Abstract/Notes: The present longitudinal study measured student adjustment to higher education, comparing 50 participants from alternative schools (Steiner, Montessori, New Schools) with 80 students from the traditional school system. We hypothesized that students from alternative schools adapt better, because of greater perceived social support, academic self-efficacy, and task-oriented coping styles. Measures were taken during the last school year (baseline characteristics), and at the beginning of the first and last terms of the first year in higher education. The quality of adjustment was assessed through academic results, and physical and psychological well-being. The following instruments were used: the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory by Spielberger (1983), the 13-items Depression Inventory by Beck et al. (1961), the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations by Endler and Parker (1990), and semi-directed interviews. Results show that students from alternative schools adjust better to higher education: they report less anxiety and depression symptoms, and show greater life satisfaction and academic achievement.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1007/s10734-009-9252-7

ISSN: 1573-174X

Abstract/Notes: This study aims to emphasize that the realization of effective educational approaches depends on the design of spaces suitable for the determined philosophy, and to reveal the design decisions required by the Montessori educational approach. A three-step method was followed in the line of the aim of this study. The first step is to acquire theoretical knowledge about the Montessori educational approach. The second step is to perform a spatial analysis based on the obtained plan schedules and visual materials from the school samples that have adopted the Montessori educational approach and designed by the designers according to this approach and the final step is to bring design decisions to designers and educators in order to create educational environments for the Montessori educational approach, depending on the literature and school analysis. In the study, it is observed in Montessori educational approach that the relationship between interior and exterior spaces is very important, that the circulation spaces and classrooms are designed as flexible multipurpose spaces depending on the basic principles of freedom, socialization, and that child-scale design and natural light are extremely important for all of the areas in question. It is seen that the Montessori approach is influential on educational spaces and the presence of spaces embodying this approach has a correspondence in architecture. In this context, this study, which reveals the relationship between learning environments and learning efficiency, is considered to be a source of data for the schools to be designed in this direction.

Language: English

DOI: 10.12973/ejmste/79799

ISSN: 1305-8215, 1305-8223

Abstract/Notes: During the transition period in Hungary the role of the market has become more significant, and several market elements have appeared in education, as well. The growing social demand for schooling resulted in the huge expansion of secondary and higher education. Schools try to match the demand with the supply in a colourful variety of programmes. However, public education in Hungary struggles with very great problems of inequalities.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1111/j.1465-3435.2006.00247.x

ISSN: 0141-8211

Language: English

ISSN: 1554-8279, 0013-5984

Language: English

ISSN: 1554-8279, 0013-5984

Abstract/Notes: Il contributo intende sondare alcuni tratti della pedagogia e del metodo Montessori di interesse per ripensare gli attuali contesti educativi escolastici sempre più interdipendenti ed eterogenei (Zoletto, 2012). L’individualizzazione nell’apprendimento e la differenziazione sono tensioni costanti nel pensiero di Montessori e si concretizzano nel ruolo dell’ambiente preparato dall’adulto a misuradi ogni bambino, in cui sono organizzati materiali di sviluppo non condizionati daappartenenze culturali (PescieTrabalzini, 2007) e nella pluralità linguistica assunta quale tratto strutturale del contesto (Consalvo, 2020), come avviene in molte scuoledi metodo che stanno sperimentando progetti bilingui. È dall’ambiente secondo Montessori (2000) che i bambini prendono il linguaggio, le abitudini e le caratteristiche della comunità a cui partecipano e per questo gli ambienti scolastici e le atmosfere relazionali costruiti sulla base della unicità e differenza di ognuno sono interculturali (Pesci,2006). Il contributo propone le prime riflessioni scaturite dal lavoro di indagine sull’attualità interculturale di Montessori in prospettiva plurilingue, che èuno dei filoni di ricerca del PRIN (2017) Maria Montessori from the past to the present(Unitàdi ricerca: Bologna, Milano, Roma, Aosta). / This paper will explore some aspects of the Montessori method and pedagogy that are pertinent in rethinking today's increasingly interdependent and heterogeneous educational and school contexts (Zoletto, 2012). Personalized learning and differentiation are constant tensions in Montessori thinking, taking shape in the environment prepared by the adult specifically for each child, where the developmental materials offered are not conditioned by cultural affiliations (Pesci e Trabalzini, 2007) and linguistic plurality is a structural feature of the context (Consalvo, 2020), as occurs in many method schools that are experimenting with bilingual projects. According to Montessori (2000), children acquire language, habits and the characteristics of the community they are part of from the environment, and for this reason school environments and the relational atmospheres based on the uniqueness and differences of each individual are intercultural (Pesci, 2006). The paper offers some initial reflections starting from an investigation of Montessori's intercultural relevance in a multilingual perspective, one of the PRIN (2017) research areas Maria Montessori from the past to the present (Research Units: Bologna, Milan, Rome, Aosta).

Language: Italian

DOI: 10.6092/issn.2420-8175/13899

ISSN: 2420-8175

Abstract/Notes: In contrast to intellectual giftedness reflected in high academic performance and often measured by IQ tests, there is growing recognition that other forms of giftedness exist. This paper focuses on creative giftedness, defined as high potential to produce work that is original and context appropriate. After a brief introduction to the psychological basis of creative giftedness, the role of school context in the development of creative potential is highlighted. Then an empirical study suggesting that creative potential is influenced by educational context is presented; pupils attending traditional and Montessori schools in France were compared on a set of creativity tasks in both the graphic and verbal domains. Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses were conducted as children were seen at two measurement occasions, with approximately one year delay. Results indicated greater scores on measures of creative potential for children in the Montessori context. The discussion situates the results in a broader context of issues concerning the development of creative giftedness through education.

Language: English

ISSN: 2396-8702, 0267-1611

Abstract/Notes: Research Findings: A quasi-experiment was undertaken to test the effect of Montessori practical life activities on kindergarten children's fine motor development and hand dominance over an 8-month period. Participants were 50 children age 5 in 4 Montessori schools and 50 students age 5 in a kindergarten program in a high-performing suburban elementary school. Children were pre- and posttested on the Flag Posting Test, an individually administered test of fine motor skill requiring children to place tiny flags mounted on pins into preset pinholes. Students in the Montessori treatment group demonstrated significantly higher accuracy, speed, and consistent use of the dominant hand on the posttest, adjusted for pretest differences and gender. Effect sizes were moderate for accuracy and speed (ds = .53 and .37, respectively) and large for established hand dominance (▵R2 = .35). Longitudinal research on the effects of early childhood programs emphasizing the reciprocal interplay of cognitive and physical aspects of activity is recommended. Practice or Policy: The findings argue for a balanced approach to early childhood education that maintains the importance of physical activity and fine motor development in conjunction with cognitive skills. Montessori practical life activities involving eye–hand coordination and fine motor skills can be integrated into programs.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1080/10409289.2015.995454

ISSN: 1040-9289, 1556-6935

Abstract/Notes: La educación multicultural ha estado en el punto de mira durante décadas desde finales del siglo pasado. El fenómeno de la inmigración y los asentamientos masivos en determinados puntos de nuestro país, obligaron a las autoridades a cubrir las necesidades de estos nuevos núcleos poblacionales. De este modo, surgieron nuevas escuelas que poco a poco iban transformándose en guetos de un alumnado inmigrante que desconocía tanto la cultura como la lengua del país de destino. Estos centros educativos, focos de controversia, se han convertido en un reto para sus docentes que, implicados/as en su labor, han ido transformando la realidad para conseguir mejorar la calidad. En este contexto, situamos la “buena práctica” en educación infantil, donde una profesora con un alumnado en riesgo ha hecho realidad su sueño de trasladar la metodología Montessori a su clase. / Multicultural Education has been in the spotlight for ages. During the last decades of last century, the phenomenon of immigration and the development of massive settlements of immigrant communities in certain parts of Spain led political and educational authorities to confront and help in assisting the needs of these growing social groups. In this way, new school communities emerged but they slowly became into ghettos of immigrant students who, in many occasions, did know little or nothing about the target language or culture of their new country. These schools may have been seen as spots of controversy and they have indeed been a challenge for their teachers, who have been able to improve the quality of education through their daily work. Considering this context, we place the concept of ‘good practice’ in young children education at the core of this article by making reference to the experience of a female teacher who has made true her dream of implementing Montessori Methodology in a risk group of Infant students.

Language: Spanish

ISSN: 2255-0666

Abstract/Notes: In questa prima fase della ricerca - ancora in itinere - si compie un’analisi storico-pedagogica del rapporto infanzia/famiglie/istituzioni. L’indagine si focalizza sulle trasformazioni dei modelli familiari, visti nella loro interdipendenza con l’elaborazione di nuove pratiche educative. Al riguardo, l’avvento del’900 si profila come un passaggio importante, che trova un suo esito nel volume di Ellen Key, Il secolo dei fanciulli. Proprio in quest’opera, la scrittrice svedese elabora una nuova idea di “maternità” e di “paternità” che pone al centro i bisogni e le esigenze infantili. La sua prospettiva diventa oggetto di dibattito, agli inizi del secolo scorso, sia in campo pedagogico, sia in campo femminista, soprattutto in merito al dilemma per la donna di coniugare insieme sfera pubblica e sfera privata, maternità e autonomia individuale. Secondo l’ipotesi qui evidenziata è in particolare Maria Montessori a raccogliere la sfida di Ellen Key, con il suo esperimento pedagogico della “Casa dei bambini”, in cui lo spazio domestico, “privato” si trasforma in uno spazio scolastico, “pubblico”, a misura di “bambino” (valenza estetica degli ambienti, cura delle relazioni umane, ecc.). [In the first phase of research it conducts an historical and pedagogical analysis on the relationship between childhoods, families and institutions, identifying family-models changes and their interdependence with the elaboration of new educative practices. At the beginning of twentieth century, Ellen Key wrote the famous book The century of children. Following the introduction of Modernity age, the author defined a new idea of “motherhood” and “fatherhood” which focused on childish subjects’ needs and requirements. Her prospective became item of debate both in pedagogic and in feminist fields, especially in regard to women’s dilemma on how to combine public and private life, motherhood and individual autonomy. In particular, Maria Montessori took up the Ellen Key challenge, in fact she made the pedagogical experiment of Children’s House, where domestic space became institutional space (settings’ aesthetic quality, human relationships’ care).]

Language: Italian

DOI: 10.6092/issn.1970-2221/1767

ISSN: 1970-2221