The Froebel movement as cult or sect ............................................................................ 25 4. Research design .................................................................................................................... 27 4.1 The research process..................................................................................................... 27 4.2 Organisation of the thesis ............................................................................................... 27 5. Conclusion............................................................................................................................. 29 Chapter One ........................................................................................................................ 31 The Research Process: Methodologies and Interpretive Frameworks ............................... 1. Introduction............................................................................................................................ 31 2. Documentary Analysis .......................................................................................................... 33 2.1 Historical consciousness and context ............................................................................. 34 2.2 Public records: gender, status and significance .............................................................. 35 3 2.3 Private sources .............................................................................................................. 37 2.3.1 Froebel organisations ............................................................................................ 37 2.3.2 Nursery School Association ................................................................................... 40 2.4 From raw data to concept formation ............................................................................... 40 3. Narrative and story-telling ......................................................................................................... 41 3.1 Telling the story of the Froebel movement ...................................................................... 42 3.2 The missing dimension in the historiography of education: a feminist critique.................. 43 3.3 Biographical narratives and feminist enterprise: locating individual and collective agency by Froebelian women ......................................................................................... 44 4. Social movement methodology: Froebelian identity and leadership ........................................ 46 4.1 Froebelian identity: interpretations in context .................................................................. 47 4.2 Froebelian leaders: public and private strategists ........................................................... 47 4.3 Froebelian activity: social movement, interest group or coalition? ................................... 48 5. Conclusion............................................................................................................................. 49 Chapter Two ........................................................................................................................ 50 The Froebel Organisations: Developing and Disseminating Froebelian Pedagogy and Identity ..................................................................................................................................... 1. Introduction............................................................................................................................ 50 1.1 Testing times ................................................................................................................. 50 2.
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