ABSTRACT
The Introduction offers an overview of the Froebel movement in England and its place in the broader field of progressive education. We consider the potential insights that biography can bring to this field, contextualising the book with reference to key work in this area. We explain the particular focus on women, drawing on thinking from works of feminist biography, and discuss in depth the thematic threads that run through the book. The nature of community and identity are problematised in relationship to what it might mean to call oneself or to be identified by others as ‘Froebelian’. The process of interpretation and re-interpretation of Froebel’s work is discussed in relation to thinking in England and in other national contexts. The process of dissemination is also a focus, and attention is paid to the variety ways in which new educational ideas are spread. The Introduction concludes with a summary of each succeeding chapter, focussing on the particular contribution of each to the wider project of the book.
