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Doctoral Dissertation
Origins and Present Status of the Montessori Movement in the United States
Americas, Montessori movement, North America, United States of America
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Language: English
Published: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1963
Doctoral Dissertation (Ph.D.)
Nisaidie nif anye mwenyewe, Pomogi mne eto sdelat' samomu: A comparative case study of the implementation of Montessori pedagogy in the United Republic of Tanzania and The Russian Federation
Available from: ProQuest - Dissertations and Theses
Africa, Asia, Comparative education, Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe, Europe, Russia, Sub-Saharan Africa, Tanzania, Western Asia
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Abstract/Notes: The system of education developed by Maria Montessori, noted Italian feminist, anthropologist and physician, is the single largest pedagogy in the world with over 22,000 public, private, parochial, and charter schools on six continents, enduring even as other teaching methods have waxed and waned. Despite its international diffusion and longevity, research into the pedagogy is glaringly absent from mainstream educational literature. The purpose of this study is, first, to explore Dr. Montessori's involvement in international conferences and examine how the exchange of ideas by participants may have influenced her pedagogy. Second, this study investigates the implementation of Montessori pedagogy in two countries, the United Republic of Tanzania and the Russian Federation, focusing on the interplay of teacher training, classroom practice, and culture. This comparative multiple case study was designed to differentiate what is universal in the Montessori pedagogy and what is country specific or culture bound. Observations in classrooms guided by a checklist of ten essential elements, interviews with teachers, trainers and leaders of Montessori associations, and historical and contemporary documents are the primary sources of data. The results of the data indicate that limited economic resources, the quality of training, government regulations and availability of Montessori books translated into the Kiswahili and Russian languages influence the implementation of Montessori pedagogy in the United Republic of Tanzania and the Russian Federation to a greater extent than culture. Montessori pedagogy as implemented in Tanzania is thriving and is providing much needed quality education for young children. Several factors influence its implementation, but poverty permeates through all the classrooms and is the most significant. Montessori pedagogy as implemented in Russia also is thriving, in spite of the challenge of consistent training. Impressive efforts such as the work of the Belgorod Montessori Study Center to develop the theoretical understanding and practical applications of cosmic education and Michailova Montessori School's experiment in integrating into a self-managed government school may determine whether Montessori remains on the periphery of pedagogy or moves to the center, influencing future policy.
Language: English
Published: Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2010
Article
United Nations Declares International Day of the Family
Publication: AMI/USA News, vol. 9, no. 2
Date: Apr 1996
Pages: 3
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Language: English
Doctoral Dissertation (Ed.D.)
Teacher Beliefs, Attitudes, and Expectations Towards Students with Attention Disorders in Three Schools in the United Kingdom's Independent School System
Available from: ProQuest - Dissertations and Theses
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, Attention-deficit-disordered children, Children with disabilities, England, Europe, Inclusive education, Northern Europe, Northern Ireland, Perceptions, Scotland, Teachers - Attitudes, United Kingdom
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Abstract/Notes: Scope and method of study. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the connection between the beliefs, attitudes, and expectations teachers exhibit towards students who have attention challenges in three independent schools in England and the pathognomonic-interventionist continuum as identified by Jordan-Wilson and Silverman (1991), which identifies, along a scale, where teachers' beliefs lie. Teachers' sense of efficacy as they meet individual student needs was also explored as was what educators in these schools, who have limited, if any, recourse to special education assistance, do to support students who display the characteristics of attention deficit. The pathognomonic-interventionist continuum and Bandura's (1977) construct of self-efficacy were the lenses used to focus the research. The study records participants' responses and reflections about the phenomenon under study, describing what it is they do, how they perceive their responsibility towards their students, and how they support each other. Findings and conclusions. Data compiled from a sample of 10 teachers and 3 head-teachers, were disaggregated to provide a picture of how participant teachers work with attentionally challenged children in selected English independent schools. The results provide evidence that teachers whose profile identifies them with the interventionist perspective present stronger senses of self-efficacy. They are prepared to undertake prereferral-type activities to determine where the student is experiencing difficulty and are then willing to manipulate the learning environment to meet individual student needs. Teachers in these schools perceive it as their professional obligation to design teaching scenarios to benefit all students. Teacher efficacy, their sense of their ability to positively influence their students' educational performance and achievement, is unrelated to years of experience or educational background, but is related to the beliefs which they hold.
Language: English
Published: Stillwater, Oklahoma, 2006
Doctoral Dissertation
The Growth of the Montessori Movement in the United States, 1909-1970
Available from: ProQuest - Dissertations and Theses
Americas, North America, United States of America
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Abstract/Notes: The purpose of this study was to examine the growth of the Montessori Movement in the United States during the periods 1909-1921 and 1952-1970. The Montessori system was viewed as an innovation in American education and special attention was directed to the leaders of the movement and the role they played in its growth. The primary sources used for the initial period were the papers of Mabel Bell kept in the Bell Room of the National Geographic Society and the McClure Manuscripts housed in the Lilly Library at Indiana University. For the latter period, the following sources were utilized: American Montessori Society files, files of Whitby School, tape recordings from the American Montessori Society, interviews with Nancy Rambusch, Cleo Monson, John McDermott and correspondence with Mario Montessori and Margaret Stephensen. In addition to visits to the original Casa dei Bambini in Rome and modern Case in Italy, many Montessori schools in the United States were observed. The background of Dr. Montessori was discussed and the influences, principles and contributions of her method were examined. The period from 1909-1921 was analyzed with reference to the leadership of Maria Montessori, S.S. McClure, Mabel Bell, Helen Parkhurst and William Kilpatrick. The social, educational, political, theoretical and communications problems were examined to determine possible reasons for the demise of Montessori education in that era. The renascance [sic] of Montessori education in the United States (1952-1970) was examined with emphasis on the leadership of Mario Montessori, Nancy Rambusch, Margaret Stephenson, Cleo Monson and John McDermott. The areas of social, educational, theoretical and communications were studied for likely reasons for the resurgence of Montessori education in America. A paradigmatic schema was used to compare the role of the leaders in each period: Policy maker- Maria Montessori and Mario Montessori; Promoter- S.S. McClure and Nancy Rambusch; Organizer- Mabel Bell and Cleo Monson; Disciple- Helen Parkhurst and Margaret Stephenson; Professional Educator- William Kilpatrick and John McDermott. The qualities of leadership which led to the original demise of the Montessori Movement were: 1) Mistrust and lack of direct contact with United States educators and Montessori promoters by Maria Montessori; 2) Withdrawal of lecture and film rights from S.S. McClure by Dr. Montessori; 3) Dissolution of Montessori organizations by Mabel Bell and Helen Parkhurst because of lack of confidence in them by Maria Montessori; 5) Strong influence by William Kilpatrick (who did not believe in the Montessori method) on kindergarten teachers. The rebirth of the Montessori Movement was influenced by: 1) Mario Montessori's strong adherence to the original ideas of Maria Montessori; 2) Nancy Rambusch's proper use of leadership and timing and the formation of the American Montessori Society by her; 3) The organized efforts of the American Montessori Society and its teacher-training and public relations function by Cleo Monson; 4) The loyalty and knowledge displayed by Margaret Stephenson in running the Association Montessori Internationale teacher-training course in Washington; 5) the efforts of John McDermott to put Montessori in an American cultural context in teacher-training and professionalization of Montessori education. The writer finds strong indications for the thesis that it was the leadership which effected the growth of the Montessori Movement in the United States and recommends further research into other educational innovations in the United States such as the British Infant School Movement and Headstart with attention to the leadership.
Language: English
Published: New York City, New York, 1971
Doctoral Dissertation
Conditions Associated with the Rise and Decline of the Montessori Method of Kindergarten-Nursery Education in the United States from 1911-1921
Available from: ProQuest - Dissertations and Theses
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Language: English
Published: Carbondale, Illinois, 1966
Doctoral Dissertation
Comparison of the Application of Maria Montessori's Language Arts Ideas and Practices in Two Periods of Development in the United States: 1909-1921 and 1953-1963
Available from: ProQuest - Dissertations and Theses
Americas, Classroom environments, Montessori materials, Montessori method of education - Criticism, interpretation, etc., Montessori method of education - Teachers, Montessori schools, North America, United States of America
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Abstract/Notes: Maria Montessori's work is intimately grounded in her detailed teaching practices and the logic of their sequence, along with their underlying ideas and values, particularly in the area of language arts. There are no studies, however, which comprehensively analyze her language arts curriculum for children from three to seven as it was applied by the practitioners who fostered, interpreted, and promoted her work in America in periods of its popularity: 1909-1921 and 1953-1963. This lack of comprehensive analysis blurs the fundamental identity and contextual coherence of Montessori's work and obscures the significant and ongoing contribution made to American education through her language arts curriculum. An analysis of Montessori's published work and those written about her was made in order to achieve a description of her language arts curriculum for the purpose of comparing her work to that of her American sponsors. To determine how Montessori's curriculum was interpreted and applied, the literature on the history of the Montessori movement was reviewed and five leaders were identified: Ann George, Alexander Graham Bell, Clara Craig, Helen Parkhurst, and Nancy McCormick Rambusch. Their writings and other primary sources were analyzed with reference to Montessori's curriculum. In some cases interviews were conducted and Montessori classrooms were observed over an extended period of time. The analysis of the activity of the leaders, within their contemporary social and educational settings revealed how Montessori's curriculum became detached from her original experimental context and was reshaped because of lack of understanding or of agreement with the systematic purpose of her educational material in the development of language arts skills, and because of varying intentions and views on how and what children should learn. The findings of the study also contribute to existing studies on the reasons for the decline of Montessori's practices by the end of the first period, and for success in the revival of her work in the second period. In addition, conclusions contribute to the unified body of knowledge needed to thoroughly identify the Montessori educational model practiced and researched by educators.
Language: English
Published: Durham, North Carolina, 1984
Article
United Nations Conference Held in Paris
Publication: AMI/USA News, vol. 22, no. 1
Date: Jan 2009
Pages: 7
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Language: English
Article
Maria Montessori dara una Serie de Conferencias en Los Estados Unidos [Maria Montessori will give a Lecture Series in the United States]
Available from: Chronicling America (Library of Congress)
Publication: Boletín Mercantil de Puerto Rico (San Juan, Puerto Rico)
Date: Dec 10, 1913
Pages: 1
Americas, Caribbean, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America, Puerto Rico, United States of America
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Language: Spanish
ISSN: 2766-7936, 2766-7944
Article
Montessori's System Strongly Defended; United States Commissioner of Education Reports on Plan
Available from: Newspapers.com
Publication: San Francisco Examiner (San Francisco, California)
Date: Sep 5, 1915
Pages: 22
Americas, Montessori method of education - Criticism, interpretation, etc., North America, United States of America
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Language: English