Abstract

KUHLMANN JR., Moysés. The playground and proposals for children’s education (from Infant School to Parque Infantil, 1823-1935). Rev. colomb. educ. [online]. 2021, n.82, pp.175-196.  Epub Apr 03, 2022. ISSN 0120-3916.  https://doi.org/10.17227/rce.num82-11383.

In the history of the playground, since its development In the USA, In the late 19th century and early 20th century, equipment and pedagogical propositions were adopted which can be traced back to two educational institutions created in the first half of the 19th century: the Infant School, in England, and the Kindergarten, in Germany The American initiative spread in Latin American countries such as Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil. In this article, we analyze the ideas about the playground advocated by Samuel Wilderspin, who initiated the infant school movement in England. Then, we present some of the propositions of the Playground Association of America and information about how the playground spread in Latin America. The text analyzes how the compositions that led to its implantation were made through social policy arrangements that addressed not only pedagogical and school matters but also physical education, urbanism, and hygiene. Often viewed as exclusively dedicated to physical education propositions -i.e., sports, gymnastics, and leisure practices- these institutions in fact proposed a comprehensive approach to education that encompassed different dimensions. We identify differences between countries which are due to the contexts in which the concepts were appropriated, as with Parque Infantil and other variants of that institution in Brazil and the Plazas de Déportes and Escuelas al Aire Libre in Uruguay. The confluences and distances in the history of these institutions across Latin America are a fertile research field to be explored.

Keywords : Playground; Infant School; physical education; hygiene; Latin America.

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