Language: English

Published: [Washington, D.C.]: National Center for Educational Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, US Department of Education, 2007

Language: Dutch

Abstract/Notes: Studentka pojedná o vzdělávacím systému Marie Montessori v českém vzdělávacím prostředí. Představí jeho klíčové znaky. Ty se stanou inspirací k rozvoji hudebnosti jako prostředku osobnostního rozvoje dítěte předškolního věku. V praktické části studentka uskuteční longitudinální a kvantitativní výzkum u dětí navštěvujících příslušnou mateřskou školu. Jeho cílem bude představit procesy, jak hudebně výrazové a formotvorné prostředky postupně vstupují do dětského vědomí v kontinuitě s emocionálním a estetickým rozvojem. / The student aims to introduce the topic of Maria Montessori education system in the Czech educational environment. She will describe the key subjects. Those will become an inspiration to the child´s musical growth as a part of preschool child´s personal growth. She will make an longitudinal and qualitative research in the practical part with the kids who are attending the kindergarden. The purpose is to introduce a musical and form-forming instruments which are gradually entering into child´s sences in continuity with emotional and ethical growth.

Language: Czech

Published: Prague, Czechia, 2020

Abstract/Notes: The purpose of the present quasi-experimental mixed-methods study was to examine the effects of an Intercultural Competence Intervention with Self-Regulatory Prompts (ICI-SRP) on elementary students’ development of intercultural knowledge, skills, and attitudes, and their self-efficacy beliefs in self-regulating their intercultural learning, and to investigate the ways in which self-regulatory prompts (SRP) influence elementary students’ activation of self-regulatory strategies in intercultural learning. Twenty (N=20) Montessori elementary students from two Montessori schools participated in four sessions of an intercultural exercise, in which only the experimental group were given SRP. It was hypothesized that the experimental group’s use of SRP would further enhance the participants’ development of intercultural knowledge, skills, and attitudes and their self-efficacy beliefs in self-regulating their intercultural learning. Quantitative data collected from the ICI-SRP survey was analyzed by conducting a univariate analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) for each of its four subscales and was used to examine the effects of SRP on the students’ development of intercultural competence (IC) and self-efficacy beliefs in self-regulating intercultural learning. Qualitative data collected from focus groups was analyzed using the constant comparative method to shed light on the ways in which SRP influence the students’ activation of self-regulatory strategies in intercultural learning. Results from the ANCOVA did not support the hypothesis, as they showed non-statistically significant differences between the development of intercultural knowledge, skills, and attitudes, and the self-efficacy beliefs in self-regulating intercultural learning in both groups. Results from the ANCOVA showed numerical increases in intercultural knowledge, skills, and attitudes in both groups, and numerical decreases in the self-efficacy beliefs in self-regulating intercultural learning in both groups. Findings from the analysis of the focus group data were mostly aligned with the data from the ANCOVA. Data from the focus groups shed light on different types of IC knowledge, skills, and attitudes, and different types of planning and monitoring applied by participants of both groups. The overall findings of the present study suggest that it is likely for elementary aged students to develop IC through intercultural exercises, and that SRP may support that development under certain conditions. The findings of the study may contribute to the development of elementary students’ intercultural learning methods and tools.

Language: English

Published: Fairfax, Virginia, 2022

Language: English

Abstract/Notes: The aim of this study was to develop and field test an instrument that provides an efficient and scholarly tool for exploring curricular beliefs of preservice teachers in the area of early childhood education. The Early Childhood Curricular Beliefs Inventory (ECCBI) was developed through procedures that evaluated the content validity of identified statements, explored the criterion and construct validity, and assessed the internal reliability of the instrument. Through a literature review, four predominant approaches to early childhood education (Developmental Interaction, Cognitive Developmental, Behavioral, and Sensory Cognitive) and four associated models of implementation were identified (Developmental Interaction, HighScope, Direct Instruction, and Montessori). Six areas, in which each of the above differed, were identified: the view of the child, role of the teacher, resources utilized, curricular emphasis, assessment methodology, and characteristics of the learning environment. The aim of this study was to develop and field test an instrument that provides an efficient and scholarly tool for exploring curricular beliefs of preservice teachers in the area of early childhood education. The Early Childhood Curricular Beliefs Inventory (ECCBI) was developed through procedures that evaluated the content validity of identified statements, explored the criterion and construct validity, and assessed the internal reliability of the instrument. Through a literature review, four predominant approaches to early childhood education (Developmental Interaction, Cognitive Developmental, Behavioral, and Sensory Cognitive) and four associated models of implementation were identified (Developmental Interaction, HighScope, Direct Instruction, and Montessori). Six areas, in which each of the above differed, were identified: the view of the child, role of the teacher, resources utilized, curricular emphasis, assessment methodology, and characteristics of the learning environment. A panel of experts classified and sorted a total of 182 statements, and 72 items were subsequently organized into an instrument consisting of four subtests corresponding to the identified curricular models. Scoring of the instrument included recording Likert-scale responses for each statement to a score key divided into four sections, or subtests, representing each curricular model. Scores for each section were added and compared. The subtest with the lowest score was deemed most representative of a respondent's curricular beliefs. Data gathered through field testing of the instrument with practitioners were used to explore further content validity through a factor analysis, criterion validity, and construct validity. Results of a second field test of preservice teachers and the results of the first field test (practitioners) were used to assess internal consistency reliability. Analyses appeared to support content, criterion, and construct validity as well as reliability of the 72-item ECCBI. In an effort to reduce the length of the instrument and to make it less cumbersome, results of the factor analysis were used to create a 24-item shortened version of the ECCBI. Six items representing each of the four subtests having the strongest factor loadings were identified as appropriate statements and were then organized into an alternative instrument. Data gathered through field testing of the instrument with practitioners were used to explore further content validity through a factor analysis, criterion validity, and construct validity. Results of a second field test of preservice teachers and the results of the first field test (practitioners) were used to assess internal consistency reliability. Analyses appeared to support content, criterion, and construct validity as well as reliability of the 72-item ECCBI. In an effort to reduce the length of the instrument and to make it less cumbersome, results of the factor analysis were used to create a 24-item shortened version of the ECCBI. Six items representing each of the four subtests having the strongest factor loadings were identified as appropriate statements and were then organized into an alternative instrument.

Language: English

Published: Tallahassee, Florida, 2004

Abstract/Notes: In this study, 173 preschool teachers (80 non-Montessori teachers and 93 Montessori teachers) were given a survey at two early childhood professional conferences that examined their beliefs about Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP). The purpose of this study was to (a) investigate preschool teachers' beliefs about Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) and Developmentally Inappropriate Practice (DIP); (b) discover the similarities and differences in the factor structures of the Teacher's Beliefs Scale (TBS) between the study conducted by Charlesworth, Hart, Burts, Thomasson, Mosley, and Fleege in 1993 and the current study about DAP; (c) discover the similarities and differences of Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) and Developmentally Inappropriate Practice (DIP) beliefs between Montessori teachers and preschool teachers; and (d) investigate the factors that are related to teachers' beliefs about DAP and DIP. The Teacher Beliefs Scale (TBS) was used to assess preschool teachers' beliefs about DAP and DIP. Factor analysis was used to support the validity of TBS in the current study. Multiple t-tests were used to identify the differences in developmental appropriate/inappropriate beliefs between Montessori and non-Montessori teachers. Multiple regression analyses were used to explain the relationship between variables of 173 Montessori and non-Montessori preschool teachers. Results of the study showed that a majority of preschool teachers agreed with 22 Developmentally Appropriate Practices (DAP) and 12 Developmentally Inappropriate Practices (DIP). Responses to seven items were different from the original study (Charlesworth et al., 1993). There was a significant difference on Inappropriate Activities and on Appropriate Child Choice between non-Montessori and Montessori teachers. There was a relationship between teachers' beliefs about DAP and teachers' educational backgrounds, teaching experiences, ethics, and DAP understanding level in the current study.

Language: English

Published: Greeley, Colorado, 2003

Abstract/Notes: The highlights of Montessori's accomplishments are embodied in her cosmic views and organized into a Cosmic Plan of Education while she worked in the hills of Kodaikanal, India. The fruition of these cosmic views came late in her life and appeared to be synonymous with the development of her relationships with the warm and accepting Indian people. During this periodi Montessori devoted her energies to understanding how children naturally unfold into purposeful, yet interdependent individuals. Through all the professional challenges that Montessori faced in her lifetime as an educator of young children, her focal point continued to be 'the child'. This was especially true in connection with children during their transitional stage of growth from five- to seven-years of age when the acquisition of social, spiritual and cultural values are so strong. Montessori not only shared her methods and ideas with the people of India, but these people, in turn, influenced her views significantly enough to have caused her to formulate The Cosmic Plan of Education. This plan was designed especially for the transitional-age children but incapsulated within it was Montessori's own new-found East-West Cosmology. Through primary sources such as interviews, unpublished books and lectures, the dissertation gives the historical backdrop of the emergence of Montessori's cosmic views in the beginning five chapters. A description of the operation of the Cosmic Plan of Education during its conception is given in Chapter Six. The final chapters deal with how these views weathered the changes within the Indian society over the period of forty years.

Language: English

Published: Manoa, Hawaii, 1984

Abstract/Notes: Montessori is historically recognized for her contributions to early education. Her primary recognition derived from the comprehensive educational program which became known as the Montessori Method. Relatively little attention has focused on her background as physician, psychiatrist, and pedagogical psychologist, from which she developed a body of psychological knowledge which established the foundation of the well-known Method. Her pedagogical psychology was overshadowed by her pedagogical theory despite her secure position in the history of child psychiatry. Also contributing to the non-acceptance of Montessori's psychology was the psychological tenor of the times. In the forefront of the psychological movement in the early 1900's were psychometric testing, Freud's psycho-sexual stages, Thorndike's stimulus-response theory, and the emergence of behaviorism under the leadership of Watson, to name a few. This climate was not hospitable to Montessori's developmental-interactionist theory. In the 1960's through the research findings of psychologists and the availability of Federal funds to compensate the "cumulative deficits" of the disadvantaged child, interest was focused on early childhood education and consequently the Montessori Method. As psychologists embraced Piaget's developmental theory, resemblances in thinking between Piaget and Montessori were noted. While psychologists pointed to Montessori's developmental-interactionist ideas, nobody attempted to elaborate her developmental theory in toto. This study attempts to do so. For Montessori, the development of the child takes place in successive and qualitatively different stages, with each stage providing the foundation for succeeding stages. Within this framework, she clearly delineates cognitive, motor, language, socialization, personality, and character as developing through stages. Cognitive structures develop through the child's interaction with, and actions upon, objects in the environment. A thorough examination of her theory leaves no doubt that Montessori is a cognitive developmentalist. While at times she appears nativistic, and at other times an extreme environmentalist, her position on development is interactionist and constructivist. Montessori is historically recognized for her contributions to early education. Her primary recognition derived from the comprehensive educational program which became known as the Montessori Method. Relatively little attention has focused on her background as physician, psychiatrist, and pedagogical psychologist, from which she developed a body of psychological knowledge which established the foundation of the well-known Method. Her pedagogical psychology was overshadowed by her pedagogical theory despite her secure position in the history of child psychiatry. Also contributing to the non-acceptance of Montessori's psychology was the psychological tenor of the times. In the forefront of the psychological movement in the early 1900's were psychometric testing, Freud's psycho-sexual stages, Thorndike's stimulus-response theory, and the emergence of behaviorism under the leadership of Watson, to name a few. This climate was not hospitable to Montessori's developmental-interactionist theory. In the 1960's through the research findings of psychologists and the availability of Federal funds to compensate the "cumulative deficits" of the disadvantaged child, interest was focused on early childhood education and consequently the Montessori Method. As psychologists embraced Piaget's developmental theory, resemblances in thinking between Piaget and Montessori were noted. While psychologists pointed to Montessori's developmental-interactionist ideas, nobody attempted to elaborate her developmental theory in toto. This study attempts to do so. For Montessori, the development of the child takes place in successive and qualitatively different stages, with each stage providing the foundation for succeeding stages. Within this framework, she clearly delineates cognitive, motor, language, socialization, personality, and character as developing through stages. Cognitive structures develop through the child's interaction with, and actions upon, objects in the environment. A thorough examination of her theory leaves no doubt that Montessori is a cognitive developmentalist. While at times she appears nativistic, and at other times an extreme environmentalist, her position on development is interactionist and constructivist. In contemporary terms her "psychopedagogy" would be considered an action psychology, which basically precludes it from academic "respectibility". Her theory contains both strengths and weaknesses in light of present-day thinking; however, on balance, Montessori's theory is quite contemporary and remarkably ahead of most of the psychological thinking of her time.

Language: English

Published: New York City, New York, 1982

Abstract/Notes: This descriptive study examined the nature and degree of autonomous behavior among Montessori elementary students. A further aim of the study was to elucidate those elements of the Montessori educational model which may affect the development of autonomy. The study employed direct observation and comparative analysis to examine the actual classroom experience of Montessori elementary students and traditional elementary students. Thirty third-year students from two accredited Montessori schools and thirty third-grade students from two public schools were included in the sample. The research hypothesis stated that the nature and degree of autonomous behavior was expected to differ between the two groups. The first stage of the investigation involved ethnographic observations of classroom environments, focusing upon physical space and furnishings, materials, procedures, social interactions, and the role of the teacher. The second stage of the study compared classroom behaviors of the student groups as recorded by independent observers using the Classroom Autonomous Behavior Checklist. The results of the ethnographic observations demonstrated clear distinctions between the Montessori and traditional classroom environments in all five elements examined. Results of the observations of student behavior indicated that the Montessori students demonstrated significantly higher levels of independence, initiative, and self-regulation, the three constructs used to define autonomy. The nature of autonomous behavior also differed between the two groups with Montessori students initiating more social interaction and employing a more varied approach to task completion and problem solving. The results of this study confirm the effectiveness of the Montessori method in assisting the development of autonomy among children. As such, this research makes an important contribution toward evaluation of the Montessori model and the validity of its methods. For educators concerned about the lack of motivation and initiative among students in our schools, this study highlights the role of education in the development of autonomy and suggests important considerations in restructuring our educational system to address those concerns.

Language: English

Published: Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1992