Roehampton University
Open Spaces. Open Minds.
School of Education
History of Education at Froebel College
Art Class Froebel College
Roehampton University has a rich tradition of involvement in education. The School of Education is now based at Froebel College, but all four colleges which make up the University began life in the nineteenth century as providers of training for teachers in a variety of settings, each drawing on a particular religious, or in the case of Froebel College, philosophical, framework.
Education at Froebel College
Froebel College was founded in 1892 as a non-denominational college specifically to train students according to the educational ideas of Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852). Froebel regarded education as a lifelong process and for many years worked with older children in his school at Keilhau. His experience in this school and in other educational work led him to concentrate increasingly on the key significance of the early years, culminating in the opening of a setting for this age group in
Michaelis Free Kindergarten (1908)
1837. Froebel sought for three years to find a suitable name for this enterprise and at last, in 1840, hit on the term 'kindergarten'. Kindergartens were established in many other countries in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries (this picture shows the Michaelis Free Kindergarten in Notting Dale in 1908), and the philosophy which underpins the kindergarten resonates today in many settings where Froebel's name is unknown, such has been his permeating influence.
Froebel College has provided courses in early childhood studies for over a century. The earliest students sat the examinations set by the National Froebel Union [NFU] for the Elementary and the Higher Certificates, but in 1917 the Elementary Certificate was abolished and the Higher Certificate was renamed the Teachers Certificate. In 1921 Froebel College presented for the first time its own internal examinations, validated by the NFU, leading to the NFU Certificate and covering Infant, Kindergarten and Junior School work. Froebel-trained teachers were much in demand and were immensely proud of their qualification. When the College received formal recognition from the Board of Education in 1920 the length of training was extended from two years and one term to three years - one year longer than the non-Froebelian training colleges. One student commented "Frequently during the years I taught, Inspectors would come along with an exciting 'new' approach to teaching - but I had been doing it for years! That was the Froebel method" [J.P. 1928-30]
In 1932 a new course was introduced especially for those students who wished to work in Nursery Schools and Classes, Infant Schools or Kindergartens, based on the study of children of pre-school age in these settings. This new course also led to the NFU Teachers Certificate. As the first year of the two courses was identical students could defer a decision on specialising until the end of their first year of training.
Children's playhouse Froebel College
An article in The Link, alumni journal for past Froebel students, announced "The course is many-sided, and should appeal to students of very varying gifts, and who have a variety of interests... The most important requirement is a real love of young children, and a desire to serve them". (The Link, no. 23, 1933:41). Today's School of Education carries on this tradition.
The Froebel ethos has continued to inform research carried out by staff and colleagues in a variety of settings. A notable example is the Froebel Blockplay Research Project, written and directed by Tina Bruce with the involvement of Pat Gura and children, parents, nursery nurses and staff in nursery and reception class settings across South West London. The project produced the video 'Building a Future: Blockplay and Young Children' and the book 'Exploring Learning' edited by Pat Gura.
In 1990 former member of staff Chris Athey published a highly-regarded study into the development of children's cognitive skills which built on the findings of the Froebel Early Education Project. Her book, 'Extending Thought in Young Children: A Parent-Teacher Partnership', is based on the detailed analysis of some 5000 observations of young children aged 2-5 carried out over a two-year period as part of the project. It advances a powerful argument for a partnership between parents and professionals to offer children the best possible opportunities to enhance their growth and development.
For more information:
There is more information about the history of Froebel College on the College website.
Froebel College archives date back to its foundation in 1892 and are housed in Froebel Archive for Childhood Studies and in the Incorporated Froebel Educational Institute offices at Templeton, Priory Lane, Roehampton. They include an extensive photograph collection covering all aspects of College life as well as the reminiscences of staff and students and of children who attended the College's Demonstration school.
Jane Read, MA ALA
Senior Lecturer, School of Education