Preschool Education in America: The Culture of Young Children from the Colonial Era to the Present

Preschool Education in America: The Culture of Young Children from the Colonial Era to the Present by Beatty, Ms. Barbara. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780300060270.

This comprehensive history describes policies and programs for the education of three-, four-, and five-year-olds in the United States since the colonial era. It also traces efforts to make preschool education a part of the public school system and shows why these efforts have been rejected, despite increasing evidence that preschools are beneficial for all young children. "A fine analysis of preschool education from the colonial period to the present. ...All of us will rely on her work as a point of departure and inspiration". -- Maris A. Vinovskis, Journal of American History "The book (is) absorbing; it provides both fresh insights and a sobering perspective, since many past arguments about early childhood are still being used. Beatty writes smoothly and with authority". -- Choice "An ambitious, lucid, elegant, much overdue exploration of the origin and development of ... education for three, four, and five year olds". -- Barbara Finkelstein, Paedagogica Historica