Olga V. Akulova

Methodology. This paper presents the results of reflection on the assumptions for the development of science and practice of child-rearing based on the review of activities of the public movement on the organization of the early childhood education at the turn of the XIX and XX centuries.

Methods and organization of the study. The paper is based on the review of the records of the Early Childhood Education Department and the Museum of the Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia and historical articles on the formation of the early childhood education. A narrative method has been used to highlight the activities of public movements in support of the early childhood education. The comparative method has been applied to identify the general activities of the public movement in the city of St. Petersburg in support of the initial child-rearing. A retrospective analysis revealed the assumptions for the development of the Russian system of the early childhood education.

Results. The activities of the following public movements have been described: the Movement for Promoting Initial Education (hereinafter the International Froebel Society, IFS), Movement for Early Childhood Education and Movement for Free Education. The ideas of teachers who are participants of various public movements standing by the creation of the system of national childhood education and setting standards for training specialists for work with children have been highlighted. The role of a public movement in the development of the theory and practice of the childhood education has been explained.

Conclusion. A review of the activities of the public movements in support of the childhood education helps to understand the basic assumptions for the development of academic insights related to the upbringing and development of a child and to reveal the traditions of national experience in preparing the kindergarten specialists that originated from the public movement at the turn of the XIX and XX centuries and which were crystallized in the activities of the Pedagogical Institute of Early Childhood Education.

Introduction. The article presents the results of a theoretical and practical study of the history of the museum collection of the Department of Preschool Pedagogy, Herzen State Pedagogical University. Particular attention is paid to the creation of motivation for students to master the pedagogical profession and to realize its value in society.

The purpose of the study is to describe the history of the creation of the unique museum collection of authentic materials by F. Froebel and M. Montessori, the rationale for using the potential of collections in the education of a modern teacher.

The result of the study was a description of the museum’s potential for organizing the research work of teachers, students, undergraduates and post-graduates of the Department of Preschool Pedagogy Department, Herzen State Pedagogical University. The possibilities of the museum collection for acquaintance with the history of the formation of the profession “kindergarten teacher” are described. Analysis of the legacy of M. Montessori and F. Frobel leads to a conclusion about the modernity and relevance of the ideas of the educators and their reinvention into the practice of the kindergarten of the XXI century.

Conclusion. The presented description of the authentic museum collections of materials by F. Frobel and M. Montessori of the Department of Preschool Pedagogy, the explanation of the potential possibilities of their use in the educational process of the pedagogical university reveals one of the ways to solve the urgent problem of higher professional education in creating motivation for students to master the pedagogical profession. An excursion into history allows young and experienced teachers to rethink the modern theory and practice of preschool education.

Methodology. The article describes the history of the creation and development of one of the oldest faculties of the Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia – the Institute of Childhood, which prepares specialists for preschool and primary education. Authors describe the changes in structure, the content of the work and the organization’s characteristics of the institute.

The article purpose is description of the 100-year history of the development of the Institute of Childhood of the Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia, the identification of pedagogical traditions and prospects for the further development of the institute. The article is based on an analysis of documents and other sources describing the emergence and development of the Institute of Childhood.

Results. Starting from the St. Petersburg Froebel Society founded in 1871, the tradition of the training of specialists in preschool and primary education in Russia is described. The history of the appearance in 1918 and the development of the first higher educational institution in Russia is unfolded. The history of the development of the main directions of the Institute’s work – pedagogical and scientific research activity – is shown. The transformations of the departments, the contribution of the well-known researchers of preschool and primary education to the training of personnel, the current state and prospects for the development of the Institute of Childhood are described.

Conclusions. The presented article makes it possible to analyze the directions of development and ways of improving the system of training specialists in preschool and primary education, to realize the necessity of continuity of the two levels of education, not only in the implementation of the educational process, but also in the preparation of future educators of pre-school educational organizations and primary school teachers.