Abstract/Notes: The transition to distance learning in the spring of 2020 caused by COVID-19 was particularly challenging for Montessori educators and students because key elements of the Method were not directly transferable to this new and hastily designed format. Hands-on learning with Montessori materials and learning in a community, as well as careful teacher observation, could not be easily replicated when children were learning from home. To understand how educators applied Montessori principles to serve children and families in these highly unusual circumstances, we surveyed Early Childhood and Elementary Montessori teachers about how they translated core elements of Montessori education to a distance-learning environment. The overall results suggest that Montessori distance-learning arrangements balanced live videoconference experiences for children with offline hands-on activities, while also relying on parents’ and caregivers’ involvement. Teachers reported that they largely designed learning experiences themselves, without significant support or guidance from school leaders. Still, teachers reported that they were able to uphold Montessori principles to only a moderate degree under the circumstances. While teachers understandably hunger for support, professional connections, and a return to the classroom experiences that drew them to the field of Montessori education, this study highlights factors that may affect the transition back to school for teachers, parents and caregivers, and students when face-to-face instruction resumes for all children.

Language: English

Abstract/Notes: In this paper, we report the results of a qualitative study examining the development of leadership competencies as Montessori school leaders gain experience using a coaching protocol with their teachers. Extending previous work, the emphasis is on the school leaders’ specific roles as instructional supervisors leading reflective practices. National standards, both traditional and Montessori, are a foundation to investigate a group of Montessori school leaders’ development in reference to articulated competencies, specifically for the school leader to tend to their own learning and effectiveness through reflection, study, and improvement, and to empower teachers to the highest levels of professional practice and to continuous learning and improvement. After the use of a prescribed coaching protocol, 12 Montessori school leaders from 6 schools across the United States were interviewed using a set of semistructured questions. The study results support that reflective practices lead to both improvement of practice with this group of Montessori school leaders and their respective teachers. We conclude that self-reflection is critical to a Montessori leader’s success, empowering them to model and influence reflective practices, with direct impacts on teacher reflection and school improvement. This conclusion becomes relevant as we observe our Montessori school leaders assuming numerous and complicated administrative roles, from management and teacher evaluation to instructional supervision, mentoring, and coaching teachers.

Language: English

DOI: 10.17161/jomr.v7i1.14832

ISSN: 2378-3923

Abstract/Notes: The theory of Montessori education has been interpreted by some researchers to be vaguely formulated. However, as shown in previous research, Maria Montessori’s didactic approach to teaching and learning mathematics is fully consistent with variation theory and the theory of embodiment. Dr. Montessori used the theoretical concept of isolation of quality, which means that the learning objects have to be kept identical except for one variable, which has to differ to be perceptible. This concept is in alignment with variation theory, which emphasizes variation as a necessary condition for learners to discern aspects of an object of learning. The other theory applied in this article is the theory of embodiment: important cognitive functions are fundamentally grounded in action that is concordant with Dr. Montessori’s view that mind and movement are parts of the same entity. This article reports on a qualitative single-case study with a formative intention in which we investigated the significance of being acquainted with variation theory and the theory of embodiment when working with Montessori material. The study analyzes a teacher’s mathematics presentations with the Montessori material and the children’s work with this material, using Epistemological Move Analysis, which focuses on how the teacher directs children’s learning. The analysis was shared with the teacher to support her awareness of the ways teaching can be developed from a variation and embodiment theoretical perspective. Results show that the teacher’s awareness of why a specific learning object be treated in accordance with variation theory and embodiment seems to promote a more constructive and effective way to direct children’s learning.

Language: English

DOI: 10.17161/jomr.v6i1.12051

ISSN: 2378-3923

Abstract/Notes: Project SYNC (Systems, Yoked through Nuanced Collaboration) details perspectives of a community of stakeholders committed to the enhancement of early childhood (i.e., prekindergarten through grade 3) education. Although there is a growing number of public-school programs informed by the Montessori philosophy, Montessori educational experiences often take place within affluent communities. SYNC aimed to enhance the prekindergarten through grade 3 educational experiences for traditionally underserved students by transforming two traditional early childhood classrooms to Montessori settings within a diverse, Title I school. Montessori pedagogy, curricula, and materials aligned with the school’s dedicated commitment to social justice. The study, one in a series, explored the impact of Montessori education on a neighborhood school community as evidenced through stakeholder opinions, project implementation, and teacher attitudes. Project data illustrate that a Montessori educational experience created learning opportunities that supported children from culturally and ethnically diverse communities in a traditional, Title I elementary school.

Language: English

DOI: 10.17161/jomr.v6i1.8539

ISSN: 2378-3923

Abstract/Notes: This article reviews the Montessori literature through the lens of leadership, using Maria Montessori’s writings for a perspective on leadership aligned with her principles and practices. Dr. Montessori was a strong leader who argued that adults, as leaders, should take direction from children as the spiritual builders of human beings. Her concept of the prepared environment, including the prepared adult, supports this foundation for leadership and has applications beyond the classroom context. Leadership in the Montessori context has a biological base but incorporates elements of service and morality that guide social reform with a peaceful telos. While there are overlaps with existing models of leadership, this review suggests that a distinct perspective on leadership does begin to emerge from Dr. Montessori’s legacy.

Language: English

DOI: 10.17161/jomr.v6i2.13537

ISSN: 2378-3923

Abstract/Notes: Prior research has demonstrated that the characteristics of school environments can impact the development of creativity in children. Thus, we explored the construct of creativity in the context of a Montessori environment. We used the Evaluation of Potential Creativity to measure creativity in children during one academic year. The study sample comprised 77 third-grade students at a Montessori public school in the southeastern United States and 71 demographically similar students at a traditional public school. Results show that Montessori students performed somewhat better on the Evaluation of Potential Creativity assessment than similar non-Montessori students did. Subgroup analyses indicate that male Montessori students demonstrated higher creativity than did male non- Montessori students. The findings of this study augment the body of research supporting creative development in Montessori children and suggest that researchers should continue to focus on the measurement of creativity in studies related to the efficacy of the Montessori model.

Language: English

DOI: 10.17161/jomr.v5i2.7695

ISSN: 2378-3923

Abstract/Notes: Researchers who study any intervention must rule out potential alternative explanations for their results by establishing that the program being investigated is implemented with fidelity. Various instructional practices are attributed to the Montessori Method because the term is not legally protected, meaning any school can say it is Montessori regardless of the degree to which it adheres to practices generally understood to represent Montessori education. Researchers have used a variety of tools to measure the fidelity of Montessori environments they study, but most of these tools lack an extensive psychometric foundation or are labor intensive, requiring in-person observation. The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of instruments that were developed to measure Montessori implementation through Early Childhood (EC) and Elementary (EL) teachers’ reported instructional practices. Findings supported three hypothesized dimensions of Montessori implementation (structure, curriculum, and freedom), which worked fairly well in describing practices. While the properties of these instruments are promising and provide preliminary supporting evidence, results of this analysis suggest further refinement of the items in these instruments is necessary with larger and more diverse samples. While we do not suggest that these are finalized tools, we believe they provide a valuable starting point that is a vast improvement over the requirement of investigators to develop their own instruments as part of each Montessori study they design. The authors hope other researchers will incorporate these instruments into their studies to help build a robust body of evidence supporting their use.

Language: English

DOI: 10.17161/jomr.v5i1.9797

ISSN: 2378-3923

Abstract/Notes: Part II of this two-part article continues the discussion of what Maria Montessori viewed to be the important components of her educational system. Because she developed the system over her lifetime, we prioritized later accounts when contradictory accounts were found. Whereas Part I focused on the environment, Part II examines the second and third components of the Montessori trinity: the teacher and the child. This article includes descriptions of Montessori teacher prepara­tion, children’s developmental stages, and the human tendencies on which Montessori education capitalizes. It ends with child outcomes as described by Dr. Montessori and as shown in recent research, and provides an appendix summarizing features of authentic Montessori described in Part I and Part II.

Language: English

DOI: 10.17161/jomr.v5i1.9753

ISSN: 2378-3923

Abstract/Notes: The purpose of this study was to understand typically developing children’s repetitive behavior in a free-play, daycare setting. By studying repetition in a non-Montessori setting, we tested the assumption that repetition is a characteristic behavior of all young children and not limited to the Montessori environment. Although Maria Montessori identified repetition during her observations, there is little empirical evidence to support her claim: most research has considered repetition in terms of psychopathology. We collected naturalistic observational data on 31 3- to 6-year-old children for a total of 101 hours to investigate the frequency, contexts, and structure of repetitive bouts. Multilevel model results suggest the ubiquity of repetition, as all children in the study engaged in motor repetition. Furthermore, repetition occurred throughout all free-play activities (construction, animation, fantasy play, rough-and-tumble play, and undirected activity), although repetition was not equally distributed across activities. Motor repetition was not equal across ages either; younger children engaged in more motor repetition than did older children. To understand the structure of repetition, our study also looked at the length of repetition bouts, which ranged from 2 to 19 repetitions and averaged 2.86 repetitions per bout. This natural history of repetition is an influential starting point for understanding the role of repetition in development and is informative to both Montessori and non-Montessori early childhood educators.

Language: English

DOI: 10.17161/jomr.v5i2.7407

ISSN: 2378-3923

Abstract/Notes: In July 1922 a small private school called Nationale Onderwijs Instituut Taman Siswa was born quietly at a traditional town Yogyakarta in Central Java. Taman Siswa means literally “Garden for Pupils”. Nobody expected then that this pupils' garden would become a tough ground of resistance to the Dutch colonial Government later in the 1930's. The political climate in Indonesia around 1922 was showing a remarkable uprising of nationalism centering around the labor union movement guided by the Partai Komunis Indonesia (PKI, Indonesian Communist Party) and Sarekat Islam (Islam Union).

Language: English

DOI: 10.1017/S0022463400017306

ISSN: 0022-4634