The roots of early childhood special education are very much connected to the trends and developments of early childhood education (ECE). To understand how the movement of early childhood education began, we must take a look at the work done by religious leaders, education theorists, and philosophers who shaped the context of the early childhood education field and were the greatest advocates for young children.

This section introduces information on four excellent leaders.

Martin Luther (1483-1546)

 Martin Luther (11/10/1483 to 2/18/1546) was a German monk and theologian of Christianity. He is credited with starting the Protestant Reformation.  Luther paved the way for religious education to happen in more languages. Luther believed that he could reform (change) the Roman Church from the inside (while still being a part of the Church) with his 95 Theses, but the Papacy took  his attitude as heresy and excommunicated him on June 15 1520 with a paper saying he did not have their permission to go to Heaven. In October, Luther burned the paper in public, and showed he would not obey the Church unless they accepted his words.

Emperor Charles V was willing to hear Luther’s case. This was a golden opportunity for Luther, to acknowledge he had been wrong. But he did not change his mind. He was declared an outlaw.  Luther hid in Wartburg Castle, near Erfurt.  Right there he spent time translating  the Bible. First, he wrote the New Testament in German. Later, the Old Testament into German, too. At the time, the Holy Mass and the Bible were conducted in Latin, which many people did not understand as they did not speak Latin. Luther translated the Bible so that more people could read it themselves.

In addition, Martin Luther was a strong advocate for the education of all children, regardless of gender. At the time, girls were not very much included in education. Luther insisted that children needed to stay in school at times where parents sent them to work. He also envisioned family’s participation in children’s education. “He was convinced that knowledge of the liberal arts – history, languages and the like – provided the best context for the study of Scripture. Not only ministers, theologians, teachers and scholars educated in this manner would best serve the Church, but all believers as members of Christ’s body would better know God and His work in this world by means of such learning” SpindleWorks, 2015.

How this applies to the history of early childhood special education?  For young children with special needs, his work set up a foundation with what now we call inclusive education. While family involvement in the education of all children is important,  it’s even more essential when children have special needs and they receive early intervention services. In addition he gave importance for people to read on their own language.  In special education, not only reading information in the child and family’s home language is key, but also to assess and provide services in the child’s and family’s home language is mandated by law.

Jan Amos Comenius (1592-1670)  Comenius was a true advocate for literacy and universal compulsory education. Compulsory education laws require children to attend a public or state-accredited private school for a certain period of time, (FindLaw). In the past, compulsory education was tied to religious or military organizations. In modern society compulsory education takes place in an educational institution or it can also be based in the child’s home.

Jan (John) Amos Comenius was a religious leader. He believed that all children were innately good, and he advocated for universal education and affirmed that education starts at home during the first six years. Early education was important as he acknowledged the importance of the early years. Under his education for all approach, he was inclusive of children with special needs. I have summarized below some of his most remarkable accomplishments.

• Comenius identified the necessary changes for the educational reform:
  • In order for the educational system to function, Comenius identified two needs for change.
    • First, a revolution in methods of teaching was necessary so that learning might become rapid, pleasant, and thorough.
    • Second, in order to make European culture accessible to all children, it was necessary that they would learn Latin.
• Comenius advocated for “nature’s way,” in learning Latin; that is, learning about things and not about grammar.
• He was a precursor on the approach of child readiness for activities (which we now call developmentally appropriate).
• Some of Piaget’s principles were brought first by Comenius as he stated that “young children learn best by being actively involved in the learning process” (Gargiulo & Kilgo, 2012, p 5).
• Another aspect of major contribution was the reform of human society through education.
• He published Orbis sensualium pictus: quadrilingus in 1658. It is something like an illustrated dictionary, in two languages, Latin, and German. The English edition data is from 1659. In 1685, it was published in four languages: Latin, Czech, German and Hungarian (Magyar).
• Orbis Pictus had a long-lasting influence on children’s education. It was a precursor of both audio-visual techniques and the lexical approach in language learning. There is a Kindle version in English.

John Locke (1632-1704)  

John Locke introduced the concept that children are born as a blank slate (tabula rasa), and they learn everything through exposure in the environment. He thought that it was most likely the environment shapes the child’s life experiences, hence the importance to provide sensory stimulation to enhance children’s learning.

Locke’s philosophy of education were advanced for his time. Classical languages, usually learned through boring exercises which involved rote memorization, and corporal punishment were two major features of the seventeenth century English educational system. Locke dismissed the “benefit” of both and instead, made emphasis on the importance of teaching practical knowledge. He recognized that children learn best when they are provided active opportunities for learning. Locke also foreshadowed some contemporary pedagogical views by suggesting that children should be allowed some self-direction in their course of study and should have the ability to pursue their interests.

“Locke believed it was important to take great care in educating the young. He recognized that habits and prejudices formed in youth could be very hard to break in later life. Thus, much of Some Thoughts Concerning Education focuses on morality and the best ways to inculcate virtue and industry” (IEP). Locke rejected inflexible approaches. Instead, he favored methods that would help children to understand the difference between right and wrong and to cultivate a inner morality.

For Locke, providing a rich environment to stimulate the child was key, as children are shaped by the experiences they are exposed to (Gargiulo & Kilgo, 2012). Locke was proceeded by well-known behavioral theorists in Child Development such as B. F. Skinner. Furthermore, he thought about education as a mean to compensate the children’s experiences through the environment. Head Start and other programs have made emphasis on providing sensory experiences for children.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778)

Rousseau believed that men were born good and innocent, and that corruption and sadness happened because of life experiences and experiences in society. He believed that if society was gone, man would be happy and pure once again.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau also gave importance to children’s early education. His educational approach was laissez-faire and more focused on the nature approach (genetics). The child must be given the time to develop according to their “natural” or innate timetables.

Rousseau’s philosophy of education concerns itself not with particular techniques of imparting information and concepts, but rather with developing the pupil’s character and moral sense, so that he may learn to practice self-mastery and remain virtuous even in the unnatural and imperfect society in which he will have to live. A child should be raised in the countryside, which, Rousseau believes, is a more natural and healthy environment than the city, under the guardianship of a tutor who would guide them through various learning experiences arranged by the tutor.

Today we would call this the disciplinary method of “natural consequences”. Rousseau felt that children learn right and wrong through experiencing the consequences of their acts rather than through physical punishment. The tutor would make sure that no harm results to the child through his learning experiences.

Rousseau became an early advocate of developmentally appropriate education; his description of the stages of  child development mirrors his conception of the evolution of culture. He divides childhood into stages:

1. The first stage to the age of about 12, when children are guided by their emotions and impulses
2. During the second stage, from 12 to about 16, reason starts to develop
3. Finally the third stage, from the age of 16 onwards, when the child develops into an adult.

Rousseau recommends that the young adult learn a manual skill such as carpentry, which requires creativity and thought, will keep him out of trouble, and will supply a fallback means of making a living in the event of a change of fortune (the most illustrious aristocratic youth to have been educated this way may have been Louis XVI, whose parents had him learn the skill of locksmithing). Rousseau’s ideas have influenced progressive “child-centered” education.

Rousseau wrote a book, Emile (1762). The central topics on his book were child rearing and education.  Thanks to this great thinker, we came up with the concept of child centered education.  Other great education philosophers followed Rousseau’s ideas, such as Pestalozzi, Froebel and Montessori.