Language: English

ISSN: 0519-0959

Language: English

ISSN: 0010-700X

Abstract/Notes: Današnje vrijeme je vrijeme medija, jer mediji u našem društvu zauzimaju sve značajniju ulogu. Drukčiji razvoj i s njim usklađen obrazovni proces diktira sama dinamika življenja. Sukladno tome mijenjaju se nastavni ciljevi, metode i didaktička sredst...

Language: Croatian

ISSN: 1330-0067, 1848-7793

Abstract/Notes: This systematic literature review and content analysis was conducted to ascertain what research from different countries have found regarding the development of environmental awareness in the early years. Environmental awareness in the context of this study speaks to an understanding of the symbiotic relationship of the different entities coexisting within the environment. Research has shown that as children’s environmental knowledge increases, their personal attitudes are modified to more pro-environmental ways. Environmental awareness, over time, may also support children to develop a sense of identity that goes beyond the individual and encompasses how they see themselves as living cohesively as part of the environment through socialization and experience. This systematic literature review and content analysis explored what programs and practices exist in different parts of the world that engage children in various activities in biodiverse places, to support the development of their environmental awareness, which is based on their geographical location, culture, and socialization. To determine how children are supported as they develop their environmental awareness, this content analysis reviewed 80 articles from 15 countries. The findings of this systematic content analysis revealed that research from 15 countries across the world embrace the discourse of early childhood environmental education, but with different foci and objectives. These differences are sometimes determined based on social interactions, family values, community norms, national curricula, geographical locations, and culture. This systematic content analysis also revealed that young children can recognize interdependency and develop relationships with other-than-humans within the environment through programs such as nature schools, place-based education, forest schools, and other kindergarten programs. This recognition enables children to honour themselves as humans to survive and to become mindful of the needs of other entities within the environment and of the need to exist interdependently. Through programs and practices as revealed by the systematic content analysis children can deepen their environmental awareness, see themselves as part of the environment, and perhaps can then go on to participate in decision-making and action initiatives to sustain and support the environment.

Language: English

Published: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, 2022

Abstract/Notes: Montessori is historically recognized for her contributions to early education. Her primary recognition derived from the comprehensive educational program which became known as the Montessori Method. Relatively little attention has focused on her background as physician, psychiatrist, and pedagogical psychologist, from which she developed a body of psychological knowledge which established the foundation of the well-known Method. Her pedagogical psychology was overshadowed by her pedagogical theory despite her secure position in the history of child psychiatry. Also contributing to the non-acceptance of Montessori's psychology was the psychological tenor of the times. In the forefront of the psychological movement in the early 1900's were psychometric testing, Freud's psycho-sexual stages, Thorndike's stimulus-response theory, and the emergence of behaviorism under the leadership of Watson, to name a few. This climate was not hospitable to Montessori's developmental-interactionist theory. In the 1960's through the research findings of psychologists and the availability of Federal funds to compensate the "cumulative deficits" of the disadvantaged child, interest was focused on early childhood education and consequently the Montessori Method. As psychologists embraced Piaget's developmental theory, resemblances in thinking between Piaget and Montessori were noted. While psychologists pointed to Montessori's developmental-interactionist ideas, nobody attempted to elaborate her developmental theory in toto. This study attempts to do so. For Montessori, the development of the child takes place in successive and qualitatively different stages, with each stage providing the foundation for succeeding stages. Within this framework, she clearly delineates cognitive, motor, language, socialization, personality, and character as developing through stages. Cognitive structures develop through the child's interaction with, and actions upon, objects in the environment. A thorough examination of her theory leaves no doubt that Montessori is a cognitive developmentalist. While at times she appears nativistic, and at other times an extreme environmentalist, her position on development is interactionist and constructivist. Montessori is historically recognized for her contributions to early education. Her primary recognition derived from the comprehensive educational program which became known as the Montessori Method. Relatively little attention has focused on her background as physician, psychiatrist, and pedagogical psychologist, from which she developed a body of psychological knowledge which established the foundation of the well-known Method. Her pedagogical psychology was overshadowed by her pedagogical theory despite her secure position in the history of child psychiatry. Also contributing to the non-acceptance of Montessori's psychology was the psychological tenor of the times. In the forefront of the psychological movement in the early 1900's were psychometric testing, Freud's psycho-sexual stages, Thorndike's stimulus-response theory, and the emergence of behaviorism under the leadership of Watson, to name a few. This climate was not hospitable to Montessori's developmental-interactionist theory. In the 1960's through the research findings of psychologists and the availability of Federal funds to compensate the "cumulative deficits" of the disadvantaged child, interest was focused on early childhood education and consequently the Montessori Method. As psychologists embraced Piaget's developmental theory, resemblances in thinking between Piaget and Montessori were noted. While psychologists pointed to Montessori's developmental-interactionist ideas, nobody attempted to elaborate her developmental theory in toto. This study attempts to do so. For Montessori, the development of the child takes place in successive and qualitatively different stages, with each stage providing the foundation for succeeding stages. Within this framework, she clearly delineates cognitive, motor, language, socialization, personality, and character as developing through stages. Cognitive structures develop through the child's interaction with, and actions upon, objects in the environment. A thorough examination of her theory leaves no doubt that Montessori is a cognitive developmentalist. While at times she appears nativistic, and at other times an extreme environmentalist, her position on development is interactionist and constructivist. In contemporary terms her "psychopedagogy" would be considered an action psychology, which basically precludes it from academic "respectibility". Her theory contains both strengths and weaknesses in light of present-day thinking; however, on balance, Montessori's theory is quite contemporary and remarkably ahead of most of the psychological thinking of her time.

Language: English

Published: New York City, New York, 1982

Abstract/Notes: The purpose of this research was to determine if the introduction of more developmentally appropriate materials and activities into the toddler classroom would create a more stimulating environment for the older toddlers, increase student engagement, and decrease disruptive behavior. Observations were carried out prior to the introduction of new work and after new work was implemented. This study was conducted in a toddler classroom at a private Montessori school. Children and teachers from the toddler classroom and three early childhood classrooms were included in this project. The results indicated that the older toddlers were more engaged and less disruptive after the introduction of new challenging work into the environment. However, this research was conducted early in the school year and the process of normalization likely impacted the results. Therefore, it is recommended that further research be conducted later in the school year.

Language: English

Published: St. Paul, Minnesota, 2014

Abstract/Notes: The purpose of this research was to determine whether a progress report that aligns the Montessori materials to child development benchmarks would increase parent understanding of the Montessori materials, as well as give teachers a means of reporting growth that is systematic and consistent. Trial reports were created aligning the toddler and early childhood practical life and sensorial curriculum areas to the state standards. Parents were asked to compare the current reports with the new reports. The postimplementation survey results suggested that 97% of parents better understood the alignment between the Montessori materials and child development and 100% of teachers affirmed the new reports made a clear association between the two. The new reports clarified the alignment between the Montessori materials and children’s development for parents and created a standard measurement tool for Montessori educators with the vernacular to explain the Montessori materials progression to parents.

Language: English

Published: St. Paul, Minnesota, 2015

Abstract/Notes: This action research project investigates the effect of providing earth-conscious materials in the art curriculum on early childhood Montessori students' environmental awareness. The participants for this study were seven preschool students at a private, home-based Montessori school in the urban Western United States. The research design was qualitative and quantitative, utilizing field notes, observational notes, behavioral tally sheets, and group conversational questionnaires to gather information on students' environmental awareness. The students' mean eco-affinity responses increased by 16%, while their mean environmental awareness responses increased by 23%. The frequency of material usage positively correlated with the frequency of environmental actions. The findings suggest that earth-conscious art materials have a positive effect on student environmental awareness. The researcher realized that increased environmental awareness does not indicate increased ecological stewardship. The conclusion of this study urges educators to reconsider the role that art curriculum and materials play on student environmental awareness.

Language: English

Published: St. Paul, Minnesota, 2020

Abstract/Notes: This thesis essay looks at the genre of creative nonfiction in children’s picture books to find literary and design elements that are utilized in award winning books and how those components transfer to the first three planes of development in the Montessori method of education. The three creative works of the thesis, Under the Surface: A Sea Mammal’s Day, Dive into a Kelp Forest, and Reef are picture books with an environmental, ocean theme. Each book corresponds with one of the first three planes of development put forth by Maria Montessori in her philosophy of education. Analysis of these works show how literary and aesthetic devices, as evidenced in award winning genre picture books, pertain to and contribute to the sensitive periods of learning for each plane and its corresponding age group.

Language: English

Published: Roanoke, Virginia, 2022

Language: English

ISSN: 2215-1249, 2772-7319