Advocacy and collaboration in the kindergarten movement of Aotearoa New Zealand

Kindergarten is embedded into the cultural landscape of Aotearoa New Zealand. This chapter illustrates two snapshots of kindergartens concerning the early decades of its colonial beginnings and the formation of a national infrastructure, and some insight into the Froebelian legacy enacted by the national kindergarten organisation, New Zealand Kindergartens Incorporated–Te Putahi Kura Puhou o Aotearoa. A loosely linked kindergarten movement emerged across the city settlements of colonial Aotearoa New Zealand in the late nineteenth century. The kindergartens of Aotearoa New Zealand trace their heritage to the German kindergarten movement established by Friedrich Froebel in the 1840s with a legacy still evident in the nationwide kindergarten movement of the twenty-first century. The Froebelian legacy enacted in Aotearoa New Zealand was threefold, embracing pedagogical principles, professional ideals and political advocacy. The themes of political advocacy and collaborations across boundaries are clues to the success and longevity of the kindergarten movement in Aotearoa New Zealand.