Frobel was an educator who opened the first children’s kindergarten in 1837. His core beliefs centred around the importance of wholistic early education, taking into account the child’s physical, cognitive, social, emotional, and spiritual development.

• Majority of children’s development happens between birth and 3.
  

• Believed that children learned through playing, which in turn provided a grounding for children to feel connected and a sense of belonging.
  

• Encouraged children to care for plants and animals as a way of nurturing their ethical and moral compass.

Dr Emii Pikler (1902-1984) was a paediatrician who based her theories on her real-life experiences with families. Her approach to early childhood and care centred around respectful education which she then implemented into the orphanage she ran in Budapest.

• Emphasised the importance of kind and respectful relationships where development happens at its own pace.
  

• The notion of uninterrupted play and free movement could be compared to today’s practices of “gentle parenting.”
  

• The Four Principles of the Pikler Approach value, independence, caring & nurturing relationships, sense of self, and, good physical health.
  

• To move freely between activities and people.

Loris Malaguzzi developed the Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood. His philosophy centred around the empowerment of children, appreciating their capabilities and desires to make meaning from their learning.

• The value of this pedagogy is “to make a lovable school, industrious, inventive, liveable, documentable and communicable, a place of research, learning, re-cognition, and reflection, where children, teachers, and families feel well – is our point of arrival.”

• Education is child-centric and that every decision, activity, and learning opportunity has the child at the heart of it.

The key principles include,

• The rights of children are fundamental.
  

• The hundred languages are a metaphor for the amazing and never-ending capabilities of a child, their learning processes, and their ability to understand through verbal and non-verbal communication.
  

• Children are active participants in their lives and educational experience.
  

• Learning is a non-linear process that includes, discussion, research, and participation.
  

• Research and documentation provide a source of understanding, evaluation, and reflection.
  

• Design and organisation of spaces are conducive to learning.
  

• Educators have the opportunity to grow and develop as professionals.

John Bowlby was a developmental psychologist who believed that children have an in-built need, from a very young age, to develop a strong bond with their caregivers on an emotional level. This is known as ‘attachment theory.’

• Children form emotional attachments to their primary caregivers between the ages of 6 months and two-and-a-half years.
  

• Children seek out the familiar caregiver when they are upset or need reassurance. The way the adult then responds and supports them influences the way that child will cope with social and emotional interactions.

An extension of John Bowlby’s attachment theory, The Circle of Security was developed as a way of enabling early childhood professionals of understanding children’s behaviour. It is designed to support children’s ongoing needs specifically related to their relationships with educators, parents, families, and peers.

• Attachment theory, suggesting that children need to make solid connections in their early childhood in order to feel safe and secure now and later in life.

• Secure attachments support children’s ability to understand their world, emotional regulation, and how they cope with stressful situations.
  

• Children can become attached to other caregivers as they go through life, not only their parents, but teachers, educators, and other role models.