Language: English

ISSN: 1071-6246

Language: English

ISSN: 1071-6246

Language: English

ISSN: 1071-6246

Language: English

ISSN: 0010-700X

Abstract/Notes: Research from the past 40 years indicates that African American students are subjected to exclusionary discipline, including suspension and expulsion, at rates two to three times higher than their White peers (Children’s Defense Fund, 1975; Skiba, Michael, Nardo, & Peterson, 2002). Although this phenomenon has been studied extensively in traditional public schools, rates of racially disproportionate discipline in public Montessori schools have not been examined. The purpose of this study is to examine racial discipline disproportionality in Montessori public elementary schools as compared to traditional elementary schools. The Relative Rate Index (RRI) is used as a measure of racially disproportionate use of out-of-school suspensions (Tobin & Vincent, 2011). Suspension data from the Office of Civil Rights Data Collection was used to generate RRIs for Montessori and traditional elementary schools in a large urban district in the Southeast. While statistically significant levels of racial discipline disproportionality are found in both the Montessori and traditional schools, the effect is substantially less pronounced in Montessori settings. These findings suggest that Montessori schools are not immune to racially disproportionate discipline and should work to incorporate more culturally responsive classroom management techniques. Conversely, the lower levels of racially disproportionate discipline in the Montessori schools suggests that further study of discipline in Montessori environments may provide lessons for traditional schools to promote equitable discipline.

Language: English

DOI: 10.17161/jomr.v1i1.4941

ISSN: 2378-3923

Abstract/Notes: A public Montessori school is expected to demonstrate high student scores on standardized assessments to succeed in the current school accountability era. A problem for a public Montessori elementary school is how to make sense of the school’s high-stakes assessment scores in terms of Montessori’s unique educational approach. This case study examined the ways one public Montessori elementary school responded to its high-stakes test scores in the areas of curriculum, instruction, and assessment. The research revealed the ways the principal, teachers, and parents on the school council modified Montessori practices, curriculum, and assessment procedures based on test scores. A quality Montessori education is designed to offer children opportunities to develop both cognitive skills and affective behaviors such as student motivation that will serve them beyond their public school experiences. However, fundamental Montessori practices were modified as a result of the pressure to raise test scores. The impact of the highstakes assessment era on alternative types of schools must be considered because it is contradictory to support the availability of educational alternatives while at the same time pressuring these schools to conform to strict and narrow measures of success.

Language: English

DOI: 10.17161/jomr.v1i1.4913

ISSN: 2378-3923

Abstract/Notes: Within the United States, there are a variety of early education models and curricula aimed at promoting young children's pre-academic, social, and behavioral skills. This study, using data from the Miami School Readiness Project (Winsler et al., 2008, 2012), examined the school readiness gains of low-income Latino (n = 7,045) and Black (n = 6,700) children enrolled in 2 different types of Title-1 public school pre-K programs: those in programs using the Montessori curriculum and those in more conventional programs using the High/Scope curriculum with a literacy supplement. Parents and teachers reported on children's socio-emotional and behavioral skills with the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment (Lebuffe & Naglieri, 1999), whereas children's pre-academic skills (cognitive, motor, and language) were assessed directly with the Learning Accomplishment Profile-Diagnostic (Nehring, Nehring, Bruni, & Randolph, 1992) at the beginning and end of their 4-year-old pre-K year. All children, regardless of curriculum, demonstrated gains across pre-academic, socio-emotional, and behavioral skills throughout the pre-K year; however, all children did not benefit equally from Montessori programs. Latino children in Montessori programs began the year at most risk in pre-academic and behavioral skills, yet exhibited the greatest gains across these domains and ended the year scoring above national averages. Conversely, Black children exhibited healthy gains in Montessori, but they demonstrated slightly greater gains when attending more conventional pre-K programs. Findings have implications for tailoring early childhood education programs for Latino and Black children from low-income communities.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1037/a0036799

ISSN: 0022-0663, 1939-2176

Abstract/Notes: The choices for public school education in the United States have evolved to include Montessori programmes. As a result, special education practices have become visible in Montessori, making collaboration essential. The exploration of how Montessori and special education teachers collaborate through the identified constructs of (a) shared planning, (b) frequent communication, (c) shared vision, (d) mutual respect, and (e) joint trust despite the evident philosophical differences is important for students in inclusion. Data sources included in-depth interviews with teachers to identify patterns related to collaboration in Montessori public schools. Findings indicated that there is a need to establish a clear plan for connecting philosophies and for collaboration for students in inclusion, not only in the context of United States public Montessori programmes, but for Montessori practitioners in other regions and school settings. Recommendations include using a terminology comparison activity in teacher professional development and implementing an Inclusion Professional Learning Community to address the barrier of time to proactively create deep collaborative relationships built upon the established collaborative constructs.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1080/13603116.2021.1931717

ISSN: 1360-3116

Abstract/Notes: To investigate the spread of peace education (PE), we examined 685 documents in SCOPUS between 1970 and 2018 in 70 countries and triangulated the information with 11369 news articles and 22 international organisationś founding dates. PE emerged in scientific databases in the 1970s, lost momentum in 1990 and then globalised after 2003. PE’s institutionalisation was furthered by: (a) the increasing search for discourses that highlighted individual agency of self-declared ‘peace educators’; (b) educational expansion that generated a greater demand for so-called best practices; and (c) the active role of professionals working on organisations such as UNESCO, UNICEF and the identified international organisations. We recognised five loosely coupled narratives: PE’s (a) philosophical foundations and relationship to critical pedagogy; (b) application to improve international relationships; c) solution to internal conflicts; (d) measurements of interventions; (e) linkages to religion. We reflect on the implications of PE as an educational discourse in curricular reforms.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1080/14767724.2019.1665988

ISSN: 1476-7724

Abstract/Notes: Recent years have provided an interest on the part of public school systems regarding Montessori as an educational choice, often as a magnet school option. "No Child Left Behind" legislation emphasizes the social and learning needs of individual children as well as a national spirit of accountability for academic achievement, and the public sector is making a comprehensive examination of curriculum delivery systems which can provide benefits for all learners in quantifiable ways, most often in the form of standardized test scores which demonstrate improved student achievement. This study examines the relationship of public Montessori education expressed as Stanford Achievement Test scores in reading and math in comparison with similar scores for students in traditional programs, using a within subjects, matched pairs design of repeated measures over a three year period. Math scores for the groups were not observed to be significantly different, although, following the initial observation, the Montessori group continued to produce increasingly higher mean scores than the traditional students. Marginal significance between the groups suggests that the data analysis should continue to elucidate a possible trend toward significance. Reading scores for the groups demonstrated significant differences, and in the second and third years of the study, Montessori students produced means which consistently outperformed the traditional group.

Language: English

ISSN: 1556-763X, 1938-9809