Abstract/Notes: This article proposes to re-focus education towards morality and universal values, which have always been the traditional aim of education. This paper is designed using a qualitative research method applying content analysis to textual and video materials from a historical and contemporary perspectives. The paper demonstrates morality problems of the current mainstream education systems and how alternative systems are better equipped to inculcate values. It is observed that trans-disciplinary, problem-based and religious education helps build stronger ethical foundation in students regardless of their geographical location or income levels. The article proposes for schools and universities to include community engagement programmes in their curricula, support religious communities through special programmes, and promote values education at all levels not through academic subjects but through studies, research and development of real-life application of ethics at local and international levels. The paper adds value to existing research on ethics and values-based education and calls for further research in the field of education. It is also relevant to policy makers and researchers in public policy disciplines.morality-based education, trans-disciplinary approach, holistic education, universal values, ethics, alternative education
Language: English
Article
✓ Peer Reviewed
The Effect of Montessori Teaching Method on Self-Concept and Motivation in Elementary First- Grade Students of Tabriz
Abstract/Notes: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of teaching Montessori Method on self–concept and motivation of elementary first-grade students in Tabriz. Information was collected on the basis of semi-experimental pretest-posttest research with control group. The population consists of all elementary first grade male students of Tabriz which were 665 schools in 2015-2016 school years. The sample includes 40 primary school pupils (20 in the experimental group and students 20 in the control group) who were selected by multistage cluster random sampling. To collect data, self-motivation Liu, Wang and Parkyn’s questionnaire was used to assess self-concept and motivation for preschool and elementary school age groups. The Montessori method teaching sessions (40 sessions) were conducted on the experimental group and the control group was exposed to traditional and traditional education. After holding Montessori classes sessions and analyzing data with Covariance method, results showed that teaching Montessori Method has been effective on self-concept and motivation of elementary school students. And this method has been able to boost self-image and increase motivation in male students.
Abstract/Notes: John Dewey was a pragmatist, progressivist, educator, philosopher, and social reformer (Gutek, 2014). Dewey's various roles greatly impacted education, and he was perhaps one of the most influential educational philosophers known to date (Theobald, 2009). Dewey's influence on education was evident in his theory about social learning; he believed that school should be representative of a social environment and that students learn best when in natural social settings (Flinders & Thornton, 2013). His ideas impacted education in another facet because he believed that students were all unique learners. He was a proponent of student interests driving teacher instruction (Dewey, 1938). With the current educational focus in the United States being on the implementation of the Common Core standards and passing standardized tests and state exams, finding evidence of John Dewey's theories in classrooms today can be problematic (Theobald, 2009). Education in most classrooms today is what Dewey would have described as a traditional classroom setting. He believed that traditional classroom settings were not developmentally appropriate for young learners (Dewey, 1938). Although schools, classrooms, and programs that support Dewey's theories are harder to find in this era of testing, there are some that still do exist. This paper will explore Responsive Classroom, Montessori Schools, Place-Based Education, and Philosophy for Children (P4C), all of which incorporate the theories of John Dewey into their curricular concepts.
Language: English
ISSN: 2159-1474
Article
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Applying Montessori Principles in China: The Impact of Being a Situational Minority in a Particularistic Jewish Heritage School
Abstract/Notes: The aim of the research is to investigate a Montessori pedagogic approach, enabling a Jewish school to be part of the Chinese international-school system, while fostering Jewish identity. We conducted semistructured interviews with principals (2), teachers (8), parents (12), and students (10) and recorded class observations (8) over two visits. The analysis employed a grounded theory approach using a constant comparative method. The main result was that Montessori principles enabled the school to foster a strong particularistic Jewish identity for this situational minority while also developing a broad understanding of the host (Chinese) culture.
A Comparative Analysis Between Montessori and Al-Ghazali’s Perspectives on Child Education [Analisis Komparatif Terhadap Prinsip-Prinsip Al-Ghazali dan Montessori Dalam Pendidikan Kanak-Kanak]
Abstract/Notes: Childhood education goes with a lot of innocence, searching and exploring the environment that surrounds the young learners. The amount of energy and inquisitiveness displayed by children at this tender age is a marble to many parents and teachers alike. This small-scale research represents a sincere attempt to contrastively analyze Montessori and Al-Ghazali’s ideas on child education. The ideas of the two scholars, one from the West and the other from the East, till these days have great significance to their respective communities. In a way, this study should be seen as an initiative undertaken in the absence of a study discussing the differences and commonalities found in the ideas of the two scholars pertaining to child education. By employing the textual analysis method and using Montessori’s principles of child education as the framework, the researchers conducted a comparative analysis. In the course of analyzing the data, the researchers had identified six emerging themes in the ideas of Montessori and Al-Ghazali. The findings have also indicated that the principles of these two prominent scholars either intersect with each other or stand in total isolation.
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Pendidikan kanak-kanak berlakumalalui proses pencariandan penerokaanterhadap persekitaran mereka. Keceriaan dan sifat ingin tahu yang dipamerkan oleh kanak-kanak dalam proses tersebut amatlah penting bagi para ibubapa dan guru Pandangan-pandangan Montessori dan Al-Ghazali tentang pendidikan kanak-kanak telah meninggalkan kesan yang amat penting dalam komuniti Barat dan Timur hingga ke hari ini. Kajian ini dilakukanuntuk membandingkan pandangan kedua-dua cendekiawan ini tentang pendidikan kanak-kanak. Secara tidak langsung, ia boleh dilihat sebagai usaha untuk mengisi kekurangan dalam bidang kajian. Kajian ini menggunakan kaedah analisa tekstual dan prinsip pendidikan kanak-kanak Montessori sebagai rangka kajian. Daripada kajian ini, terdapat enam tema yang boleh digarapkan daripadapandangan kedua-dua cendekiawanyang didapati secara bersilang atau terpisah di antara satu sama lain.
Abstract/Notes: The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the Montessori Method of education on 4-5 years old preschool children's creativity in Tabriz. The data were gathered through a quasi – experimental research with pre-test, post-test, and control group, administering Torrance pictorial from B test. The statistical population of the study included all educational centers of 4-5 year old children, which comprised 500 preschools in the academic year 92-93. The research sample of the present study included 50 preschoolers (25 in the experimental group and 25 in the control group) who were selected randomly through cluster sampling. The Montessori Method of education was employed for three months. After that, the data was gathered and analyzed through Covariance method. The results indicated that the Montessori Method of education was effective on the 4-5 year old children's creativity. Regarding four dimensions of creativity, Montessori Method was effective in enhancing the dimensions of fluency, flexibility, originality and elaboration in children.
Language: Persian
ISSN: 2345-6299, 2476-5627
Article
✓ Peer Reviewed
Some Cycles of Nature: Applications of M. Montessori's Cosmic Education in a Nursery School
Abstract/Notes: By means of Montessori education, children aged from 3 to 6 years were introduced to the basics of earth-sciences in general and of glaciology in particular. For this purpose, a one-year-program was established under the principles of Cosmic Education (Sensu Montessori) in order to provide an insight in some parts of the afore mentioned sciences via 3 steps. Step 1 brought up introductory informations about earth sciences, historical geology, planetology, and climatology. In Step 2, specific information about the Ice Ages and glaciology was given by introducing a story about a personified glacier which included information on mass budget (ablation/accumulation), dynamics, features (crevasses), and in relation to those, the dangers of a glacier. Step 3 completed the program by giving the children the opportunity for depicting and acting out their knowledge via glacier-“modelling”, painting, dancing, and making music.After this one-year-program the children were able to give a simple account of the basic principles of climatology and glaciology, which may contribute to a more careful and respectful attitude towards their environment.The program turned out as a helpful and appropriate tool for giving an introduction into the great cycles of nature to preschool children, not only in nursery schools, but also at home with their families. In addition, the interactive and hands-on ways of presentation described were responded by the children with interest and sometimes enthusiasm, which is taken as further evidence for the tool's efficacy.
Patricia H. Miller
(Author) , Patricia A. Aloise-Young (Author)
Publication: Journal of Experimental Child Psychology,
vol. 60, no. 2
Date: 1995
Pages: 284-303
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Abstract/Notes: Preschoolers′ strategic behavior was examined on a task in which they must decide whether two arrays are the same. Fifty-six 3- and 4-year-olds selected doors to open which exposed parts of the arrays. Children made moderate use of an appropriate "vertical-pairs" strategy-viewing spatially corresponding parts of the two arrays-and it facilitated performance. Telling nonstrategic children to use the strategy or executing it for them improved their same-different judgments. However, increased spontaneous production of the vertical-pairs strategy over trials did not consistently improve judgments, which suggests a strategy utilization deficiency. Other microgenetic analyses revealed that children tended to use several strategies over the trials and that strategy changes often were not developmentally progressive or driven by failure of another strategy. The discussion addressed production and utilization deficiencies and the diversity of strategy development.
Abstract/Notes: On the basis of the analysis of the general characteristics of alternative schools and the methodology of pedagogical research, the comparison and synthesis of the obtained facts were formed. It is pointed out that in the field of pedagogy, the adoption of (positivist) methodology has become a global trend. It emphasizes the uncritical application of research tools from the corpus of quantitative methodology in research of specific educational problems, as well as in research of alternative schools in which the context of the research is significantly different than the one of the conventional public schools.
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.
Exploring the Social Logic of Preschool Environments Structured with Waldorf, Montessori, and Reggio Emilia: A Semantic and Syntactic Study on Preschool Environments
Abstract/Notes: Kindergartens are socio-spatial organizations with their social and cultural as well as their spatial structures which prepare children to be responsible members of the society. In the ear ly years of the twentieth century, the issue of how to raise new generations was one of the primary research areas of many educational scientists, especially in Europe, and therefore different progressive pedagogical methods were generated. Among these views, the Waldorf pedagogical approach developed by Rudolf Steiner, Montessori pedagogical approach developed by Maria Montessori, and Reggio Emilia pedagogical approach developed by Loris Malaguzzi became prominent. Although these three pedagogical approaches have a common view that the child should be accepted as an individual with his/her rights, each of them involved different physical environment requirements in the context of their educational philosophies. The projects obtained in an architectural design studio course constitute the focus of this paper and it aims to decipher the semantic and syntactic characteristics based on twelve student projects. The semantic dimension of the study was revealed by coding the related themes through students' project reports while the syntactic dimension of the study demonstrated the prioritized social interaction area through isovist area and variance values. Considering the semantic results, it was revealed that the students not only comprehended the spatial requirements of a specific educational pedagogy but also grasped the transformative power of the methods, in terms of physical, social, and natural characteristics. Considering the syntactic results, the fact that the mean isovist area value was higher in Reggio Emilia schools showed that the piazza dominates the physical setting. The fact that the school cluster with the highest variance value emerged in Montessori draws attention to the changeability of isovist perimeter value within the interiors to orientate the individuals to the classroom units.
Language: English
Published: Bergen, Norway:
Western Norway University of Applied Sciences,
2022
Pages: 25 p.
Article
Montessori Activities in India [Besant Montessori School, Juhu; Montessori Training Centre, Adyar; Shishu Vihar Montessori School, Yeotmal, Berar]
[unspecified] (Author)
Publication: The Montessori Magazine: A Quarterly Journal for Teachers, Parents and Social Workers (India),
vol. 2, no. 2