Figure 1.--Here we see a unidentified pre-school class in 1978. The children wear smocks which suggests that it may be an Italian class.

Pre-schools and Kindergartens appeared in the 19th century as inovative educators began to assess the learming process as it realted to younger children. The Swiss educator Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746-1827) was one of the first to recognize how important playing is for young children. The first Kindergartens were introduced by Friedrich Fr�bel (1837). Fröbel must have known about Pestalozzi's work. Because Kindergartens proved so important, Fr�ebel became an important figure in educational history, known as "Father of Kindergarten". Fröbel with his Kindergarten developed educational practices that have been widely adopted in pre-school education. Fröebelbelieved that play was an important part of the educational process for younger children. He saw his Kindergartens as places for children to learn from the social interaction with other children. Fröebel wrote a book explaining his theories and practices. Another great educator was the Italian Maria Montessori (1870-1952). Many kindergartens adopted her guidelines. Margarete Schurz founded the first kindergarten in the United States in 1855. She was the wife of the statesman Carl Schurz, Secretary of the Interior. There was a first considerable opposition to the new theories, especially the idea that children learned through play. Free Government pre-schools are now available to children in virtually all developed countries, except the United States. Some U.S. states offer free kindergardens, a concept imported from Germany, but many states do not. American parents must pay for private day care--a very expensive under-taking for low-income parents. Low income parents have access to Head Start. Pre-school through kindergarden care for children through about age 5. Some countries include the kindergarden or 5-year olds in the primary schools. Usually uniforms are not required for these children, even in countries where school uniforms are no widely worn. Some countries like Italy, France, and Japan might have these younger children wear smocks.

Careful, clicking on these will exit you from the Boys' Historical Clothing web site, but several are highly recommended

• New Zealand E-book: Digital book on New Zealand schools available
• School Uniform Web Site: Informative review of British school uniforms with some excellent photographs
• British Preparatory Schools: A photographic book depicting life at British preparatory schools during the 1980s. Most of the schools are English or Scottish, but schools in Italy, New Zealand, South Africa, and Ulster are also included. The pictures show the uniforms worn at many different schools.

Related Style Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[Long pants suits] [Short pants suits] [Socks] [Eton suits] [Blazer] [School sandals]

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Created: 11:42 PM 7/29/2006
Last updated: 11:42 PM 7/29/2006