Language: English

DOI: 10.1007/s10648-011-9191-6

ISSN: 1040-726X, 1573-336X

Abstract/Notes: School reform is an important national and international concern. The Montessori alternative school system is unique in that it is well-aligned with the science of healthy development and learning, has strong social–emotional and academic outcomes, is virtually unchanged in over a century, can be applied across all the school years, and still attracts considerable attention and allegiance—yet it remains Bon the margins^ (Whitescarver and Cossentino Teachers College Record, 110, 2571–2600, 2008) of the bulwark educational system, as often shunned as admired. Why does Montessori persist (and increasingly in the public sector) and why does it elicit such sharply contrasting reactions? This article reviews several reasons why it is admired, such as evidence of Montessori’s effectiveness, its alignment with educational psychology research, and its broad scope. The points of research alignment are presented as natural corollaries of Montessori’s central premise: independence, or self-determination. After discussing these extrinsic and intrinsic reasons why Montessori is admired, the article concludes with speculation as to why it is also shunned—namely its incommensurability with conventional education culture and what might be a consequence: frequent poor implementation. The incommensurability of evidence-based alternatives with the conventional system is also posed as a reason for radical school reform.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1007/s10648-019-09483-3

ISSN: 1040-726X, 1573-336X

Abstract/Notes: Effects of multiage grouping on achievement and self-concept were explored. No significant differences were found between children in multiage and single-age classrooms on any of the achievement measures. Multiage classrooms had higher mean scores on one of the six factors of the self-concept scale, Happiness and Satisfaction.

Language: English

ISSN: 0196-5042

Abstract/Notes: The article presents a study on the level of self-authorizing personality development conducted in 2013-2016 within a group of 69 adolescents, alumni of a Montessori school in Lublin then aged 16-21. The method for collecting empirical data was a POA questionnaire designed by K. Obuchowski, measuring 3 main dimensions of personality: subjectivity, being a person and individual valuation standards. The results proved that almost all of the graduates of Montessori classes had developed self-authoring characteristics at an optimum level. The average results of the three main dimensions of the author’s personality: subjectivity, being a person and taking an attitude are significantly higher than the theoretical average of the scale, which allows the determination of a high level of all areas of authorial personality and the co-occurrence of the aforementioned properties. The obtained values in the range of 14 differential categories of the author’s personality are significantly higher from the theoretical average of the scale and inform about the high level of all personality characteristics. There was no difference in the personality profile due to the sex of the graduates. According to Obuchowski’s observations, the respondents realize their needs and are able to distance themselves from them, develop themselves, guide the sense of their existence, positively assess themselves, their goals and the world around them. The ability of the subjects to generate a set of reasons that underlie the strongest subjective standard of valence (attitude) means not only the mastering and dominance of abstract operations, which condition the conscious creation of private knowledge, become independent of the control of a specific experience, create the opportunity for effective long-distance operation and enables them to make responsible choices. / Artykuł prezentuje badania nad poziomem rozwoju tzw. osobowości autorskiej, przeprowadzone w latach 2013–2016 na próbie 69 absolwentów szkoły Montessori w Lublinie, w wieku 16–21 lat. Do zebrania danych empirycznych posłużył opracowany przez K. Obuchowskiego kwestionariusz POA, mierzący trzy zasadnicze wymiary osobowości: podmiotowość, bycie sobą i indywidualne standardy waluacyjne. Wyniki przeprowadzonych badań pozwalają stwierdzić, że niemal wszyscy badani absolwenci szkoły Montessori rozwinęli w sobie właściwości autorskie na poziomie optymalnym. Średnie wyniki trzech głównych wymiarów osobowości autorskiej: podmiotowość, bycie osobą i ustosunkowanie są istotnie wyższe od średniej teoretycznej skali, co pozwala wnioskować o wysokim poziomie wszystkich obszarów osobowości autorskiej oraz o współwystępowaniu wspomnianych właściwości. Otrzymane wielkości średnich w zakresie 14 kategorii różnicowych osobowości autorskiej są istotnie wyższe od średniej teoretycznej skali i informują o wysokim poziomie ukształtowania wszystkich cech osobowości autorskiej. Nie odnotowano zróżnicowania profilu własności osobowości autorskiej ze względu na płeć i wiek indagowanych absolwentów. Zgodnie z obserwacjami K. Obuchowskiego, badane osoby uświadamiają sobie swoje potrzeby i potrafią się do nich zdystansować, rozwijają się, kierując sensem swojego istnienia, pozytywnie oceniają siebie, swoje cele oraz świat wokół siebie. Zdolność generowania przez badanych zestawu racji leżących u podstaw najsilniej odczuwanego podmiotowego standardu waluacji (ustosunkowanie), oznacza nie tylko opanowanie i dominację operacji abstrakcyjnych, które warunkują świadome tworzenie prywatnej wiedzy, uniezależniają od kontroli konkretnego doświadczenia, stwarzają szansę skutecznego działania na długi dystans, umożliwiają podejmowanie odpowiedzialnych wyborów.

Language: Polish

DOI: 10.14632/eetp.2017.13.47.105

ISSN: 1896-2327, 2353-7787

Abstract/Notes: The article presents the first monitoring phase following the introduction of the Montessori Method in three primary school classes of the public sector in Trentino, Northern Italy. In this context we are proposing a check list developed to observe teachers and children actions into experimental classes, with the aim of monitoring the gap between implemented educational choices and the theoretical references proposed by Maria Montessori. The check list points offer a supportive self-evaluation tool for teachers in Montessori public school contexts. [Tra l’agito e il dichiarato: una griglia osservativa per l’autovalutazione del docente nelle classi a metodo MontessoriIl contributo presenta la prima fase di monitoraggio dell’esperienza a metodo Montessori in tre classi di scuola primaria pubblica trentina. In questo contesto viene presentata una check list osservativa costruita per osservare le azioni di insegnanti e bambini all’interno delle classi sperimentali, con l’intento di monitorare lo scarto tra le scelte didattiche messe in atto e i riferimenti teorici proposti da Maria Montessori nell’ambito della scuola primaria. La check list proposta intende offrire uno strumento in grado di orientare il processo di autovalutazione dell’insegnante in contesti di scuola pubblica ad indirizzo montessoriano.]

Language: Italian

DOI: 10.13128/formare-23930

ISSN: 1825-7321

Abstract/Notes: Executive functions (EFs) in childhood predict important life outcomes. Thus, there is great interest in attempts to improve EFs early in life. Many interventions are led by trained adults, including structured training activities in the lab, and less-structured activities implemented in schools. Such programs have yielded gains in children's externally-driven executive functioning, where they are instructed on what goal-directed actions to carry out and when. However, it is less clear how children's experiences relate to their development of self-directed executive functioning, where they must determine on their own what goal-directed actions to carry out and when. We hypothesized that time spent in less-structured activities would give children opportunities to practice self-directed executive functioning, and lead to benefits. To investigate this possibility, we collected information from parents about their 6-7 year-old children's daily, annual, and typical schedules. We categorized children's activities as "structured" or "less-structured" based on categorization schemes from prior studies on child leisure time use. We assessed children's self-directed executive functioning using a well-established verbal fluency task, in which children generate members of a category and can decide on their own when to switch from one subcategory to another. The more time that children spent in less-structured activities, the better their self-directed executive functioning. The opposite was true of structured activities, which predicted poorer self-directed executive functioning. These relationships were robust (holding across increasingly strict classifications of structured and less-structured time) and specific (time use did not predict externally-driven executive functioning). We discuss implications, caveats, and ways in which potential interpretations can be distinguished in future work, to advance an understanding of this fundamental aspect of growing up.

Language: English

DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00593

ISSN: 1664-1078

Abstract/Notes: This study sought to examine how time management skills would impact the self-efficacy of Teacher Leaders working in a teacher-led school model. The participants of the four-week study were three Teacher Leaders from two teacher-led primary Montessori schools in an urban area. The Teacher Leaders incorporated time management skills including time analysis, establishing goals, prioritization, and planning/scheduling.Data was collected on Teacher Leader productivity, distribution of time among teaching and administrative roles, self-efficacy, and time management behavior through pre- and post- questionnaires, daily to-do lists, and daily activity logs. The study concluded that although the results were not statistically significant, two out of three Teacher Leader’s productivity, time management behavior, and self-efficacy did improve over the course of the study. Further research is needed to determine how these time management skills impact Teacher Leader’s experienced stress, perceived productivity, and to further investigate how Teacher Leaders’ distribution of time among teaching and administrative roles impacts stress and self-efficacy. (Note: The St. Catherine University website has the incorrect title associated with this thesis. The correct title is displayed in the PDF of the thesis.)

Language: English

Published: St. Paul, Minnesota, 2021

Abstract/Notes: This study aimed to examine the effects of Montessori Education on children’s self-regulation skills in the preschool period. The study had a 2 × 2 mixed design, wherein the dependent variable was self-regulation levels of 3, 4, 5-year-old children (experimental group: 62, control group: 53) and the independent variable was education based on the Montessori Method whose influence on children’s self-regulation skills was examined. The study employed the Demographic Information Form, the Preschool Self-Regulation Assessment (PSRA). The study results yielded a significant difference in posttest mean scores for Self-Regulation and Attention/Impulse Control between experimental and control group children, while there was no significant difference in Positive Emotion. There was a significant difference for Self-Regulation and Attention/Impulse Control between the pretest and posttest mean scores of experimental group children, whereas the analyses indicated no significant difference between pretest and posttest mean scores of control group children for Self-Regulation, Attention/Impulse Control and Positive Emotion. Originally published in: Early Child Development and Care, volume 191, issue 7–8 (2021), pp. 1219–1229.

Language: English

Published: New York, New York: Routledge, 2022

ISBN: 978-0-367-63674-6 978-0-367-63675-3 978-1-00-312021-6

Abstract/Notes: Teachers experience high levels of stress due to the demands of their profession. The purpose of this study is to determine if mindfulness and meditation have an effect on stress levels and self-efficacy. The researcher-participants were two female teachers in public schools. Five days a week for four weeks, the participants practiced mindfulness activities from a curated list including Body Scan, Meditation, Breathing, Yoga, and Journaling.. The participants detailed their stress levels before and after the intervention each day and weekly through different means of data collection. The study used pre- and post-intervention questionnaires, daily journals, and weekly questionnaires to track stress levels. The intervention findings show an overall decrease in stress, one participant’s self-efficacy improved, and the other participant’s self-efficacy decreased. Future research should consider a more varied participant base, a longer period of intervention, a control and experimental group, and other forms of data collection.

Language: English

Published: St. Paul, Minnesota, 2020

Abstract/Notes: Maria Montessori lectured in Italian during the first International Montessori Course in 1939 at Madras, India. These 75 lectures were translated into English by her son Mario, as she spoke. And were taken down near verbatim in short hand, transcribed and set into galleys overnight. One such set of proofs forms the original manuscript for this book. For the most part, each chapter in this book encompasses a single lecture. The lectures are left in the same order as they were given, swinging between psychology and the use of the materials. India’s diversity of language, social custom and religious practice enriched her research. During this time, Dr. Montessori worked with children in Madras and put into practice her theories of adapting the environment, furniture and the Practical Life materials to local conditions. In these lectures, Maria Montessori speaks with the mature wisdom of a lifetime spent studying, not just early childhood, but human development as a whole and gives a complete, wonderful and colorful overview of her pedagogy and philosophy.

Language: English

Published: Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Montessori-Pierson Publishing Company, 2020

ISBN: 978-90-79506-52-1

Series: The Montessori Series , 24