Abstract/Notes: Recently, due to the increase use of technology among children, fostering creativity in the virtual environment has become a challenge to investigate. Few studies have pointed out that young children can use an extensive area of technologies in order to elevate creativity and learning. The aim of t

Language: English

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-95450-9_25

ISBN: 978-3-319-95450-9

Language: Korean

ISSN: 1229-0599

Language: Italian

ISSN: 0042-7241

Abstract/Notes: Teachers and directors of early childhood education and care (ECEC) centres in Quebec have to conform to provincial guidelines when implementing their educational programme. Those in centres that identify as Montessori are simultaneously faced with the sometimes-conflicting directives of the Montessori method and Ministry guidelines. This dissertation responds to the dilemma of facing such a dual frame of reference. I report the results of an investigation which explores the beliefs and reflections on the experiences of teachers and directors in four ECEC centres that identify as Montessori in the province of Quebec. Based on a review of the literature, I designed a mixed method project with two related studies. Study 1 was a questionnaire targeted towards Ministry-recognized centres in the province of Quebec that identify as Montessori. Results from this initial study helped to paint the current landscape with data collected from 25 Montessori-inspired centres in the province, and also provided a source for recruitment of potential participants for Study 2. The second study was a deeper investigation, which used a qualitative design to explore the beliefs of teachers and directors from four individual centres that identified as Montessori. The study explored teacher and director beliefs about their implementation of the Montessori method and of Quebec’s educational programme. This was pursued through the use of questionnaires, interviews, and document reviews that provided rich descriptions of the phenomenon under study. Thematic analysis of the data led to five core themes, which emerged inductively from facing the dual frame of reference, namely: each child is unique, pedagogical approaches promoting children’s learning and development, teacher’s role in promoting children’s learning and development, parent’s role in promoting children’s learning and development, and challenges faced in promoting children’s potential. However, besides the noted similarities in beliefs, variations and contradictions also appeared. The results indicate that distinctions in beliefs - both among participants and within centres - emerged particularly around the notions of free play, pretense, creativity, and parental involvement. On this basis, further research is recommended to explore the effects of such suggested inconsistencies in Montessori programme implementation on both practical and scholarly platforms.

Language: English

Published: Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 2022

Language: Korean

Published: Daegu, South Korea, 1992

Abstract/Notes: This study was designed to explore the role of educational evaluation in three selected Montessori elementary classrooms; to characterize educational evaluation in these three classrooms in terms of an educational philosophical orientation and an evaluation model; and to analyze critically and interpret the observed role of educational evaluation within the framework of Montessori philosophy and methods. Three classrooms (two kindergarten-first and one second-third grade class) from two Montessori schools in the Newark-Wilmington, Delaware area comprised the sample of the study. Following a pilot study, arrangements were made to interview parents, teachers, and students. Other sources of data included 60 hours of classroom observation and three questionnaires that focused on educational philosophy and evaluation. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used in the classrooms, but the emphasis was on the former approaches, such as observation and questioning. Problem-solving techniques were used, especially with regard to social conflicts. The instructional programs and evaluation primarily were individualized. The observed evaluative practices were consistent with Montessori philosophy and represented a logical outgrowth of the Montessori method. Evaluation was carried out in a positive, supportive way that focused on the individuals; however, the well-being of the class was also important. The observed evaluative practices observed were indicative of a liberal philosophical orientation. Reasons for this assessment include the emphasis on problem-solving, the importance of the individual and of the group as a social collective, the use of non-testing evaluation practices, the individualized nature of the evaluation activities, and the guiding/collaborative nature of the teacher's role. Quantitative methods were used, but served to confirm observations gathered by less formal means. For both teachers and children, the approach to evaluation was an individualized one. An aspect common to both teachers and children was the understanding and appreciation of others as individuals. Teachers sought information on which they could make decisions regarding individuals and the class as a social unit. Students were encouraged to become independent by learning how to evaluate their own work, to become their own best critics.

Language: English

Published: Newark, Delaware, 1989

Language: English

Published: Albany, New York, 1988

Abstract/Notes: This dissertation was a comparative study from the perspectives of history and philosophy of the educational theories of John Amos Comenius, Friedrich Froebel, and Maria Montessori. The purpose of this dissertation was: 1 - to determine whether or not there were parallel ideas in the educational theories of Comenius, Froebel, and Montessori; 2 - to show to what extent these ideas were actually similar or divergent; and 3 - to consider the additional question of whether or not Froebel and Montessori recognized their theories as part of a sequence of thought originating with Comenius. Using the extant published works of the three educators, descriptions were given of their educational theories in relation to the following topics: the position and principles of methodology; the role of sense realism and the changes in emphasis each educator made in the use of the sense realist concepts of teaching; the role of the religious point of view; the manner of teaching moral values; the role of intellectual and social influences of their respective historical periods in the formation of their educational theories; and the insights of the three educators which can be considered important in the educational world of the latter half of the twentieth century. These descriptions were followed by comparisons of the similarities and differences of the three educators in relation to the above-mentioned topics. The conclusions of the dissertation were the following: 1 - There were parallel ideas present in the educational theories of the three educators. The Comenian concepts and educational emphases which seemed to find restatement most often in the works of Froebel and Montessori were the belief in the importance and the necessity of the use of the correct method of teaching; the theory that if the correct method were used, anything could be taught to nearly anyone; the basic position of the concepts of sense realism in the teaching methodology; and the supreme importance of a definite religious perspective as the groundwork and frame of reference for the whole educational system. 2 - There appeared to be no recognition of influence of the work of Comenius by Froebel and Montessori. In relation to Froebel's gifts or didactic apparatus and his principle of self-activity, there appeared to be a slight recognition of influence by Montessori in the creation of her didactic material and the formulation of her principle of spontaneous activity in a carefully prepared environment. 3 - Concerning the insights of the three educators which may be considered important for education in this century, Comenius was cited for his outstanding ability to systematize knowledge, his championship of the humanitarian ideal of freedom, and his pansophic ideal of universal knowledge through a universal college system with uniform textbooks in a universal auxiliary language. The study of Froebel's work can provide more insights into the educational possibilities of the preschool age child obtained through self-activity. The study of the work of Montessori provides help in the greater educational use of the period of postnatal infancy, and the greater application of the disciplines of anthropology, physiology, and psychology to education. Montessori's work can also prove to be significant in the search for more effective means of education for the culturally deprived child. All three educators seemed to possess an ability to synthesize - to see things in their whole relationships. Specifically they applied this insight to means of educating all facets of human personality.

Language: English

Published: Denver, Colorado, 1970

Abstract/Notes: Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) is a medically recognized disorder on the Autism Spectrum. One in 88 children age eight are diagnosed with AS (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, 2014). A key feature of AS is a deficiency in social skills. In the past ten years five main types of social skills interventions have been researched for their impact on young children with AS. Data suggest these treatments help children with AS acquire social skills. More research is needed on the types of learning environments that incorporate or lend themselves to utilizing these types of social skills interventions. One potential model, the Montessori Method of education was initially designed to teach children with significant developmental, social, and educational disabilities, with an intentional focus on individualized learning and socialization. To date, the potential overlap between empirically supported interventions to teach social skills to children with AS and the Montessori Method of education has not been researched. A comprehensive literature review was conducted to compare five researched interventions for social skill acquisition in children with AS with the Montessori Method of education. Findings suggest that of these five interventions, three bear significant resemblance to the Montessori Method of education while the other two do not. Implications and recommendations for parents, teachers, educational administrators, and social workers and other mental health practitioners who assist children with AS are provided.

Language: English

Published: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2014

Abstract/Notes: Reviewed in Communications 2008/1 // In her dissertation she analyses the efforts of New Education in her home country and compares them to European reform approaches. In this context she analyses and evaluates a large amount of written documents and adds to her literary research especially for the ten alternative schools her own studies at these schools and interviews with the educationalists/teachers responsible. One of the analysed schools was a Montessori school, another one was a Waldorf school. The survey communicates interesting insights and findings about school development in an increasingly democratising Asian country that is scarcely considered in Germany.

Language: English

Published: Münster, Germany, 2005