Abstract/Notes: The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to investigate how Montessori educators describe maintaining the fidelity of the Montessori Method when implementing the Louisiana Student Standards influences their ability to provide learning opportunities through social interactions that stimulate multiple senses for students in their classrooms in the south-central region of the United States. This study was informed by a theoretical foundation that drew on the theory of social constructivism and sensory stimulation theory. The three research questions asked participants to describe maintaining the fidelity of the Montessori Method when integrating the Louisiana Student Standards and the influences the standards had on their ability to construct learning through social interactions and provide learning opportunities that stimulate multiple senses in their classrooms. The sample consisted of public Montessori educators teaching in the south-central region of the United States. The two sources of data included 45 questionnaires and 12 semi-structured interviews. All interviews were transcribed and then coded. A thematic analysis of the data resulted in five themes: Montessori educators use supplemental materials, creative scheduling, need targeted professional development, plan instructional activities that require students to work cooperatively, and use authentic Montessori materials. This study will help advance scientific knowledge by adding to the current body of knowledge about the Montessori Method and implementing state standards. Finally, this study provides theoretical, practical, and future implications and suggestions for further research.Keywords: Montessori Method, Louisiana Student Standards, theory of social constructivism, sensory stimulation theory, state standards

Language: English

Published: Phoenix, Arizona, 2022

Language: English

Abstract/Notes: In this article, the author states that, for over 45 years, she has explored the issues of leadership and change, and, along the way, she has examined how diversity fits in with these ideas. She states that she found all three of these concepts embodied in the person of John McDermott, a leader in the American Montessori movement in the United States. McDermott helped establish the framework for putting Montessori education into an American cultural context. His message was always the need for public education, the necessity of embracing African-Americans and the poor in Montessori schools, and the damage to cities caused by white flight. McDermott held to his view that the quality of public education was key to the future of the republic. He decried the economic and social disparity between poor urban and inner-city schools and those of the affluent middle class, along with the ever-widening gap between the poor and the affluent and between blacks, Latinos, and whites. McDermott continued to stress the need to make Montessori education relevant to present problems, although he did not view Montessori education as a single solution to the problems in American education. He challenged the American Montessori Society to examine the ways in which growth and change occur in America.

Language: English

ISSN: 1054-0040

Abstract/Notes: The purpose of this study was two-fold: 1) to examine the relations between pre-kindergarten (pre-K) teachers' characteristics, belief in developmentally appropriate practices (DAP), and DAP classroom practices and 2) to examine the relations between principals' characteristics, DAP and testing beliefs, and preferred pre-K classroom practices. Sixty-six principals and 63 pre-K teachers from public schools in small districts (districts with only one elementary school) in Oklahoma participated. Principals and teachers completed questionnaires containing DAP, demographic, and time allocation information. Data were analyzed using correlations and regressions.Findings and Conclusions: In the study of teachers, number of child development courses taken (r=-.29) and number of years experience teaching pre-K (r=.30) were related to DAP beliefs. The relation of DAP beliefs to DAP classroom practices was moderated by teacher's beliefs in the importance of obedience; DAP beliefs and practices were positively related for teachers with lower belief in the importance of child obedience. In the study of principals, principals' ECE courses taken (r=.36), ECE state test certification (r=.59), elementary certification (r=.34), number of years as a principal (r=-.25), years teaching preschoolers (r=.35), experience teaching 4th to 6th grades (r=-.35), and years teaching 4th to 6th grades (r=-.30) were related to principals' beliefs in DAP. Principals' ECE state certification (r=.41), ECE courses taken (r=.27), and years teaching 4th to 6th grades (r=-.33) were related to preferred DAP classroom practices and experience teaching 1st to 3rd grades (r=-.29) was related to use of workbooks and worksheets. DAP beliefs (r=.60) were significantly related to preferred DAP classroom practices. Testing beliefs were not related to principal characteristics or preferred classroom practices. The relation between the number of early childhood courses taken by principals and preferred DAP classroom practices was mediated by principals' beliefs in DAP.

Language: English

Published: Stillwater, Oklahoma, 2010

Abstract/Notes: The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the perceptions of Texas public Montessori school principals as instructional leaders in science. Twelve public Montessori school principals were interviewed for this study. Two research questions were used: How do public Montessori principals perceive Texas science standards in public Montessori Elementary classrooms? How do principals view their role as an instructional leader in elementary science related to teachers' effectiveness and student outcomes? Research question one resulted in the following themes: (a) aligning curricula to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), (b) engaging science instruction as integrated and hands-on lessons, (c) emphasizing required district and state assessments, and (d) incorporating traditional teaching methodologies to support Montessori instruction. Research question two yielded common themes: (a) balancing Montessori methodologies and philosophies in public school settings with competing demands, (b) monitoring assessment scores as the determination of student success, (c) working in collaboration to support teacher effectiveness, and (d) providing resources and support to teachers. Implications for Montessori practitioners: paradox of Montessori education in a public school setting, strong support for science in classrooms from the principal and a need for continued research around Montessori education in public school settings.

Language: English

Published: Beaumont, Texas, 2013

Abstract/Notes: Public school integration has been a wrenching process in a number of American cities during the last half of the twentieth century. In few cities, however, has the process been so heavily litigated, so rife with controversy, so costly, so lengthy, or, ultimately, yielded results so mixed as in Kansas City, Missouri. This dissertation analyzes the troubled course of integration in the Kansas City public schools and the numerous forces that influenced that course. In short, this dissertation is a case study of one district's struggle to formulate an integrated school system and the manner in which changing legal standards, shifting demographic patterns, pressure from various community groups, financial limitations, and other political considerations have shaped public policy choices regarding integration in the Kansas City schools. During the fifty year period between 1949 and 1999, racial issues have figured prominently, and at times dominated, the policy making process in the Kansas City schools. In 1955 the city's public schools were integrated, but the extent of integration produced by the initial desegregation plan failed to satisfy the black community and the district faced several lawsuits seeking additional steps to promote integration. The paucity of integration in the Kansas City schools also drew criticism from the United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare. In the mid-1970s, under pressure from HEW, school officials in Kansas City initiated a busing plan that produced more extensive integration. However, by the mid-1980s, the school district was again a defendant in a desegregation suit. The school district was found liable for the vestiges of segregation that remained in the public schools and a sweeping remedy was ordered by the court. in a series of rulings announced in the mid-1980s, the district court approved a remedy providing for educational enhancements, massive improvements to the district's schools, and the establishment of the nation's most expansive and expensive magnet schools system for purposes of integration. The magnet plan, however, failed to meet the ambitious goals established by the district court, and the remedy was continually attacked in the courts by the state of Missouri and disgruntled taxpayers. In 1995, the United States Supreme Court overturned much of the remedy and four years later the case was dismissed.

Language: English

Published: Manhattan, Kansas, 2000

Abstract/Notes: Addressing the many complex issues associated with culture, race, and diversity is tough under any circumstances. But such issues become even more complex in school settings where large numbers of students speak different languages and reflect diverse ethnicities and socioeconomic statuses. In this article, the author describes how the faculty members and the administrators at Fort Wayne Community Schools (FWCS) in Indiana found a balance between quality education and student diversity. FWCS offers a district-wide school choice program that features a number of different educational offerings. Interestingly, as the district's student population (nearly 32,000) has become increasingly diverse--it now has about 80 languages/dialects represented by students--its Montessori magnet program has grown more successful. The author also relates that FWCS' Montessori magnet program is superbly suited to prepare students to flourish in culturally and racially diverse environments. As such, it is highly in demand among parents.

Language: English

ISSN: 1054-0040

Language: English

Abstract/Notes: Using concepts from cognitive science, this dissertation explored changes in perception among Montessori education leaders and traditional education leaders. Although Montessori education programs have grown as an option in the public school sector, their unique features in mainstream environments have brought to the fore serious challenges in understanding and communication between decision makers at the institutional level of public education and among Montessori academies. Nationally, Montessori education entities have fostered a strong momentum for improvement at the state policy level. However in some states, including California, differing perceptions still hinder inclusive decision making, resulting in lack of teacher credential recognition, denial of eligibility and funding. My study implemented a communication intervention through which an iterative conversation between both sides aimed to address perceptions and language and provide shared understandings. Using the challenge between Montessori and traditional public education and framed under the cognitive theories of mental models, framing, schemas, metaphors and embodiment, this intervention addressed whether perceptions can begin to shift when one is more fully informed at a deeper cognitive level. Incorporating a workshop intervention involving several modalities, my findings suggested a shift in perception which seemed to persist over time. The effects in shifting actors’ perceptions of Montessori education were statistically significant and modest in terms of magnitude. I also found a weaker perceptual shift among traditional educators in California compared with peers in other states. I obtained specific suggestions for future iterations of kinesthetic learning, along with how to best share perspectives between Montessori and traditional leaders, along with possible collaborations between these pedagogies.

Language: English

Published: Berkeley, California, 2016

Abstract/Notes: with sidebar, "Montessori in the Public Schools

Language: English