Abstract/Notes: Childhood adversity and trauma are pervasive and have powerful, far-reaching consequences for health and well-being. Recent years have seen increased recognition of the need for trauma-informed practice, which aims to promote understanding, healing, and the prevention of retraumatization. Historical data show that the early Montessori schools were known internationally as healing schools, wherein children affected by adversity or trauma were apparently healed on a considerable scale. This study presents the findings from a documentary analysis of three primary sources, namely, Maria Montessori’s own original accounts, eyewitness accounts, and media reports pertaining to this healing aspect of the early Montessori schools. The findings demonstrate that, first, from the beginning of her career, Montessori worked with children who had experienced significant exposure to adversity or trauma, second, that her Montessori Method was shown to affect healing or recovery in these children, and third, that her long involvement with trauma-affected children directly led to her later attempts to set up an organization to be called the White Cross, which was to incorporate, among other things, a trauma-informed course for teacher–nurses. In this innovative approach to Montessori studies, we argue that Montessori was ahead of her time, that her work is even more relevant today in the context of adversity and trauma research, and that her methods, principles, and approaches may be harnessed and used in ways that promote trauma-informed practice in contemporary education settings.

Language: English

DOI: 10.17161/jomr.v8i1.15767

ISSN: 2378-3923

Language: English

ISSN: 0855-0026

Language: Italian

ISSN: 0011-2801

Language: English

Language: English

ISSN: 1071-6246

Abstract/Notes: This dissertation describes an inquiry into Montessori-based white teachers' practices of disrupting white identity formation in the classroom through their antiracist stance. The findings within ultimately demonstrate the necessity for white teachers to grow in their understanding and practice of antiracism. Such growth is meaningful because of the role schools play in systematic white supremacy and racism. Together, the evidence and analysis add to the conversation of antiracist work and produce suggestions for deepening and expanding the potential for such growth in white teachers. In this qualitative study, evidence was collected through focus groups and phenomenological interviews with self-described antiracist white teachers who worked in schools with a student population with white students as the majority subgroup, with other subgroups providing less than 20% of the population. Using qualitative inquiry, the data provide insight into how teachers intentionally create their classroom design and how they make changes countering the hegemony through which traditional educational environments are constructed. Participant perspectives are at the heart of this study. Participants shared their hope to apply a Montessori tenet of providing experiences for the child on the subconscious and the conscious level. The teachers expressed how they have examined themselves and examined their Montessori training to uncover ways they can make changes toward being less Anglo-European centered. The data collected and conversations shared are relatable even to teachers outside of Montessori and demonstrate to white teachers with a desire to be committed to antiracism they are not alone and there are ways to make even subtle changes in their classrooms impacting the children they guide.

Language: English

Published: San Francisco, California, 2023

Abstract/Notes: Formerly entitled The Montessori Method: Scientific Pedagogy as Applied to Child Education in the Children's Houses. This book was first published in 1909 under the title 'Il Metodo della Pedagogia Scientifica Applicato all'Educazione Infantile nelle Case dei Bambini' ('The Montessori Method: Scientific Pedagogy as Applied to Child Education in the Children's Houses) and was revised in 1913, 1926, and 1935. Maria Montessori revised and reissued this book in 1948 and renamed it 'La Scoperta del Bambino'. This edition is based on the 6th Italian edition of 'La Scoperta del Bambino' published by the Italian publisher Garzanti, Milan, Italy in 1962. M. J. Costelloe, S. J. translated this Italian version into the English language in 1967 for Fides Publishers, Inc. In 2016 Fred Kelpin edited this version and added many footnotes. He incorporated new illustrations based on AMI-blueprints of the materials currently in use.

Language: English

Published: Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Montessori-Pierson Publishing Company, 2017

ISBN: 978-90-79506-38-5

Series: The Montessori Series , 2

Language: English

Published: Boston, Massachusetts: Small, Maynard and Co., 1918

Language: English

Language: English