This paper explores some of the intellectual forces and themes connected to the emergence of the child study movement as a focus of scientific interest and research. This analysis is followed by a look at some institutional and social developments, which, it has been suggested, created needs and demands for the systematic study of children. Finally, there is an examination of the history of the movement itself: its chronology, methods and foci of study, some key figures associated with it, and its relationship to and reception by popular and academic audiences. The paper is divided into five sections: (1) early romantic theories of education and studies of development; (2) a note on nonromantic ideological strains in American psychology and education; (3) the influences of Darwinism; (4) social and institutional connections and influences; and (5) the child study movement, covering its major theoreticians, ideas, journals, goals and decline. A seven-page list of project research papers concludes the document. (IS)