Abstract/Notes: Differences in cognitive developmental level and reading achievement of elementary school children in multiage programming and traditional classrooms were explored. There is controversy regarding the benefit of multiage classrooms for learning academic subjects. According to previous research (e.g., Almy, Chittenden, & Miller, 1967; Brekke, Williams, & Harlow, 1973; Cromey, 1999), cognitive developmental level, reading achievement, and classroom type all seem to be related entities. This study assesses the effects of multiage classrooms compared to traditional classrooms on cognitive developmental level and reading ability of kindergartners, first graders, and second graders. The effects of cognitive developmental level on reading ability were also explored. The results support the connections among cognitive developmental level, reading ability, and classroom type.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1080/02702710490271800

ISSN: 0270-2711

Abstract/Notes: Although children’s physical environments play an important role in their development, there have been few empirical studies on the interior design of early childhood centres. This is partly due to a lack of adequate methods and instruments for the systematic spatial investigation of educational environments. In light of this, the following paper presents a qualitative method for such systematic investigation, which we shall call visual environment analysis. It also presents the results of the application of this method to ten early childhood centre environments, which can be ranged between the two extremes of restraint and expressiveness. The analysis shows that early childhood centre environments may be shaped by partly conflicting aims, such as giving children as much freedom as possible on the one hand and providing them with a stimulating atmosphere on the other. The paper therefore discusses both visual environment analysis as a method and, in applying this method, the interior design of a number of educational environments.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1007/s10643-018-0914-x

ISSN: 1082-3301, 1573-1707

Abstract/Notes: The roles of morbidity and environmental conditions in determining nutritional status were investigated in urban Montessori school children. In all, 265 children (30–60 months) were observed for weight, height, morbidity status and their household environmental conditions including hygiene, overcrowding, waste disposal methods and general housing background. The same sample was observed again after six months to assess their growth. Mean weight and height of all the children were 13.0 ± 1.4 kg and 95.9 ± 5.3 cm respectively. Relative gain in weight was observed to be 60–70 gms/kg during the six months period. Children were receiving total supplementation of about 170 kcal and about 5 g of protein per day. The children were divided into two classes according to their living conditions. Six factors formed the basis of scores which were used to classify all households into good and average environmental conditions. Those with better environmental conditions were associated with better nutritional status of children. The number of days lost due to sickness per ill child were smaller in houses with better scores. Relative gain in weight was negatively correlated with days lost due to illness suggesting synergistic effects of duration of illness and environment on nutritional status.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1080/03670244.1994.9991368

ISSN: 0367-0244

Language: English

DOI: 10.1086/461732

ISSN: 1554-8279, 0013-5984

Abstract/Notes: The present two-year longitudinal study addressed developmental changes in different aspects of executive functioning (i.e., inhibition, updating, and cognitive flexibility) in a sample of 264 children aged between 5 and 7 years. Of special interest were issues of developmental progression over time, the influence of learning context and the predictive power of executive functions and school context for emerging academic skills. The results revealed pronounced improvements in all executive measures, both over time and as a function of age. For the learning context, small and age-dependent effects on executive skills were found. Inhibition uniquely contributed to the prediction of aspects of emerging academic skills, over and above chronological age and language skills.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1080/17405629.2011.571841

ISSN: 1740-5610, 1740-5629

Abstract/Notes: Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome (WHS) is a rare genetic condition with characteristic facial traits, organ malformations, functional impairment and developmental delay due to partial short arm monosomy of chromosome 4. Although several hundreds of cases have been published to date, a systematic collection of its clinical symptoms and anthropological traits is missing in the literature, and reports on abilities and needs of children with WHS are scanty. Results of detailed physical and developmental phenotype analyses in a 1 10/12-year-old boy with monosomy 4p15.2-pter are presented. Physical analyses were based on systematic data acquisition. They disclosed a total of 32 clinical symptoms and 46 anthropological traits. Developmental analyses were based on the child's interactive play in an environment structured according to Montessori principles. They disclosed a total of 44 abilities and a number of needs to be satisfied by the environment for the support of the child's psychic and intellectual growth. While the physical phenotype is important for the diagnostic process, the developmental phenotype is essential for parental counseling. PMID: 15844776

Language: English

ISSN: 1015-8146

Abstract/Notes: Through philosophical analysis of Montessori’s critiques of psychology, I aim to show the enduring relevance of those critiques. Maria Montessori sees experimental psychology as fundamental to philosophy and pedagogy, but she objects to the experimental psychology of her day in four ways: as disconnected from practice, as myopic, as based excessively on methods from physical sciences, and—most fundamentally—as offering detailed examinations of human beings (particularly children) under abnormal conditions. In place of these prevailing norms, Montessori suggests a model of the teacher-scientist in a specially prepared environment, who can engage in sustained and impassioned observation of “normalized” children. Drawing from a variety of texts and recently published lectures, this article lays out Montessori’s philosophy of experimental psychology and briefly discusses its relevance today.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1086/682395

ISSN: 2152-5188

Abstract/Notes: In this research, it is aimed to examine the effects of Montessori education on the mentally retarded individuals in the special education who have had Montessori education and who have not had it. 24 trainable mentally disabled male students who had and did not have Montessori education in a private school in Kayseri participated in the study. The students were between the ages of 20-22. 12 voluntary participants constituted the experimental group who had Montessori education. The control group included 12 voluntary mentally disabled individuals. While the control group had a routine training for 8 weeks, the experimental group had Montessori education program for 8 weeks. In addition, mothers of the students in the experimental group were included in the training program. The mentally disabled individuals had movement and visual perception skills tests.When the results of the movement perception skills in the experimental and control groups were reviewed, no significant differences were found in the movement skill variables according to the values (p>0.05). While the pretest posttest values in the mentally retarded individuals in the experimental group revealed significant difference (p<0,05), no difference occurred only in the left foot balance test (p>0,05). All pretest posttest values depending on the movement revealed significant difference in the control group (p<0,05).As a result, when the effect of the Montessori program on the movement skills of trainable mentally retarded people was examined, no significant difference was found between the values of the control group, and Montessori education gave similar values as the classical education. Thus, it was concluded that it was advisable Montessori education program to be used widely. When its effect on the visual perception skills was examined, it could be stated that the posttest averages of the each visual perception sub-scale average revealed an increase except the shape-ground connection. Consequently, when the movement skills of the trainable mentally retarded individuals were reviewed, no difference was found in the control group values, and Montessori education values were similar to classical education. Therefore, it is concluded that Montessori education program should be used widely.

Language: English

DOI: 10.11114/jets.v7i2.3875

ISSN: 2324-8068

Abstract/Notes: The present study aims to identify the effectiveness of a counseling program based on the use of the Montessori method on the environmental adaptive behavior in a sample of children with mild intellectual disabilities, identifying also the differences in the level of behavioral adaptation in a sample of children on the adaptive behavior scale pre/post application of the program. The researchers define a sample of (40) items, applied to a sample consisting of (40) children with mild intellectual disabilities, aged between (10-12) years, selected from boys, divided equally to (20) experimental samples and (20) control samples, from Al-Ghafir Foundation for people with special needs. The researcher has used the (experimental) method and applied the scale of adaptive behavior. The research has come to several results, the most important of which is that there is a statistically significant correlation between the average scores of the control group and the experimental group, regarding the post application of the total adaptive behavior scale. There are statistically significant differences between the average scores of the experimental group, regarding the post/ follow up application of the adaptive behavioral scale. There are statistically significant differences between the average scores of the control group and the experimental group regarding the post-application of the total behavior scale, in favor of the experimental group. The research reached a set of recommendations, the most important of which are: the necessity of providing the necessary tools for developing skills for children with disabilities within government institutions, setting a special budget.

Language: Arabic

DOI: 10.21608/jes.2020.206380

ISSN: 1110-0826

Language: English

ISSN: 0047-6765