Abstract/Notes: Little is known about how children’s drawing ability may vary between different educational approaches. This study investigated the expressive and representational drawing ability of British National Curriculum, Steiner, and Montessori pupils aged 5 to 9 years old. Ability was measured from performance on specified drawing tasks. One hundred and 35 children participated, 45 from each educational establishment consisting of 15 from each of the three age groups, 5-, 7- and 9-year-olds. Participants completed three expressive drawings (depicting a happy, sad, and angry mood) and three representational drawings (observational drawing of a wooden mannequin, a house from memory and a free drawing). Results indicated that for expressive drawings Steiner pupils generally depicted more content themes, used formal properties more expressively, and produced higher quality expressive drawings than Montessori and National Curriculum pupils. Where there were differences between National Curriculum and Montessori pupils the Montessori children tended to do better than the National Curriculum pupils on these measures. Although representational drawing development varied in younger Steiner pupils compared to their National Curriculum and Montessori peers, no differences were observed among the oldest children attending the three schools. The positive relationship between expressive and representational drawing performance was the strongest in Steiner pupils. The results suggest the art program in Steiner education is more conducive to nurturing expressive drawing ability than those delivered in Montessori and National Curriculum education, with seemingly no disadvantage in representational drawing ability in the primary school years.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1037/a0024460

ISSN: 1931-3896, 1931-390X

Language: English

DOI: 10.3102/0034654307313793

ISSN: 0034-6543, 1935-1046

Abstract/Notes: This paper suggests a post-modern curriculum reform in art education by examining elements of math and art that are congruent. The paper does not suggest that one discipline or the other is more significant. Three curricular domains are considered: the ideal, the instructional, and the operational by reviewing a range of materials from those generated by philosophers such as Edmund Husserl to those created by educational theorists. A shared web of meaning (Doll, 1993) emerges from the consideration of historic documents and events in both disciplines. Suggested ways to begin to restructure and coordinate math and art curricula include: inspection of the content areas for congruent elements; examination of older curricular models for related theory and materials; and review of the developmental bases for creating operational curricula in both disciplines. Brigham (1989), D'Amico and Ostrander (1940), Hurwitz and Day (1991), and a curriculum by Ware and Hooe (1907) are examined for the math and art coordination. Bruner, Lowenfeld, Piaget, and other developmental theorists' writings about learning in art and geometry are explored. A selection of curricula are inspected for math and art relations. The integration of math and art activities in art classes shows potential for complementary learning in both disciplines.

Language: English

DOI: 10.2307/1320488

ISSN: 0039-3541, 2325-8039

Language: English

ISSN: 0737-5328

Abstract/Notes: This paper reports on an Action Research project that investigated the integration of Aboriginal and Western knowledge into science learning in a Montessori classroom in regional Queensland, Australia. Drawing on the local knowledge of fauna of community members, the study explored the teaching of science to 12-year 8–9 students in an Aboriginal independent high school in Queensland. The overall study covered 83 lessons that included an initial Short-beaked echidna study. It applied thematic analysis to data to explore the effect of this integrated approach on students’ pride in heritage, cultural knowledge, learning and the Linnaean zoology taxonomy. Results revealed that the contextualisation of Aboriginal and Western science knowledge strengthened students’ Aboriginal personal identity as well as identities as science learners and status of local Aboriginal knowledge.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1017/jie.2017.12

ISSN: 1326-0111, 2049-7784

Abstract/Notes: Authors believe that they have tentatively demonstrated that the Montessori curriculum is effective over a period of two years in nurturing continuing development in children in the areas of visual-motor integration, matching and sorting skills, psycho-motor skills, and to some extent number concepts. (Authors/MB)

Language: English

DOI: 10.1086/460722

ISSN: 0013-5984

Language: English

DOI: 10.1177/027112148100100109

ISSN: 0271-1214

Abstract/Notes: The current system of education in Kenya is the 8-4-4 structure, where children study for eight years of Basic (primary) education, four years of Secondary education and four years of University education. This system was introduced in 1985 to promote man-power capable of performing blue collar jobs, as compared to the former 7-6-3 system that targeted developing a local workforce to replace the British workforce who largely held white collar jobs in the new, independent Kenya. However, over the years, the 8-4-4 curriculum has been widely criticised for a myriad of reasons. The criticisms against this curriculum are that it is too heavily loaded with content, purely examinations-oriented, and generally violating the Rights of the Child by placing undue physical and psychological pressure on learners. In order to address this problem therefore, a new curriculum was hastily crafted and taken through a rushed pilot drive in April 2017 and is expected to replace the current 8-4-4 system by January 2018. Admittedly, this new education system addresses some of the weaknesses of the current 8-4-4 education system, since it is competency-based and focuses more on skills acquisition as opposed to a purely knowledge-based acquisition system. The issues addressed in this paper is how this new and hurriedly crafted curriculum (as well as the introduction of Free Secondary School Education) will be implemented by teachers who are yet to come to terms with the new paradigm shift of teaching and learning. The second issue addressed is whether the crafters of this system took into consideration children’s rights, or whether at all, the system was crafted from a child-centred perspective. The concerns are that apart from the manner in which this syllabus was been crafted and planned for implementation, if not reviewed comprehensively may not only violate the rights of future generations of children, but also enhance negative ethnicity from a linguistic perspective

Language: English

ISSN: 2394-9686

Language: English

Published: New York: American Montessori Internationale of the United States (AMI/USA), 1997

Abstract/Notes: This is a revised edition of: "Linking developmental assessment and curricula" (1981).

Language: English

Published: Rockville, Maryland: Aspen Publishers, 1989

Edition: 2nd ed.

ISBN: 978-0-8342-0063-0