Language: English

ISSN: 1054-0040

Language: English

ISSN: 1071-6246

Language: German

Published: Aachen, Germany: Montessori-Vereinigung, 2001

Series: Kosmische Erziehung in der Montessori-Pädagogik , 1

Language: German

Published: Münster, Germany: Lit, 2009

ISBN: 978-3-643-10387-1 3-643-10387-5

Series: Impulse der Reformpädagogik , 26

Abstract/Notes: Creative thinking is critical to overcome many daily life situations. As such, there has been a growing interest on how creative thinking develops during childhood. However, little is known about the underlying mechanisms driving its development. Indeed, almost all research has focused on divergent thinking, leaving aside convergent thinking, and did not thoroughly investigate how internal and/or external factors influence their development. Here, 222 children aged from 4 to 12 years old attending either a Montessori or a traditional school performed drawing-based convergent and divergent standardized tasks. In addition, a subset of 41 children were tested using similar tasks for a second session 3 years apart. The results revealed dynamic developmental stages of convergent and divergent thinking. More specifically, a loss of divergent thinking was counterbalanced by a gain of convergent thinking, especially during the fourth-grade slump (8–10 years old). Although Montessori-schooled children showed overall higher creative abilities than traditionally schooled children, no differences were observed in the developmental trajectories of convergent and divergent thinking between the two pedagogies. This suggests that progress and decrease in creative thinking may be mostly due to internal factors such as brain maturation factors than external factors such as peer pressure.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1002/jocb.569

ISSN: 2162-6057

Abstract/Notes: Children in a Montessori preschool were administered a series of tests at the beginning of the school year and retested on the same battery 8 mo. later, at the end of the school year. The children exhibited a mean gain of about 11 points on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test IQ. They also exhibited a decline in Impuisivity and an increase in Superego scores, on the average, as measured by the Arrow-Dot Test. These longitudinal results corroborate an earlier cross-sectional analysis; and, as these results follow a prediction from Freudian theory, give indication of construct validity for the test.

Language: English

DOI: 10.2466/pms.1970.30.1.269

ISSN: 1558-688X, 0031-5125

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

DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-873X.2005.00343.x

ISSN: 0362-6784, 1467-873X

Abstract/Notes: Conceptualisations and constructs of children and childhood are temporally and contextually grounded. Historical documents are rich sources of insight and understanding regarding how children were understood, valued and treated at various times by particular societies. This article explores the conceptualisation of children and childhood in the 26-county Irish Free State (South) and the 6-county Northern Ireland (North) in the 1920s following the partition of Ireland, through the lens of educational documentation, primarily national primary school curricula. The focus on both jurisdictions is interesting in the context of partition, exploring the sometimes divergent and often convergent ways in which children were conceptualised across borders and boundaries. This article reveals, using Sorin and Galloway’s framework as a conceptual and analytical tool, that conceptualisations of children were broadly similar in the North and South but differed in their focus and enactment in both fledgling states. These disparities are largely attributable to the very different political, social and religious orientations of both jurisdictions and the use of education as a vehicle for nation-building, as well as identity and gender formation. The article also explores alternative conceptualisations of children in education policy in the North and South by presenting case study ‘outliers’ of educational provision. A century since partition, conclusions and implications are noted that resonate with contemporary elements of convergence and divergence on educational policy and the conceptualisation of children across the island of Ireland.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1002/berj.3708

ISSN: 0141-1926, 1469-3518

Language: English

ISSN: 1071-6246