Abstract/Notes: This article reports on findings from an ethnographic and comparative study examining interactions between educational systems and mutual respect in classrooms. I define mutual respect as the work of intervening on power asymmetries typically found in classrooms—both between teachers and students, and among students—by way of according children increased equality, autonomy, and equity. I partnered with four elementary schools, situated across two systems (i.e., International Baccalaureate [IB] and Montessori) and two national contexts (i.e., Washington, DC, and Toronto). Analysis of observation and video-cued focus group data revealed the following: IB and Montessori teachers differed in how they attempted equity in practice, and, relatedly, they differed in how they understood equity to interact with other dimensions of mutual respect (i.e., equality, autonomy). These differences between the systems held constant across two national contexts. This study contributes to ongoing conceptualizations of equity, educational systems, and the potential relationship between the two.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1086/725728

ISSN: 0013-5984

Abstract/Notes: The following research study collected and examined the current practices of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd catechists in Level I (ages 3-6) Atria throughout Wisconsin. Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS), founded by Sofia Cavalletti and Gianna Gobbi, is the religious formation experience of children using the principles of the Montessori method. Around the question of religious formation, we explored literature regarding the Moral Development, Spirituality, and Religious Education of young children. Finding little on the religious formation of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, while also considering the cultural practices and societal norms of local communities, we created a 22-question survey for CGS Level I catechists examining the qualities of the Atrium, catechist, prayer in the Atrium, and community support specific to Wisconsin. Using an online platform and distribution, we gathered surveys from 67 catechists from all five Roman Catholic dioceses in Wisconsin (Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, La Crosse, and Superior). Results focused on laying a foundation of baseline data of current practices. Results revealed that the current implementation of CGS is consistent with catechist training recommendations. Also, most dramatically, 100% of catechists regarded the catechesis as somewhat (31%) or strongly (69%) impacting the faith of the young child. Likewise, 89% of catechists also considered the experience strongly impacting their own faith. The mutual benefit reported for both adult catechists and children suggests that the effect of CGS in religious formation settings is compelling and worthy of investment and further study.

Language: English

Published: River Falls, Wisconsin, 2023

Language: English

Published: Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Peter Lang, 1995

ISBN: 978-3-631-48917-8 978-0-8204-2914-4 3-631-48917-X 0-8204-2914-7

Series: Heidelberger Studien zur Erziehungswissenschaft (Frankfurt am Main, Germany) , 44

Abstract/Notes: Creative thinking is critical to overcome many daily life situations. As such, there has been a growing interest on how creative thinking develops during childhood. However, little is known about the underlying mechanisms driving its development. Indeed, almost all research has focused on divergent thinking, leaving aside convergent thinking, and did not thoroughly investigate how internal and/or external factors influence their development. Here, 222 children aged from 4 to 12 years old attending either a Montessori or a traditional school performed drawing-based convergent and divergent standardized tasks. In addition, a subset of 41 children were tested using similar tasks for a second session 3 years apart. The results revealed dynamic developmental stages of convergent and divergent thinking. More specifically, a loss of divergent thinking was counterbalanced by a gain of convergent thinking, especially during the fourth-grade slump (8–10 years old). Although Montessori-schooled children showed overall higher creative abilities than traditionally schooled children, no differences were observed in the developmental trajectories of convergent and divergent thinking between the two pedagogies. This suggests that progress and decrease in creative thinking may be mostly due to internal factors such as brain maturation factors than external factors such as peer pressure.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1002/jocb.569

ISSN: 2162-6057

Language: English

Language: English

Published: Cleveland, Ohio: North American Montessori Teachers' Association, 2000