To the memory of my uncle Leon J. Miln,
a pioneer in many ways.

Pioneers! O Pioneers!
Conquering, holding, daring, venturing as we
go the unknown ways.
Pioneers! O Pioneers!

Walt Whitman

To know what is possible tomorrow you must be willing
to step outside of what is possible today. . .

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Preface

The educators who built the field of early childhood education have been the sub­
ject of many studies including Agnes Snyder's 1972 book, Dauntless Women in
Childhood Education, 1856-1931, and the 1992 ACEI sequel, Profiles in Child­
hood Education, 1931-1960. Previous works, however, do not provide the researcher
with primary and secondary sources, information on multicultural educators, nor
do they discuss some of the more current educators. Researchers and practitioners
frequently need to locate material that is only available in primary sources. They
also may want to know what someone else thinks about a method or theory so that
there can be a meeting of the minds to help with a decision.

Millie Almy ( 1984) believes that everyone involved with the present and fu­
ture of the education of young children needs to make judgments about educational
trends in light of knowledge about theory and practice. One way to assist research­
ers and practitioners to make informed decisions is to provide an annotated
bibliography of primary and secondary sources in early childhood education. This
reference book provides biographies and bibliographies of selected pre-modern
and modern men and women who have made significant contributions to early
childhood education. Individuals and organizations, for example the National As­
sociation of Colored Women, were selected because they represent a multicultural
perspective on early childhood education. The biographies provide a personal per­
spective in which to view the primary sources. Information about the pioneers helps
the reader to understand the theories and practices discussed in the context of the
times in which they were written.

It is impossible to include everything by and about every pioneer. However,
the material presented in this resource provides a perspective on each important
era in the history of early childhood education.

The biographies are arranged in alphabetical order followed by the primary
sources arranged in chronological order. Secondary sources are listed alphabeti­
cally according to author and include obituaries, articles, dissertations, and books.
Works were chosen because they represent the most interesting and informative
sources by and about the pioneers.

The work of the pioneers have influenced, as Bernard Spodek ( 1973) states,
current practice in early childhood education. For each, education developed out
of. . .a humanist tradition, a concern for young children, for the support of their
autonomy and development, and a belief in the importance of the early experiences
in the lives of people. It is vital to study the past because, as Spodek informs us,
there are striking parallels between historical and contemporary theory and prac­
tice. We know that there is very little that is new in education. Time has shown that
much of what contemporary theorists and practitioners discover, has its roots in the past. Spodek, Saracho, and Davis ( 1991) support this: "if we are to understand the
field of early childhood education . . . we must know . . . of its historical roots and de­
velopment." Theory and practice respond to contemporary concerns but "a per­
spective on the past provides a keener awareness of the multiple possibilities for
the instruction and guidance of children."