Little Egypt of Illinois AEYC conference

at Shawnee Community College

Journey to Excellence: A Journey that Never Ends

Why Daycare?
Gary Direnfeld, MSW, RSW

Josh Gary Zack Arlene

Brennan

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 Why Daycare?

To meet societal needs

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 1. What are the social roots of
daycare?
2. What is the developmental
history of daycare?
3. What needs does daycare
meet?
4. What are the societal
missions of daycare?
5. What are the societal needs
of daycare for the New
Millennium?

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1. The Roots of Daycare

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 Historically, there have been 2 roots:

Childcare for poor and

working parents
and

Providing educational advantage to

children of the economically
advantaged.

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How have the roots grown?

What is the
developmental
history of
daycare?

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1762 Philosopher Jean-Jacques Roussueau
states that a child's mode of thinking is different
than an adult and they learn though hands-on
experience.

1801 Johann Pestalozzi established what is

considered to the first school to teach preschool
age children.

1837 Children's Garden (Kindergarten) started

in Germany by Friedrich Froebel.

1854 The Nursery School for Children of Poor

Women was opened in cooperation with
Children's Hospital of New York City.

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1873 First public school kindergarten started in
St. Louis.

1898 Hull House, a settlement house for

immigrants, establishes a day nursery.

1907 Maria Montesorri opens the Children's

House in Rome.

1926 National Association for the Education of

Young Children is founded. Now over 100,000
members and 400 affiliates.

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 1964 Head Start is funded by the Economic
Opportunities Act.

1969 The first Kindercare center is opened.

1982 National Association for Family Day Care is

founded.

1985 San Francisco becomes the first large city to

require developers to set aside space of funds for
child care space.

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1985 National Academy of Early Childhood
Programs is established by NAEYC for voluntary
accreditation of center based programs.

1988 The U.S. Department of Education

establishes Even Start, a parent education/literacy
program.

1990 Child Care and Development Grant CCDBG

{PL101-508}is enacted.

1996 The Stand for Children Campaign begins.

Initiated by the Children's Defense Fund.

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1900 20% of women in the workforce, but under
social pressure to remain at home.

1930 depression era. 23.6% of women in the

workforce. Whoever can work, does. Daycare is to
provide basic necessities of food and clothing for
the most needy and place of safety for working
poor.

1940 WWII. 25.8% of women in workforce.

Women required to work for the war effort.
Daycare provides place of safety and development
for mothers working on the war effort.

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1950 more than 35.7% of women are in the
workforce. Child care is viewed as harmful to
children yet nursery schools used by the affluent
is viewed as providing positive enrichment

1965 40% of women are in the workforce. Head

Start programs begin as an anti-poverty program.

1975 46.3% of women are in the workforce.

1985 52.9% of women are in the workforce.

1997 59.8% of women are in the workforce.

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What needs does daycare meet?

Yeah What does

daycare do for me?

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Shelter
Food / Nutrition
Basic care
Supervision
Education
Societal Missions

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 Societal Missions

1920s 1930s: Poverty social support

1940s: The war effort
1950s present: Social advantage
1960s 1970s: Social/Racial Integration
1980s 1990s: Integration of children
with special needs
2000 ???

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The Next Challenge

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Social Integration
on a
Global Scale

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 How do others prepare
for the global community?

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Preparing children for the global community

Race:
a class or kind of people unified by community of interests, habits or characteristics

Culture:
the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious or social group

Language:
the words, their pronunciation, and the methods of combining them, used and understood by a community

Lifestyle:
the typical way of life of an individual, group or culture

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