Abstract/Notes: The objective of this small study was to elicit responses from early childhood teachers in India on mathematics learning strategies and to measure the extent of finger counting technique adopted by the teachers in teaching young children. Specifically, the research focused on the effective ways of teaching mathematics to children in India, and examined teachers’ approach to number counting. In India, children were taught by their parents or by their teachers to use fingers to count. The qualitative study conducted by the researcher further enriched the topic with first‐hand comments by the teachers. Although the finger counting method was not the only process that teachers would adopt, it was embedded in the culture and taken into consideration while infusing mathematics skills. The teachers confirmed adopting the Indian method of finger counting in their teaching strategy; some specified that the method helped children to undertake addition and subtraction of carrying and borrowing, as counting by objects could not be available all the time. Although the study is limited by its small sample to the unique mathematics learning experience in India, it provides readers with a glimpse of culturally responsive teaching methods and an alternative mathematics teaching strategy.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1080/09669760500446374

ISSN: 0966-9760

Abstract/Notes: The concept of domesticity plays out in early childhood educational settings and has a long tradition. Domesticity in its pre-domestic, domestic and post-domestic phases is used here as a site for reconsidering the role of Maria Montessori. The ideas put forward here are intended as a provocation and methodologically the device of constructing an assemblage of materials from various sources is used to enable different ideas to be brought forward. New possibilities emerged through a diffractive approach to this theoretically driven work. The ambiguities Montessori embodied in her life are revisited and by looking at her focus on the materials of ‘practical life’ a way to be intra-activelyengaged with regenerative forces became possible. Repositioning Maria Montessori as ‘domestic goddess’ tangles with contemporary ideas in order to unsettle her image. This analysis draws on new feminist materialist theoryto question what being domestic/ate/d means in terms of being a woman in a femin/ised/ist educational space.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1080/09540253.2017.1396293

ISSN: 0954-0253

Abstract/Notes: There is increasing awareness that the physical environment plays a critical role in young children's cognitive and social development, by offering opportunities for exploration and interaction. In this article a narrative review is presented of 19 studies, published between 1987 and 2017, into the relation between spatial characteristics of the indoor play environment of center-based early childhood care and education settings and children's social and cognitive behavior and development. Studies involved children between six months and six years of age. Several studies reported consistent, interesting outcomes. A layout with an open-zoned arrangement, enabling children to keep eye contact with the caregiver was found to stimulate children to use the space more fully. Designated activity areas for activities such as pretend play and construction elicited different types of social and cognitive behaviors. However, the number of studies is small, and very diverse, both in content and in methodology. Suggestions for future research are discussed.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2019.101385

ISSN: 0272-4944

Abstract/Notes: Montessori and non-Montessori general education early childhood teachers were surveyed about their attitudes towards including children with disabilities and providing access in their classrooms.  Both groups reported similar and positive supports for inclusion within their schools. Montessori teachers reported having less knowledge about inclusion and less special education professional development than their non-Montessori counterparts.   Implications for professional development and teacher preparation are described.

Language: English

DOI: 10.17161/jomr.v1i1.4944

ISSN: 2378-3923

Abstract/Notes: The paper presents two Italian approaches to early childhood education: the Montessori method and the Reggio Emilia approach. Although they emerged in different historical periods and socio-political realities, these two approaches have a lot in common with regard to values like love and respect for children and their developmental rights. Moreover, they share a belief in the potential and boundless resources of the child as well as shifting the emphasis from a teacher’s activity to that of the child. In comparison to the Montessori method, the Reggio Emilia approach strongly highlights the importance of relations and interactions in the children’s learning process. Group work, which has been one of the fundamentals of the Reggio Emilia approach from the very beginning, is the main difference between these two approaches. The article presents the background of each pedagogical idea (the Montessori method – the beginning of 20th century, Reggio Emilia – the 1950s). The description of the ideas is based on such aspects as the image of a child, the image of a teacher and the role of environment in education. In the article, the authors refer mainly to the thoughts of Montessori, the creator of her own method, and Loris Malaguzzi, who was the leader of the educational experience in Reggio Emilia. / Szkic ten przybliża dwie włoskie koncepcje wychowania i edukacji dziecka w wieku przedszkolnym: metodę Montessori i podejście Reggio Emilia. Choć powstawały one w odrębnych okresach historycznych i realiach polityczno-społecznych, w odniesieniu do wartości, takich jak miłość i szacunek do dziecka czy respektowanie jego praw rozwojowych, obydwie koncepcje mają wiele wspólnego. Tym, co je łączy, jest wiara w potencjał i nieograniczone zasoby dziecka, a także przeniesienie akcentu z aktywności nauczyciela w stronę aktywności dziecka. W odniesieniu do metody Montessori, w podejściu Reggio Emilia silniej uwypuklony jest aspekt relacji i interakcji w dziecięcym procesie uczenia. Wspólnotowy wymiar, będący od początku istnienia przedszkoli Reggio Emilia podstawą ich funkcjonowania, jest jedną z najistotniejszych różnic pomiędzy zaprezentowanymi podejściami, i w związku z tym odmiennymi rozwiązaniami edukacyjnymi. W artykule przedstawiono podłoże powstania koncepcji M. Montessori (początek XX w.) i podejścia Reggio Emilia (lata 50. XX w.). W obydwu systemach zaprezentowano wizję dziecka i nauczyciela oraz istotę środowiska wychowawczo-edukacyjnego tworzonego dla dzieci w przestrzeni instytucjonalnej. Założeniem autorek tekstu było przywołanie myśli, rozważań i refleksji twórców oryginalnych włoskich teorii pedagogicznych.

Language: Polish

DOI: 10.14632/eetp.2017.13.47.121

ISSN: 1896-2327, 2353-7787

Abstract/Notes: Recent research indicates that children develop the emergent knowledge and skills that lead to formal literacies in their homes and early childhood settings long before school entry. The research evidence is clear that emergent literacy needs to be actively encouraged in the early years, if children are to have optimum chances of learning to read at school. In New Zealand, there are only a few studies of how literacy is promoted and practised in early childhood settings. This paper examines how 107 teachers in a range of early childhood settings believe that they promote literacy and their reflections on the ways in which Te Whāriki (the national curriculum) influences that practice. The implications for promoting literacy in early childhood settings are explored.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1177/183693910603100206

ISSN: 1836-9391, 1839-5961

Language: English

DOI: 10.1023/B:JOPP.0000018271.12126.e3

ISSN: 1573-6547

Abstract/Notes: Discusses successes and problems of Head Start. Suggests that Head Start's difficulties relate to its implementation, not its design. Proposes increasing the effectiveness of Head Start through a series of reform strategies that relate to interventions that address the needs of children in child care, preschool children, and school-age children.

Language: English

Abstract/Notes: excerpt from The Montessori Way

Language: English

ISSN: 1071-6246

Language: English

DOI: 10.2307/3395843

ISSN: 0027-4321