Happiness, play, and bourgeois morality:The early years of Froebel schooling in the Netherlands, 1858-1904

Nelleke Bakker Nelleke Bakker outlines the advancement of Froebelian ideas in the Netherlands in the nineteenth century through her study of the work of ‘Froebel’s Dutch missionary’, Elise Van Calcar-Schiotling. Bakker describes themes in Van Calcar’s work in the Netherlands including tension between calls for freedom in learning on the one hand and love of order on the other. Bakker brings to light developments unique to Froebelian education in the Netherlands. Although the Dutch kindergarten no longer exists as a distinct institution, the legacies of these debates are present in current discussions on curriculum and practice. Netherlands Elise Van Calcar-Schiotling Dutch Froebel school free play order, Calvinistic Elise van Calcar as a young writer c. 1850 aged c. 27 years. A lithograph by A. J. Ebule, printed in J. H. Sikemeier, Elise van Calcar-Schiotling. Haar leven en omgeving, haar arbeid, haar geestesrichting