In rusteloze arbeid. De betekenis van Cornelia Philippi-Siewertsz van Reesema (1880-1963) voor de ontwikkeling van het onderwijs aan het jonge kind

Promotie: mw. M. Hazenoot, 16.15 uur, Academiegebouw, Broerstraat 5, Groningen

Proefschrift: In rusteloze arbeid. De betekenis van Cornelia Philippi-Siewertsz van Reesema (1880-1963) voor de ontwikkeling van het onderwijs aan het jonge kind

Promotor(s): prof.dr. H.W. van Essen, prof.dr. A.E.M.G. Minnaert

Faculteit: Gedrags- en Maatschappijwetenschappen

Contact: Maartje Hazenoot, tel. 0118-651183

In rusteloze arbeid. De betekenis van Cornelia Philippi-Siewertsz van Reesema (1880-1963) voor de ontwikkeling van het onderwijs aan het jonge kind

Throughout her life, Cornelia Philippi-Siewertsz van Reesema (1880-1963) endeavoured to contribute to improving preschool education in the Netherlands. She devoted herself to this work until very late in her life. Nevertheless, after her death, she was all but forgotten and historians of pedagogy and education had little interest in her work. This PhD thesis explores what significance Philippi had on the development of early childhood education. The focus is in turn on her family background, the outlines of preschool education in her day, training for preschool teachers, her introduction to the world of the study of the young child and the people who inspired her - ‘she stood on the shoulders of giants’.

The focus then shifts to Philippi herself, starting with her meeting with Montessori and the implications this had on her life’s work. In 1918, Philippi established the first training college for Montessori teachers in The Hague. In the following years, she gradually distanced herself from Montessori and her method. She felt more comfortable with the New Education Fellowship, an international group of scientists for the ‘new education’. Between 1925-1938 she studied their work, making numerous study trips. She gradually developed an eclectic approach to preschool education and the design of the preschool classroom. This met with resistance from both the Fröbel movement and the Montessori movement. After 1940, her role as a pioneer of ‘new education’ finished. However, in 1950, a new state preschool designed in keeping with Philippi’s concept was opened in The Hague.