Abstract/Notes: The introduction in 2011 of a universal free preschool year for all children in Ireland prior to attending primary school was heralded as a significant commitment to children and families. As a result of this policy initiative there are increasing numbers of young children accessing preschool provision. However, despite increased access and increased investment in ECEC provision, little is known about the quality of preschool children’s experiences, or the impact of the pedagogical approach on children’s levels of wellbeing and involvement in their learning. Equally there has been no evaluation of the quality or the effectiveness of the preschool provision in supporting children’s development of 21st century skills. This thesis explores how the preschool educator’s image of the child as a learner influences her/his pedagogical approach and how the educator’s pedagogical approach subsequently impacts on children’s levels of wellbeing and involvement in their meaning making processes. The study, an ethnographic comparative study, was conducted across three preschool setting types, Montessori, Play-based and Reggio inspired in the west of Ireland and Boston. The findings identify that children’s levels of wellbeing and involvement are high when their basic needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness are met in an autonomy supportive, child-centred learning environment. In comparison, when the learning environment is controlling and the approach to teaching and learning is didactic and adult-led, children’s levels of wellbeing and involvement are low. These findings have significant implications for policy and practice and provide a compelling argument for the evaluation of the quality of preschool provision in Ireland.

Language: English

Published: Galway, Ireland, 2020

Abstract/Notes: This dissertation examines neoliberalist policy in public school education in order to understand the influence of this neoliberalist policy on educator wellness in New Mexico early educators. Establishing the neoliberal influence in public education, the presidencies of Eisenhower, Johnson, Carter, G.H.W. Bush, G.W. Bush, and Obama, as related to education policy and influences, presents the idea of education for profit through high stakes testing and scripted curriculums (Ali, 2019; Burke, et al., 2020; Howell et al., 2017; Leistyna, 2010; Mazzoni, 1977; Vaughn et al.; Wooley et al., 1999; Yardley, 2000). This dissertation establishes connections between neoliberal federal policy and widespread unrest among American educators (Adams et al., 2018; Macrine et al., 2010; Nieto, 2013). National exit attrition rates as well as rates of enrollment in teacher preparatory programs examined herein connect to widespread professional dissatisfaction among public educators (Boe et al., 2008; Engledowl, et al., 2020; Nieto, 2013). Subjective Well Being (SWB) of New Mexico early educators as influenced by neoliberalist public education policy is qualitatively examined via this interpretive phenomenological analysis. Methods included interviews, surveys, and questionnaires conducted with eight New Mexico educators. Utilization of hermeneutic member checking promotes trustworthiness and credibility (Noon, 2018). Through coding, findings reveal that NM early educators’ SWB may be negatively influenced by neoliberalist policy in public education. Themes related to connections between neoliberal public education policies and SWB include: demoralization caused by leaders; control of creativity; confines of curriculum; an illusion of freedom; limitations of high stakes testing and curriculum; experiences centered on abuse, trauma, and PTSD; and exhaustion, lack of humanity in public education policy, as well as educators’ invisibility. Implications exist for the arenas of education policy, high stakes testing, curriculum, ethics in education, and educator activism.

Language: English

Published: Las Cruces, New Mexico, 2022

Language: English

Published: Washington, D.C.: AMI-USA, 1989

Pages: 37-39

Language: English

Abstract/Notes: "Oakland, Aug. 14 - Between 4000 and 5000 delegates, including some of the leading educators of the United States and several foreign countries, are in Oakland for the world's congress of education, which will be opened in municipal auditorium at 9 o'clock Monday morning. It is expected that more than ten thousand delegates will be in attendance at the general meetings and the sessions of the forty-three organizations affiliated with the National Education Association, under auspices of which the great convention is to be held. The sessions will close August 28. Many prominent educators are already in the city. David Starr Jordan, chancellor of Stanford University and president of the National Education Association, will arrive tomorrow. Among those already here are Miss Grace C. Strachan, district superintendent of schools for the city of New York, the woman who led and won the now famous fight for 'equal pay for equal work' and candidate for the presidency of the association; Dr. Maria Montessori of Rome; Ferdinand Buirsson, commander of the legion of honor of France; Dr. Jose Swain, president of Swarthmore College, Pa.; Ernesto Nelson, director of secondary education for Argentina; C. W. Crook, vice-president of the English National Union of Teachers; Ella Flagg Young, superintendent of schools of Chicago, and a score of others from all parts of the world. Every modern phase of the education of the youth of this and coming generations will be discussed at the congress. This is the third international congress of the National Education Association."

Language: English

Abstract/Notes: "...Among the speakers schedule for department addresses are scores of noted national, and world educators. Among these are: Mme. Maria Montessori, originator of the system child education bearing her name..."

Language: English

Abstract/Notes: A Montessori School, the first in California, and one of the first in the country, will open its doors in Los Angeles within the next few weeks, in one of the west-end schools not yet definitely decided upon.

Language: English

Language: English

Abstract/Notes: One of the pre-school education programs widely implemented in our country is the Montessori education approach developed by Montessori. The impact of the Montessori approach, which places a lot of emphasis on the prepared environment, the materials that make up this environment, and the prepared adult instructor, on the classroom management practices of instructors, cannot be ignored. In order to determine the applications applied to classroom management by Montessori instructors working in early childhood classes where Montessori education approach is applied in public and private preschool education institutions in Turkey, this research was created in a qualitative research pattern by adopting a phenomenological approach. In educational settings, the phenomenological approach is used to make concrete the participants ' knowledge, perception, experience and feelings about the identified phenomenon. The phenomenon covered in this study is the classroom management practices of Montessori instructors who are working at the early childhood level within preschool education institutions in our country. The Working Group consists of 13 preschool teachers and master instructors who are Montessori instructors. The "criteria sampling" method was used to determine the Working Group. It is taken as criteria by the researcher that the instructors are employed in the kindergarten or kindergarten level of 3-6 years of early childhood, have received Montessori instructor training from a formal educational institution and have completed one-year internship periods and have earned the right to receive their certificates. All of the data were collected in the 2019-2020 school year. Personal data form and structured interview and follow-up interview were used as data collection tools. Interviews with participants were conducted individually and face-to-face. The data obtained; it is collected under four dimensions in the form of the regulation of the physical environment, communication and behavior management, time management, and plan and program studies. According to the results of the research, Montessori instructors ' applications for these four dimensions have similarities and differences with the studies that have been done, and they relate these practices to the three basic elements of classroom management: "prepared environment", "prepared adult" and "learning materials". The findings were discussed within the framework of the studies in the field. / Ülkemizde yaygın olarak uygulanan okul öncesi eğitim programlarından biri de Montessori tarafından geliştirilmiş olan Montessori yaklaşımıdır. Hazırlanmış çevreye, bu çevreyi oluşturan materyallere ve hazırlanmış yetişkin olarak adlandırılan eğitmene çokça vurgu yapılan Montessori yaklaşımının eğitmenlerin sınıf yönetimi uygulamalarına etkisi göz ardı edilemez. Bu araştırma Türkiye'de resmi ve özel okul öncesi eğitim kurumlarındaki Montessori eğitim yaklaşımının uygulandığı erken çocukluk sınıflarında görev yapmakta olan Montessori eğitmenlerinin sınıf yönetimine ilişkin başvurdukları uygulamaların ve bu uygulamaları sınıf yönetimiyle nasıl ilişkilendirdiklerinin tespit edilmesi amacıyla, fenomenolojik yaklaşım benimsenerek nitel araştırma deseninde oluşturulmuştur. Eğitim ortamlarında fenomenolojik yaklaşım, katılımcıların belirlenen fenomen hakkındaki bilgi, algı, deneyim ve duygularını somut bir hale getirmek için kullanılmaktadır. Bu çalışma kapsamında ele alınan fenomen, ülkemizde okul öncesi eğitim kurumları bünyesinde bulunan erken çocukluk kademesinde görev yapmakta olan Montessori eğitmenlerinin sınıf yönetimi uygulamalarıdır. Çalışma grubu, Montessori eğitmeni olan 13 okul öncesi öğretmeni ve usta öğreticiden oluşmaktadır. Çalışma grubunu belirlemek amacıyla "ölçüt örnekleme" yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Eğitmenlerin MEB'e bağlı anaokullarında veya anasınıflarında 3-6 yaş erken çocukluk kademesinde görev yapmaları, resmi olarak eğitim veren bir kurumdan Montessori eğitmen eğitimi almış ve bir yıllık staj sürelerini tamamlayıp sertifikalarını almaya hak kazanmış olmaları araştırmacı tarafından ölçüt olarak alınmıştır. Verilerin tümü 2019-2020 eğitim öğretim yılında toplanmıştır. Veri toplama aracı olarak kişisel bilgi formu ve yapılandırılmış görüşme ve takip görüşmesi formları kullanılmıştır. Katılımcılarla yapılan görüşmeler bireysel ve yüz yüze gerçekleştirilmiştir. Elde edilen veriler; fiziksel ortamın düzenlenmesi, iletişim ve davranış yönetimi, zaman yönetimi ve plan ve program çalışmaları şeklinde dört boyut altında toplanmıştır. Araştırma sonuçlarına göre Montessori eğitmenlerinin bu dört boyuta yönelik uygulamalarının yapılmış olan çalışmalarla benzerlikleri ve farklılıkları bulunmakta ve eğitmenler bu uygulamaları sınıf yönetiminin üç temel öğesi olan "hazırlanmış çevre", "hazırlanmış yetişkin" ve "eğitici materyaller" ile ilişkilendirmektedirler. Elde edilen bulgular, alan yazındaki çalışmalar çerçevesinde tartışılmıştır.

Language: Turkish

Published: Istanbul, Turkey, 2020

Language: English