Froebel College is one of the four constituent colleges of the

University of Roehampton The University of Roehampton, London, formerly Roehampton Institute of Higher Education, is a public university in the United Kingdom, situated on three major sites in Roehampton, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. The University traces its r ...

History

The college was founded as a women's teacher training college in 1892 by followers of

Friedrich Fröbel Friedrich Wilhelm August Fröbel or Froebel (; 21 April 1782 – 21 June 1852) was a German pedagogue, a student of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, who laid the foundation for modern education based on the recognition that children have unique nee ...

. The Froebel Society had been formed in 1874 and in 1892 Julia Salis Schwabe led an initiative to found a college for training teachers. It was imperative that the trainee teachers should be allowed to practice whilst they were learning so a school/nursery was established in parallel.Froebel College
Aim25.ac.uk, Retrieved 5 September 2015 The college became co-educational in 1965.

Emilie Michaelis Emilie Louise Michaelis (1834–1904) was a German-born pioneer of the kindergarten system in England, and a translator, editor, and promoter of Froebel's writings. In 1875, she started one of the first English kindergartens in Croydon, London, ...

(1834–1904) was the First Principal of Froebel College serving from 1892 until 1901. She was succeeded by

Esther Lawrence Esther Ella Lawrence (1862 – July 23, 1944) was a New York born educationist and school principal. She took over from the founder and moved what would become the Froebel College to be a residential college in Roehampton to train kindergarten te ...

(1862–1944) who led for over 30 years finishing in 1932. The third Principal was Eglantyne Mary Jebb MA (1889–1978) who led until 1955 when she was replaced by her friend Molly Brearley. Brearley created courses where teachers could gain diplomas and the college became involved in cross-curricular Bachelor of Education courses. In their first year, students would learn about child development, while simultaneously learning about subjects like maths and science. The college's ideas were contained in, ''Fundamentals in the First School'', which was a book that Brearley and Raymond Bott edited and published in 1969. Brearley retired in 1970. In 1975, the college became part of the Roehampton Institute of Higher Education, which became Roehampton University in 2004.

People associated with the college

Notable alumna

* Christie Ade Ajayi (born 1930), Nigerian specialist in early childhood educationPhilomena Osazee Esigbemi Fayose, ''Nigerian Children's Literature in English'', AENL Educational Publishers, p70
/ref>

Notable alumnae of the kindergarten

Helena Rosa Wright Helena Rosa Wright (17 September 1887 – 21 March 1982) was an English pioneer and influential figure in birth control and family planning both in Britain and internationally. With her husband she undertook missionary work in China for five ye ...

(1887–1982) was a doctor and a pioneer in birth controlCathy Urwin, ‘Lowenfeld, Margaret Frances Jane (1890–1973)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 4 Sept 2015
/ref> * Margaret Lowenfeld (1890–1973) was a pioneer in child psychology and psychotherapy

References

External links

Froebel College, Roehampton University

Roehampton University
University of Roehampton Teacher training colleges in the United Kingdom Former women's universities and colleges in the United Kingdom {{UK-university-stub