Experts agree that high-quality early childhood education promotes the healthy cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development of young children. Decades’ worth of evidence shows that the highest quality early education is child-centred and play-based. And yet, in many places, early childhood education today is dominated by skills-based, academically-oriented, test-focused teaching.We seek to change that.As an…
Maria Cooper: “Why does Froebel matter in the 21st century?” This article first appeared in the journal The First Years Ngā Tau Tuatahi 24 (1) 2022, where it was published (and is republished here) subject to the copyright provisions of a Creative Commons (Attribution-NonCommercial) License.
The 11th Biennial IFS Conference 2025 in Erfurt was a resounding success. The conference, which is held biennially, saw the participation of 85 scientists from 11 nations. The participants engaged in a three-day intensive programme, comprising lectures and excursions, during which they exchanged views on significant developments in the history, theory and practice of Froebel…
Connect, Collaborate and Share Insights Date and Time: January 22, 2026, 7 pm GMTJoin the conversation for an online webinar in which invited participants will share their (preliminary)thoughts on “Froebel and Democracy” through an informal 15-minute presentation, followed by a Q&A.Today, democracy is in crisis. The long-held assumption that liberalization and democratization will never be…
The International Froebel Society is pleased to announce that its member, Dr Sacha Powell, CEO of the Froebel Trust, has been conferred an Honorary Doctor of Arts (Education) degree by the University of Roehampton. This prestigious recognition was bestowed by the University’s School of Education, which cited Dr. Powell’s outstanding contributions as an educator, researcher,…
On 10th November 2023, the Fröbel Research Centre Professorship Schmid at the University of Erfurt received the materials from Dr Erika Knechtel’s collection. This unique collection of material on Friedrich Froebel is the culmination of the life’s work of Dr Erika Knechtel, a renowned Froebel researcher in the former German Democratic Republic. At the age…
The Executive Committee of the International Froebel Society hereby announces the appointment of Prof. Dr. Andrea C. Schmid as the Society’s new president. The new chair is Grace Choi, who is supported by Dr Nikolas A. Rathert, who has assumed the position of vice chair. Dr Laoise Ní Cléirigh is the Secretary of the Leadership…
From 30 July to 30 October 2025, Erfurt University Library will be showing the exhibition ‘Friedrich Froebel (1782-1852) – Pedagogue and Innovator’ on the occasion of the 11th Conference of the International Froebel Society (IFS), which will take place in Erfurt from 31 July to 2 August. “The exhibition marks the start of a project…
The International Froebel Society, an organisation dedicated to promoting Friedrich Froebel’s educational philosophy, has expanded its online presence by joining the social media platforms Mastodon and Bluesky. These platforms give users a say in how they are run and allow people to work together and talk to each other openly. The International Froebel Society is…
“Those of us who have met Robert Nauer and spent some time with him are, of course, feeling very sad. He was a true Frobelian, and unfailingly generous in welcoming visitors to Keilhau and engaging with us so that we came away having learnt so much more about being an becoming a Froebelian than we…
The IFS is on Mastodon! Take advantage of this opportunity to stay up to date and connect with https://mastodon.social/@international_froebel_society What is Mastodon? Mastodon is a free and open-source software platform for decentralised social networking with microblogging features similar to Twitter. The system functions as a federated network of servers that are independently managed and communicate…
