Abstract/Notes: When Maria Montessori addressed two wildly enthusiastic American audiences at Carnegie Hall in December 1913, she thrilled the parents in attendance, but sent a shock wave through the educational establishment. Instead of accommodating skeptics from the teacher-training institutions seated there that night, she appealed directly to parents who found in the Montessori message an antidote to the miasma in their children's schools. Subsequently, the educational establishment that found more to dislike than to admire in Montessori marshaled their considerable power to discourage any permanent American Montessori movement for years to come. This article explores the clash between Montessori and optimistic American families versus the American educational establishment of the time. For further historical perspective, the author offers an analysis of the growth of the kindergarten movement and the emergence of progressivism in education as an outgrowth of the American Progressive movement at the turn of the 20th century. Maria Montessori's presentations at Carnegie Hall occurred at the apex of these convulsive forces.

Language: English

ISSN: 1054-0040

Abstract/Notes: Currently, the Montessori community is increasing its focus on the importance of research. The purpose of this article is to provide some background for critical readers of research related to Montessori education and to provide the tools to implement these findings in one's own Montessori work. Research articles are generally organized in a way that allows the reader to easily follow the logical flow of the research process. Readers will typically see an introduction followed by information on research methods. Research articles usually conclude with a discussion of results and practical implications. This article outlines key considerations and questions one should ask oneself in each of these areas.

Language: English

ISSN: 1054-0040

Language: English

ISSN: 1054-0040

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: Recent approaches to the development of Executive Function (EF) claim that it is trainable. Purpose-designed programs have proved successful in training EF skills in young children. If the EF is permeable to training from an early age, then the type of educational practice in the first years may as well have an effect. Despite the important implications of this thesis, there is limited evidence of the role of early educational practice in shaping the EF. Previous studies suggest that children in Montessori schools, which promote autonomy and self-regulation, often perform better on EF tasks than children in conventional schools. Evidence to date, however, is not unequivocal across the studies due to a number of factors, including the heterogeneity of the tasks used to assess EF and/or possible baseline differences in the groups that are compared. Here we compare the EF skills of fifty-eight, 4- to 6-year-olds of a similar socio-economic background who had been attending either a Montessori preschool or a conventional preschool for the same period of time. Their performance was assessed with different tasks involving a range of EF processes, such as working memory, cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, and self-regulation. Results show an advantage of Montessori preschoolers in all EF tasks. More broadly, findings suggest that even when EF skills are not purposely trained, they can be enhanced by specific educational practices.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1016/j.cogdev.2023.101344

ISSN: 0885-2014

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: This is an article from Montessori Education, a Japanese language periodical published by the Japan Association Montessori.

Language: Japanese

ISSN: 0913-4220

Abstract/Notes: The purpose of this dissertation will be to survey and analyze American writings on Maria Montessori and her educational system, in order to show how the idea of Montessori education has interacted with some changing American ideas and social forces. These changes in social and intellectual currents can be likened to a shift from centrifugal to centripetal force; or to the expansion and then the contraction of a universe. The central metaphor is the same. It is applicable to, and illustrative of, much about the changing social and educational scene in America. The writings on Montessori, examined against this framework, should provide a new view on certain changes in American educational thinking.

Language: English

Published: Kent, Ohio, 1973

Abstract/Notes: Ovaj, u osnovi metodološki rad, bavi se demonstracijom upotrebe faktorske analize u ispitivanju poželjnosti alternativnih odgojnih koncepata kod studentske populacije Sveučilišta u Zagrebu. Istraživanje je provedeno na slučajnom, reprezentativnom i stratificiranom uzorku (N=360). Skala poželjnosti osnovnih pedagoških koncepata sastojala se od 29 čestica vezanih uz tradicionalni odgojni koncept i alternativne pedagoške koncepate: Waldorf, Montessori i Summerhill. Primjenom faktorske analize pod komponentnim modelom uz GK kriterij za zaustavljanje ekstrakcije faktora i uz provedbu purifikacije faktorske solucije dobivene su tri latentne dimenzije: 1. NEPRIHVAĆENOST SUMMERHILLSKOG KONCEPTA, 2. TRADICIONALNI ODGOJ i 3. ODGOJ UTEMELJEN NA SAMOSTALNOSTI, IGRI I ZADOVOLJSTVU SPOZNAJOM. Prva dva faktora karakterizira neprihvaćanje summerhillskog i tradicionalnog koncepta, dok je treći faktor kombinacija ideja dviju škola— waldorfske i Montessori. Nalazi ukazuju na prihvaćanje općih pedagoških načela, ali ne i predloženih načina realizacije. Ispitanici su također neskloni pedagoškom radikalizmu. Stoga zaključujemo da su poželjne one pedagoške koncepcije koje ispitanicima ostavljaju mogućnost vlastite intervencije u primarnu i sekundarnu socijalizaciju. Metodološka strana rada pokazala je da poštivanje i primjena osnovnih metodoloških pretpostavki uspješno uklanja „višak” varijabli iz interpretacije, što interpretaciju čini transparentnom, a konceptualne pretpostavke plauzibilnima. Stoga valja zaključiti da faktorska analiza nije sama po sebi primjerena podacima, već da ovisi o njihovoj strukturi pa ju u većoj ili manjoj mjeri moramo prilagoditi podacima.

Language: Croatian

ISSN: 1334-7888

Abstract/Notes: "...The national association recently has given to the San Diego association the equipment which was used in the demonstration school at the San Francisco exposition [Panama-Pacific International Exposition]. This will provide equipment for thirty-five or forty pupils..."

Language: English