Child Education and Development:
Comparing guidance given by `Abdu'l-Bahá during his North American visit with some academic theories of the time

By Saba Ayman-Nolley

First presented at the Irfan Colloquia Session #113
Louhelen Bahá'í School: Davison, Michigan, USA
October 5–8, 2012
(see list of papers from #113)

Next presented at the Irfan Colloquia Session #118
Centre for Bahá'í Studies: Acuto, Italy
June 30 – July 4, 2013
(see list of papers from #118)


    This presentation will systematically examine the guidance and advice that `Abdu'l-Bahá gave to various audiences throughout his talks during His North America travels in 1912. The structure and content of these passages will be analyzed and consolidated to clarify the cohesive approach that `Abdu'l-Bahá offered parents and those working with children. The roles and tasks of the various components of human society in this approach will be examined as well as variations He may have suggested across child developmental lines such as varying approaches to infants, children, or adolescents. In addition there will be a preliminary comparison of `Abdu'l-Bahá's ideas on education and child development with early 20th century theories of human development and educational psychology.

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