Pauline Kergomard (24 April 1838 – 13 February 1925) was a French educator. She is known as the founder of the nursery school in France.

Early years

Pauline Reclus was born in Bordeaux in 1838. Her father was Jean Reclus, inspector of schools of the

Gironde Gironde ( , US usually , ; , ) is the largest department in the southwestern French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,623,749.

. Her uncle, Jacques Reclus, taught at the Protestant college of

Sainte-Foy-la-Grande Sainte-Foy-la-Grande (; ) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It is on the south bank of the Dordogne. History The town was founded in 1076, near a priory where Sainte Foy was worshipped. The t ...

. She spent her infancy with her aunt Zéline in

Orthez Orthez (; ; , ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, and region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies 40 km NW of Pau on the Southern railway to Bayonne. The town also encompasses the small village of Sai ...

. On returning to Bordeaux she was a student at a secular institution that became the École normale of Gironde. She became a public school teacher in the Gironde. She married Jules Duplessis-Kergomard, a penniless man of letters with little interest in working.

Career

In 1879 Pauline Kergomard was appointed general delegate for inspection of asylums, with the support of Ferdinand Buisson. She was named to the post by

Jules Ferry Jules François Camille Ferry (; 5 April 183217 March 1893) was a French statesman and republican philosopher. He was one of the leaders of the Opportunist Republicans, Moderate Republicans and served as Prime Minister of France from 1880 to 18 ...

. She was inspector-general of kindergartens from 1881 until 1917. She was extremely active, attending conferences, dealing with regional and national authorities and campaigning against

child poverty Child poverty refers to the state of children living in poverty and applies to children from poor families and orphans being raised with limited or no state resources. UNICEF estimates that 356 million children live in extreme poverty. It is esti ...

and for women's causes. She traveled throughout France, inspecting schools and communicating her educational philosophy based on respect for the child and the search for fulfillment. Pauline Kergomard and Charles Defodon co-edited the ''Ami de l'enfance'', the organ of the French maternal educational system. In 1884 the French Chamber's budget commission considered eliminating all inspectresses general of nursery schools. The ''L'Ami de l'enfance'' raised the alarm. Defodon praised the inspectorate as a French tradition that made use of women's distinctive maternal talents.

Caroline de Barrau Caroline de Barrau (1828–1888) was a wealthy French educationalist, feminist, author and philanthropist. She became interested in the education of girls, created a school in Paris where her daughter was taught, and encouraged her daughter and ot ...

noted that nursery schools had been founded as an initiative of women which the state then chose to support. She disparaged the regime by comparison to its predecessors, who had introduced inspectresses general. The unsatisfactory compromise was to dismiss or retire four of the inspectresses and retain the other four. From 1886 to 1892 Kergomard was a member of the higher council of public education. Her work led to reform of asylums and the creation of kindergartens with a completely new and secular system of education. She attended the 1896 International Feminist Congress in Paris, presided over by

Marie Bonnevial Marie Bonnevial (28 June 1841 - 4 December 1918) was a French teacher and women's rights activist. She became Grand Mistress of the Supreme Council of Le Droit Humain. Early years Marie Bonnevial was born on 28 June 1841 in Rive-de-Gier, Loire, t ...

, which discussed coeducation. The Prévost orphanage, the first mixed school in France, received much attention. She and

Léopold Lacour Léopold Lacour (9 February 1854 – 1939) was an influential French teacher, sociologist, writer and feminist. Biography Léopold Lacour was born in 1854. He attended the ''École Normale Supérieure'' and graduated with distinction. He then ta ...

were able to obtain agreement on the final resolution, in favor of changing to a coeducational system in all countries. In 1897 she co-founded the "People's Union" with

Ferdinand Buisson Ferdinand Édouard Buisson (; 20 December 1841 – 16 February 1932) was a French educational public servant, pacifist, and Radical-Socialist (left liberal) politician. He presided over the League of Education from 1902 to 1906 and over the Hum ...

Maurice Bouchor Maurice Bouchor (18 November 1855 – 18 January 1929) was a French poet. He was born in Paris. He published in succession ''Chansons joyeuses'' (1874), ''Poèmes de l'amour et de la mer'' (1875), ''Le Faust moderne'' (1878) in prose and verse, ...

Émile Duclaux Émile Duclaux (24 June 1840 – May 2, 1904) was a French microbiologist and chemist born in Aurillac, Cantal. He studied at the College of Aurillac, the Lycée Saint-Louis in Paris and at École Normale Supérieure. In 1862 he began work as ...

and

Théodore Steeg Théodore Steeg (; 19 December 1868 – 19 December 1950) was a lawyer and professor of philosophy who became Prime Minister of France. Steeg entered French politics in 1904 as a radical socialist, although his views were generally moderate. He ...

Legacy

In France, as of 2015, 113 educational institutions,Luc Bronner et Maxime Vaudano
"De Jules Ferry à Pierre Perret, l'étonnant palmarès des noms d'écoles, de collèges et de lycées en France
''Les décodeurs'', at lemonde.fr, 18 April 2015. many of them beging kindergartens. There are streets bearing her name at

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

and

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

, at Ducos (Martinique) and at

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

. A 1,70 F commemorative stamp was issued on the Journée internationale des femmes, 8 March 1985.

Bibliography

* ''Galerie enfantine des hommes illustres'' (1879) * ''Les Biens de la terre, causeries enfantines'' (1879) * ''L'Amiral Coligny'' (1881) * ''Nouvelles enfantines'' (1881) * ''Une brouille de peu de durée. Les Convives de Gabrielle. Fileuse et couseuse'' (1883) * ''Histoire de France des petits enfants'' (1883) *
L'Éducation maternelle dans l'école
' (1886) * ''Cinquante images expliquées'' (album pour les enfants, 1890) *

' (1895) * ''Heureuse rencontre'' (1895) *
Les Écoles maternelles, décrets, règlements et circulaires en vigueur
' (1905) * ''Les Écoles maternelles de 1837 jusqu'en 1910, aperçu rapide'' (1910) * ''L'Enfant de deux à six ans''

References

Citations Sources * * * * * * * *

External links