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Master's Thesis (Action Research Report)
You Don’t Need to Speak to be Heard: The Effects of Using American Sign Language with Hearing Lower Elementary Montessori Children
Available from: St. Catherine University
Action research, American Sign Language (ASL), Language acquisition, Lower elementary, Montessori method of education
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Abstract/Notes: Our research introduced the use of ASL signs with hearing elementary children and examined if this intervention affected the noise level produced in the classroom. The project was performed in two Montessori lower elementary classrooms (1st-3rd grade); one at a Maine private Montessori school, with 28 hearing children, and one at a Wisconsin public Montessori school, with 34 hearing children. In Wisconsin the researcher was a teacher in the classroom, in Maine the researcher was not. Data was measured using four tools: a decibel measuring app, observation form, tally sheet, and a structured discussion. In both classrooms, the change in noise level was minimal, decreasing by 2% overall. Qualitative results, however, indicate the project was worthwhile. The children responded positively to instructions given using ASL and their enthusiasm of learning signs justified the intervention. The intervention granted the children opportunities to discuss exceptionalities. We recognized the importance in such conversations and encouraged this dialogue.
Language: English
Published: St. Paul, Minnesota, 2019
Doctoral Dissertation (Ph.D.)
Emergent Voices from an Orphanage School in Belize, Central America
Available from: ProQuest - Dissertations and Theses
Americas, Belize, Central America, Early childhood education
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Abstract/Notes: An attempt is made in this study to gain a better understanding of a non-traditional early learning program in an orphanage school setting, located in Ladyville, Belize, Central America. The teaching staff of Liberty Children‘s Home (LCH) and Learning Centre (LLC) discovered innovative and strategic ways to differentiate traditional academic ways of early learning. The teaching approaches emulate a theoretical social-constructivist theory, implementing methodologies from Pikler, Montessori and Reggio Emilia. In 1996, a comprehensive literacy survey was conducted in Belize that indicated the functional literacy rate to be approximately 40 percent (Cornerstone, 2007). In addition, it is estimated one person in four in developing countries are illiterate (Terryn, 2006). This research site was approved and supported through Liberty Foundation, Ltd., charity of London, England and the Research Ethics Board (REB) from the University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada. This 17-week qualitative grounded theory (Glaser, 1997) study was conducted on site at LCH and LLC. Responses from the students and staff were documented and interpreted utilizing various anecdotal and observation field notes, journals, interviews, audio/DVD/video recordings and photography. The students and staff responded to the Belizean ways of implementing early learning curricula in the natural learning environment. The grounded theory study offers a rich description of cultural responses that extend early childhood education further from an institutionalized and international point of view.
Language: English
Published: Windsor, Ontario, Canada, 2010
Doctoral Dissertation
Where Have All the Children Gone? A Case Study of Three American Preschools
Available from: ProQuest - Dissertations and Theses
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Abstract/Notes: In sociological investigation, Weber (1968) believes that concrete historical events can be interpreted in terms of social action. These patterns of action differ from historical accounts, which explore the importance of causal explanation of individual events. Entwistle and Alexander (1993) contend that sociologists of education have paid little attention to patterns of class interaction and inequality in preschools. Adding to Hartley's (1993) work on nursery schools in Scotland, and using an organizational model with a sociohistorical standpoint, this ethnographic case study helps to bridge that gap by concentrating on the historical and ecological contexts of (1) a Laboratory school; (2) a Montessori school; and, (3) a Head Start center. The central problem of the study seeks an answer to the question "If inequalities in preschools exist, what do they look like?" This study assumes that historically educational systems have exerted a form of social control over children in order to transmit cultural values. Part I of the study examines ancient and modern societies, their cultures and their philosophical grounding to reveal the values and trends that contribute to social change in the early education of children. Part II adds a triangulation strategy to explore the ecology (environment and culture) of the three schools in the study. These strategies include archival content analysis of the preschool organizations, nonparticipant observation of the classrooms (Bell, 1993), intensive interviewing of the staff and administration members and a brief survey of the preschool parents. This study draws from the sociology of Weber's "ideal bureaucracy," Berger's "bureaucratic cognitive style," Elias' "civilizing process," Bernstein's "visible and invisible" pedagogy, Bourdieu's "cultural capital" and Anyon's "biased ideological messages." In this exploratory study, the data analysis uses a descriptive methodology, not to draw conclusions, but similar to Glaser and Strauss' "grounded theory" to introduce questions to be explored further by researchers. A final section on policy recommendations is included.
Language: English
Published: Boston, Massachusetts, 2000
Doctoral Dissertation
Innovation Diffusion as Manifested in Two Eras of Montessori Education in America
Available from: ProQuest - Dissertations and Theses
Americas, Montessori method of education, Montessori movement, North America, United States of America
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Language: English
Published: Commerce, Texas, 1977
Article
Maria Montessori e l'educazione della prima infanzia in America
Publication: Vita dell'Infanzia (Opera Nazionale Montessori), vol. 46, no. 6
Date: 1997
Pages: 59-67
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Language: Italian
ISSN: 0042-7241
Article
L'interesse all'educazione religiosa in America
Publication: Vita dell'Infanzia (Opera Nazionale Montessori), vol. 32, no. 4
Date: 1983
Pages: 7-8
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Language: Italian
ISSN: 0042-7241
Article
Presenza di Maria Montessori negli Stati Uniti d'America
Publication: I Problemi della Pedagogia (Istituto di Pedagogia dell' Università di Roma), vol. 18, no. 2-3
Date: 1972
Pages: 289-313
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Language: Italian
ISSN: 0032-9347
Book Section
The Montessori Movement in America [Chapter 15]
Available from: HathiTrust
Book Title: Report of the Commissioner of Education for the Year Ended June 30, 1914
Pages: 355-362
Americas, North America, United States of America
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Language: English
Published: Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1915
Volume: 1 of 2
Article
[Report on June, 1994, American Montessori Society National Seminar]
Publication: El Boletin [Comité Hispano Montessori], no. 18
Date: Aug 15 1984
Pages: 1
American Montessori Society (AMS), Comité Hispano Montessori - History, Comité Hispano Montessori - Periodicals, Conferences
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Language: English
Article
AMI Training Courses in the United States of America [listing]
Publication: AMI/USA News, vol. 17, no. 2
Date: May 2004
Pages: 16
Americas, Montessori training courses, North America, Trainings, United States of America
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Language: English