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18 results

Article

Sustainability Through Art

Available from: ProQuest

Publication: Montessori Life, vol. 31, no. 3

Pages: 17

Sustainability

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Language: English

ISSN: 1054-0040

Article

Educating for Ecological Sustainability: Montessori Education Leads the Way

Available from: ProQuest

Publication: Montessori Life, vol. 21, no. 4

Pages: 18-25

Sustainability

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Abstract/Notes: These days, the word "green," and the more comprehensive term "sustainability," surface in numerous arenas, whether it be exhortations to recycle more, employ compact fluorescent lightbulbs, use less hot water, avoid products with excess packaging, adjust thermostats, plant trees, turn off electronic devices when not in use, or buy organic and local food. This article discusses what Montessorians are doing at an even deeper and more fundamental level to cultivate sustainability. Montessori students not only read and write and compute, they have a broad knowledge base upon which to become lifelong learners who respect self, others, and the environment. Ecological sustainability principles and authentic Montessori practices present new paradigms for living in this world, stimulating critical and creative thinking through content and process. Ecological sustainability and Montessori principles follow approaches that are holistic and systems oriented, attuned to living in harmony with the earth. They share a vision that recognizes humans as living beings and part of nature, comprising one web on one planet in a vast universe of profound mystery. Ultimately, both present a way of living--and establish a necessary, new way of thinking.

Language: English

ISSN: 1054-0040

Article

Whole Systems Thinking: Education for Sustainability at a Montessori School

Available from: InformIT

Publication: Eingana, vol. 30, no. 1

Pages: 9-11

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Abstract/Notes: Whole systems thinking is a framework for seeing the whole picture, for establishing interrelationships and understanding phenomena as an integrated whole. Systems thinking may be contrasted with fragmentary thinking, which is viewing phenomena in their separate parts and focusing only on narrow specialisations. In an education for sustainability (EfS) context this means emphasising relationships: relationships between all the systems on planet Earth, and at different systems levels, as they relate to the environment, economics, government, health, and so on. Values and goals are also important aspects of these relationships. Sterling argues that: 'We are educated by and large to compete and consume rather than to care and conserve'. Furthermore, the same author maintains that because of the imposition of managerial and economic values on education we have lost touch with the social values and real-life contexts of authentic education. With these ideas in mind, this paper briefly examines the application of whole systems thinking on an EfS program at a small Montessori primary school in the metropolitan area of Perth, Western Australia. [Author abstract, ed]

Language: English

ISSN: 0156-7608

Article

✓ Peer Reviewed

Education for Sustainability at a Montessori Primary School: From Silos to Systems Thinking

Available from: Cambridge University Press

Publication: Australian Journal of Environmental Education, vol. 28, no. 2

Pages: 162-164

Australasia, Australia, Australia and New Zealand, Oceania, Sustainability

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Abstract/Notes: This research investigated Education for Sustainability (EfS) at an independent Montessori primary school, located in the Perth metropolitan area of Western Australia. A longitudinal case study involving analysis of data from a 20-year period was conducted to determine the effectiveness of EfS. Historical information about EfS at the school from 1990 to 2005 was examined, with the main focus of the study being on the impact of the Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI) between 2005 and 2009. AuSSI promotes a whole school, whole systems thinking approach to EfS.Three school-based issues in EfS were studied. First, the research aimed to determine what elements of EfS were in operation in the school prior to involvement in AuSSI. Second, student outcomes including engagement with whole systems thinking, attitudes and values, knowledge and understandings, and skills and behaviours related to EfS, were investigated during the first 5 years of participation in AuSSI. Third, teacher perceptions of the EfS program, including engagement with whole systems thinking, were examined during this same time period. A case study approach was employed to enable in-depth investigation of EfS in the life of the school prior to, during and post implementation of AuSSI. This approach facilitated revelation of participants’ lived experiences, their perceptions and understandings of EfS, as well as detailed information about student outcomes in EfS. Case study methodology was also compatible with the culture and processes of the participating school and provided an opportunity for utilising a whole systems thinking approach. Data was gathered from a range of sources, through surveys, interviews, observation and document analysis over a 5-year period. The total participants included 11 teachers and 75 students. The research identified particular antecedents of EfS in the Montessori method of education that existed in the school prior to AuSSI, including the whole child approach, together with the Montessori learning environment, curriculum and values. Following participation in AuSSI, student attitudes and values, knowledge and understandings, and skills and behaviours related to EfS were enhanced for all year levels. However, after 3 years, when specific EfS actions and projects ceased, student EfS outcomes were limited. Furthermore, students’ thinking and behaviour indicated a ‘silo’, rather than whole systems thinking approach to EfS. Teachers perceived the EfS program as highly effective in the initial 3 years after joining AuSSI. Key elements that enhanced EfS included EfS staff champions who had access to EfS networks, leadership support, and active school community involvement in all EfS processes. However, after 3 years of being an AuSSI school, the culmination of reduced leadership support for EfS, lack of staff training, vague designation of staff with EfS responsibilities and inadequate community involvement, resulted in cessation of the EfS program. Teacher perceptions on whole systems thinking revealed alignment between Montessori philosophy, EfS and whole system thinking was more in theory than in practice. Through an in-depth longitudinal case study of a school this research highlighted the importance of whole school EfS professional learning, embedding EfS and whole systems thinking across the curriculum at all year levels, whole school support, and the usefulness of a sustainability continuum that recognises the complex, dynamic interplay of issues involved in a school's EfS journey. It is strongly recommended that improvements to pre-service teacher education in EfS are implemented, and a review of the AuSSI toolkit is conducted to refine EfS evaluation processes and to target the specific EfS needs of teachers at different stages of schooling, as well as to enhance understanding and implementation of the whole systems thinking approach. Finally, EfS professional learning for all school staff in all schools is warranted to enhance depth of EfS engagement.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1017/aee.2013.8

ISSN: 0814-0626, 2049-775X

Article

✓ Peer Reviewed

Arquitetura Vernácula e Sustentabilidade Arquitetura Montessoriana e Características Vernaculares Brasileiras [Vernacular Architecture and Sustainability Montessorian Architecture and Brazilian Vernacular Characteristics]

Available from: Brazilian Journals

Publication: Brazilian Journal of Development, vol. 6, no. 1

Pages: 2076-2083

Americas, Architecture, Brazil, Latin America and the Caribbean, South America, Sustainability

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Abstract/Notes: O presente trabalho tem como objetivo fazer a análise das possibilidades que a arquitetura vernacular, em suas relações com materiais, espaços e inserção cultural, traz para o aprendizado dentro de uma perspectiva montessoriana. Analisando as premissas educacionais propostas pela médica Maria Montessori para um ambiente de escolas infantis, procura-se estabelecer uma relação entre o valor que é dado para o ambiente preparado para a evolução e aprendizado individual de cada aluno, com a cultura, a sustentabilidade e utilização de materiais ligados à arquitetura vernacular. Neste sentido, a partir de uma pesquisa da literatura referente à interação do indivíduo com o edifício e com a arquitetura vernacular brasileira, procurou-se identificar a relação existente entre as características do aprendizado montessoriano e os materiais e técnicas aplicados em edifícios com arquitetura ou recursos vernaculares. A partir da pesquisa é possível vislumbrar os benefícios que um incentivo de utilização de técnicas e materiais utilizados na arquitetura vernacular podem trazer em termos de potencial para promover o aprendizado, considerando as premissas montessorianas. [The present work aims to analyze the possibilities that vernacular architecture, in its relations with materials, spaces and cultural insertion, brings to learning within a Montessori perspective. Analyzing the educational premises proposed by the doctor Maria Montessori for an environment of nursery schools, we seek to establish a relationship between the value that is given to the environment prepared for the evolution and individual learning of each student, with culture, sustainability and use of materials linked to vernacular architecture. In this sense, from a literature search regarding the interaction of the individual with the building and with Brazilian vernacular architecture, we sought to identify the relationship between the characteristics of Montessori learning and the materials and techniques applied in buildings with vernacular architecture or vernacular resources. From the research it is possible to glimpse the benefits that an incentive to use techniques and materials used in vernacular architecture can bring in terms of potential to promote learning, considering the Montessori premises.]

Language: Portuguese

DOI: 10.34117/bjdv6n1-149

ISSN: 2525-8761

Article

✓ Peer Reviewed

Self-Perceptions on Digital Competences for M-Learning and Education Sustainability: A Study with Teachers from Different Countries

Available from: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)

Publication: Sustainability, vol. 13, no. 1

Pages: 343

Perceptions, Sustainability

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Abstract/Notes: The current international landscape shows that the most common alternative for the continuity of formative learning processes during the coronavirus pandemic has been the use the of e-learning to support children’s learning in environments outside of school. This forced change in teaching methods has consolidated the recognition that the digital skills of teachers are a relevant factor for the sustainability of education, both during the pandemic and in a future post-pandemic period or in other emergencies. In this sense, the objective of this study carried out between May and September 2020 was to determine the perceptions of 427 teachers from 15 countries about their digital competences in working with m-learning in primary education using a Montessori approach. The results of the questionnaire showed that teachers perceive their digital competences as inert and not very effective for innovation compared with the subsistence of traditional pedagogical practices, to deal with unpredictable situations or to generate differentiated adaptations for an inclusive education. The results of this study also serve as empirical support for establishing four training dimensions that can be considered priorities for the construction and implementation of a teacher training model that contributes to the sustainable development of education.

Language: English

DOI: 10.3390/su13010343

ISSN: 2071-1050

Article

Students Unite for Sustainability

Available from: ProQuest

Publication: Montessori Life, vol. 35, no. 2

Pages: 12-13

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Abstract/Notes: In the 5 years since its inception, the group has focused on community service projects and educational awareness programs, regularly conducting environmental cleanup events both on and off campus-sometimes traveling to the local beach to pick up litter and other debris. Hailey Chaiken, a 14-year-old student at SQMS and an Environmental Committee member, described the group as "people that really have a passion for the environment and show that they care because they all work together to create change." Committee members plan to paint and decorate the bottles and often choose earthy themes like flowers and vegetables.

Language: English

ISSN: 10540040

Book

Understanding Sustainability in Early Childhood Education: Case Studies and Approaches from Across the UK

Available from: Taylor and Francis Online

England, Europe, Northern Europe, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Sustainability, United Kingdom, Wales

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Abstract/Notes: This unique book explores research related to education for sustainability within early childhood education in the United Kingdom. Divided into the four home nations, it examines what education for sustainability looks like in practice, discusses the different application and positions of each region, and considers the contribution of early childhood education to support the Sustainable Development Goals. Each chapter considers the relevant early years framework and includes associated case studies which highlight connections between statutory guidance, policy and positive early years pedagogical practice. The authors use an education for sustainability lens to explore the critical issues and explicit and implicit links embedded in each of the curricula frameworks. Each chapter acknowledges the context of outdoor learning with discussion related to different interpretations of ecological sustainability. This exploration should help readers to consider the idea of sustainability within early childhood education. The book considers early childhood education as a distinct and valuable phase beyond the readiness for school discourse and recognises the importance of having skilful and knowledgeable adults to work with young children from birth. It offers a unique resource for students, practitioners, leaders and researchers engaged in the study of education for sustainability in early childhood and the importance of the early years for the development of life-long pro-environmental attitudes.

Language: English

Published: New York, New York: Routledge, 2017

Edition: 1st

ISBN: 978-1-315-64250-5

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