Abstract/Notes: This research is entitled English Language Teaching through Montessori Approach: Teachers’ Perceptions. This research aimed at exploring teachers’ perceptions towards the Montessori approach to teaching of English. This study adopted narrative inquiry as a design. Five teachers from five different Montessori schools in Kathmandu were chosen purposively for this study. The study showed that Montessori approach is a learner centered approach through which students' involvement can be increased. Montessori approach comprehends the learning and it was found that Montessori method was the most preferred method of teaching English. This approach also helps to understand the psychology of children so that learning can happen in the classroom. This approach helps to develop creativity in students because of the environment of the classroom created by Montessori teachers. Likewise, this approach is material based which enhances the learning and retention. This thesis consists of five chapters. The first chapter deals with the introduction part including the background of the study, statements of the problem, objectives of the study, research questions, relevance of the study, delimitation of the study, and operational definitions of the key terms respectively. The second chapter consists of a literature review both theoretical and empirical, and its implications. In addition, it also includes the conceptual framework. The third chapter deals with a methodology such as research design, method of the study, population, sampling strategy, research tools, source of data, and data collection procedure as well as ethical considerations. Similarly, the fourth chapter deals with analysis and interpretation of the data, and findings, and results. Finally, the fifth chapter incorporates a conclusion and recommendations based on the study which is related to policy, practice, and further research. Likewise, the references and appendices are also included for the validation of the research at the end of the study.

Language: English

Published: Kirtipur, Nepal, 2023

Abstract/Notes: The present research work entitled “English Language Teaching Learning Strategies in Montessori Schools” is an effort to find out the teaching strategies applied in Montessori Schools of Lalitpur District. The purpose of this research is to figure how the principles of the Montessori education have been applied in the schools of Lalitpur district. This research is projected to diagnose the English language teaching strategies prevailing in Montessori schools. The main tools that the researcher used are questionnaires for teachers and classroom observation forms while observing class and structured interview with the Principals. Thirty one different questions were set up to fill up by two different teachers from each school. The researcher herself observed the classroom of teachers of different school. On the basis of the collected data, early childhood English teaching learning strategies of Montessori schools was determined using simple chart table. The main findings of the study are: teaching learning strategies of Montessori Method can give better result in spite of the traditional approach. Montessori schools are playing a vital role for early childhood education and in the pre-primary section by following the Montessori Method. The study consists of four chapters. Chapter one deals with general background of the research study, the aim of the research, review of related literature, objectives of the study and significance of the study. Chapter two deals with methodology which includes sources of data, sampling population and procedure, tools for data collection, process of data collection and limitations of the study. Chapter three includes analysis and interpretation of the data. The data were analyzed on the basis of variables that were specified in the objectives. Chapter four consists of the major findings and recommendations of the study. It also suggests some pedagogical implications.

Language: English

Published: Kirtipur, Nepal, 2007

Abstract/Notes: In order to build and apply knowledge and abilities, children in a Montessori classroom study and use a variety of distinctive construction and application methods. In the Montessori Method, children are seen as active participants in their own development, powerfully influenced by internal, natural, dynamic, self-correcting forces that pave the path for growth and learning. The children view their instructors as protectors and leaders. As for teaching aid, they rely on carefully planned, aesthetically pleasant, colourful, bright and attractive surroundings and objects. Montessori places a strong emphasis on individual learning, allowing children to develop into responsible global citizens and lifelong learners. Children in a Montessori classroom are placed in multipage classrooms that last three years, encouraging tight peer ties and continuity between adults and children. The present paper is an attempt to look into Montessori Method, its principles and learning environment. We have also tried to look into the dual role of the teacher and assessment pattern as given in the Montessori approach.

Language: English

DOI: 10.25215/1103.054

ISSN: 2348-5396

Abstract/Notes: This article explores the benefits of using the Montessori Method to teach English in elementary grades. The Montessori approach, known for its emphasis on self-directed learning and hands-on activities, offers a unique and effective way to foster language acquisition skills among young learners. By creating an engaging and interactive environment, students can develop a solid foundation in English while also nurturing their creativity and independence.

Language: English

Abstract/Notes: While many BIPOC Montessori educators engage in anti-racist and culturally responsive teaching, Montessori education remains predominantly race-evasive. As a philosophy, it is rooted in colorblind perspectives in its focus on "all children" and lack of explicit centering of BIPOC students’ experiences. Teaching must account for race and racial lived realities in order to better support BIPOC students’ ways of knowing in culturally relevant and sustaining ways. This study seeks to center the voices of BIPOC Montessori educators and disrupt the pattern of Montessori research conducted without a critical racial lens. Framed by Critical Race Theory, this study focuses on the strengths, assets, and anti-racist teaching practices that one BIPOC educator brings to her classroom. I use critical ethnographic methods to better understand how a BIPOC Montessori teacher at a public charter Montessori school interprets and enacts the Montessori method to support BIPOC students. I consider how her racial identity informs her practices, and the structural barriers she faces at her school when enacting anti-racist and strength-based approaches. The guiding research questions of this study are: How does a Black Montessori teacher interpret the Montessori philosophy to more relevantly support her BIPOC students? How does she practice the Montessori method through culturally relevant and sustaining practices? What are the structural barriers that continue to challenge her as a Black educator doing her work? My analysis suggests that the teacher maintains her classroom space as a tangible and intangible cultural space that reflects and maintains her students' identities; that her own identity as a Black woman deeply contribute to the school's work around anti-racism and culturally responsive pedagogy; and that there are external barriers that both the teacher and the school face, that prevent them both from fully achieving culturally responsive teaching practices. At the core of the study, I seek to understand the possibilities and challenges of Montessori education from the perspective of BIPOC Montessori educators, and how we could learn from them to better support BIPOC students. I hope to begin a path toward more counter-stories in the Montessori community to specifically support BIPOC Montessori educators and understand the structural barriers they face to anti-racist teaching in Montessori programs in the United States.

Language: English

Published: College Park, Maryland, 2023

Abstract/Notes: Jonna Perrillo’s Educating the Enemy: Teaching Nazis and Mexicans in the Cold War Borderlands is a fascinating education history set in El Paso during the 1940s and 1950s. The arresting title juxtaposing “Nazis” with “Mexicans” goes to the heart of the study. Perrillo, a University of Texas at El Paso education historian, locates a small band of Nazi scientists taken into custody by the United States at the conclusion of World War II to work on scientific and military initiatives. Under “Operation Paperclip” these elite Nazi scientists and their families who came to the United States with a “sense of delusion and entitlement,” lived in El Paso for three years, contributing 144 children to the same schools that educated tens of thousands of Mexican American and Mexican immigrant children (p. 27). The central intellectual focus of Educating the Enemy explores the stark disparity in how these two groups of children were treated.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1093/whq/whad043

ISSN: 0043-3810

Abstract/Notes: In 1945, 179 scientists for the Nazi party were recruited to build a powerful weapon for the US Army in a program named Operation Paperclip. The scientists were relocated to Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, with their families. From this outpost, their children were bussed daily by military police to four El Paso public schools. Though born into a fascist enemy nation, the German children were quickly integrated into the schools and, by proxy, American society through help in the form of school placements and specially arranged English classes. Their rapid assimilation served an important political purpose for the military and the state, improving the public image of Operation Paperclip, and offering evidence that American public schools played a vital role in ensuring the victory of democracy over fascism. In Educating the Enemy, Jonna Perrillo not only tells this fascinating story of Cold War educational policy, she draws an important comparison to another population of children in the El Paso public schools who received dramatically different treatment: Mexican Americans. Like everywhere else in the Southwest, Mexican children in El Paso were segregated into "Mexican" schools, as opposed to the"American" schools the German students attended. In these "Mexican" schools, children were penalized for speaking Spanish, which,because of residential segregation, was the only language all but a few spoke. They also prepared students for menial jobs that would keep them ensconced in Mexican American enclaves. From these disparate experiences, Educating the Enemy charts what two groups of children-one that might have been considered the enemy, the other that was treated as such-reveal about the ways political assimilation has been treated by schools as an easier, more viable project than racial or ethnic assimilation. It also shows how deeply schools and beliefs about schools were connected to seemingly distinct political developments, including Cold War foreign policy and diplomacy, federal power over immigration, and a growing military industry. Bridging these histories, as well as the histories of race and childhood, Perrillo uncovers the central role schools played in defining "foreignness" in a postwar international order, the Cold War dissonances between international tolerance and domestic segregation, and the influence of both military and diplomatic initiatives on American public schools. Includes a section on Ilse Axster who was a supporter of the Montessori movement (among other things) in Germany prior to coming to America with her scientist husband, Herbert Axster.

Language: English

Published: Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press, 2022

ISBN: 978-0-226-81596-1 978-0-226-81597-8

Abstract/Notes: Language development in early childhood is crucial, particularly when it comes to literacy skills, which is why suitable teaching methods have to be employed during this stage. Unfortunately, current language instruction approaches in primary schools, especially for teaching English, are often criticized for being inadequate and lacking depth in addressing the interests and requirements of learners. In 1907, however, Dr. Montessori introduced a method recognized for its focus on pivotal developmental stages and personalized instruction tailored to meet the specific needs of each learner. The current study aims to investigate the extent to which the Montessori method is effective in teaching and learning early literacy skills related to CVC words as an alternative to traditional methods used in Algerian primary schools. To achieve this aim, a quantitative approach is adopted and a quasi-experimental research method is conducted in Polyglossia School ⎯El Hammamet⎯ and Excellence Academy ⎯Tebessa⎯ on two groups (experimental and control group) of 15 participants. Both groups underwent the same pretest and posttest about the target aspect related to literacy skills in question. It is assumed that the Montessori method would enhance the learner’s performance in literacy skills, no matter how old they are (3,4, or 5 years old) compared to the traditional method; and the findings proved this to be true as they indicate a significant development of literacy skills related to CVC words among the participants in the experimental group, with an effect size of 90%. This is attributed to the implementation of the Montessori method, using sensorial materials. Results attributed to the traditional method indicate a lesser improvement (40%). Based on a comprehensive analysis of the outcomes, it is recommended that the Montessori method be adopted totally or partially in language classes, as it has proven to be advantageous for teaching early literacy skills.

Language: English

Published: Tébessa, Algeria, 2023

Abstract/Notes: The study investigated the effectiveness of the Montessori way of teaching preschoolers in Akwa Ibom and Abia states in Nigeria. A correlational survey design was employed, and 200 preschoolers were selected using stratified sampling. A structured questionnaire called the Montessori Way of Teaching Preschoolers and Effective Learning Questionnaire (MTPELQ) was used for data collection. Face and content validation of the instrument was carried out by an expert in test, measurement, and evaluation. The reliability coefficient obtained was 0.83. The researcher subjected the data generated for this study to appropriate statistical techniques such as descriptive statistics and simple regression analysis. The test for significance was done at 0.05 alpha levels. The results showed that the Montessori method, particularly the "Prepared environment," had the highest percentage value among the different teaching approaches. Furthermore, there was a high extent of learning observed as a result of the Montessori way of teaching. The study also revealed a strong to perfect relationship between Montessori teaching and effective learning. The calculated F-value indicated a significant effect of Montessori teaching on learning. The study concluded that the Montessori approach is beneficial for all children, fostering their natural curiosity and respect for knowledge. One of the recommendations was that the integration of Montessori principles and methodologies into the preschool curriculum in Akwa Ibom and Abia states to enhance active engagement and comprehension of subjects.

Language: English

ISSN: 2630–7290

Abstract/Notes: The study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of role-play as a means of enhancing the social skills of preschool students in a Montessori setting. A total of 37 children between the ages of two and a half to six years who participated in a five week study. The interventions were conducted once a week for four weeks, during which children took turns participating in simulated scenarios that mirrored their everyday experiences. After the role-play presentation, assessments and group discussions were conducted to evaluate the children's comprehension. The research data was gathered before, during and after the interventions. The researcher used checklists and observation records to document the number and details of conflicts, as well as the children's behavior and conflict resolution skills. The study revealed a decrease in both the frequency of conflicts and the level of aggression, indicating the effectiveness of role-play in cultivating social skills in children. However, the study also indicated the need for further research and extended observation to support new and younger children in adapting to the environment and to keep track of how effectively children internalize and sustain the skills they have acquired.

Language: English

Published: St. Paul, Minnesota, 2023