We discuss oral history interviews with academics who laid the foundation of research and pedagogies in daycare for under three-year-olds in Europe and North and South America since the 1970s. Their work is clearly embedded in the social-political context of their country: the left-wing programmes for disadvantaged families in the U.S.A.;…

Today, Montessori infant & toddler programs around the country usually have a similar look and feel--low floor beds, floor space for movement, low shelves, natural materials, tiny wooden chairs and tables for eating, and not a highchair or swing in sight. But Montessori toddler programs seem to fall into two paradigms--one model seeming more…