Abstract/Notes: The significance of this study was to observe the instructional effect of constructivist teaching methodologies on English language performance outcomes among grade four students at a private all-boys school in central Bangkok. The experiment comprised two classes of differing ability: Class One (n = 18) classified as above average; and, Class Two (n = 15) below average. Both groups were taught according to the traditional Thai syllabus in the first semester of the academic year of 2016/17, transitioning to a constructivist learning environment in the second semester. The results of formal academic assessments were analysed via t-tests (<0.05); and the findings revealed that, as a result of the constructivist program, a significant difference was observed in both classes in relation to speaking attainments. However, in terms of overall language performance, a significant difference was noted in Class One only.

Language: English

DOI: 10.7176/JCSD/46-07

ISSN: 2422-8400

Abstract/Notes: Although 3-year-old children sometimes simulate emotions to adapt to social norms, we do not know if even younger children can pretend emotions in playful contexts. The present study investigated (1) what emotions infants of 1–2 years old are capable of pretending and (2) the possible role of language and symbolic play in the ability to pretend emotions. The sample included 69 infants aged 18 to 31 months and their parents. Infants were administrated the Test of Pretend Play, and their parents responded to the MacArthur-Bates CDI-II inventory, part of the MacArthur-Bates CDI-I, and a questionnaire about the expression of pretend emotions. Results suggest that very young children simulate emotions. Furthermore, children's simulation of emotions was related to both symbolic play and language. Specifically, the ability to label emotions was linked to the ability to simulate them. The role of language and symbolic play in the development of the capacity to express and understand pretend emotions is discussed.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1111/infa.12414

ISSN: 1532-7078

Language: English

DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01291.x

ISSN: 0009-3920, 1467-8624

Abstract/Notes: In this paper we will present certain aspects of teaching Italian in the experimental language laboratory of the Montessori School of Milan. The laboratory consists of a series of meetings between teachers and researchers, featuring lessons conducted in class by researchers with the aim of creating a secret language together, and eventually its imaginary world. Furthermore, the teaching methodology will be set out in a consistent methodological and psychopedagogical framework as a support for learning Italian as a first and as well as second language. In particular, language productions will be analysed from a sociocultural perspective by considering secret languages as new cultural artefacts that help develop socio-relational competence, that is both self-regulating and metacognitive.

Language: Italian

ISSN: 2038-9744

Abstract/Notes: There is limited amount of research that constitutes non-traditional curricula implemented within an institutionalized context of developing countries. An attempt is made in this project to gain a clearer understanding of a non-traditional early learning program within an orphanage campus setting of Ladyville, Belize, Central America. This program is supported through the Belizean Ministry of Education and the University of Belize. 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 within developing countries one person in four is illiterate (Terryn, 2006). Liberty Learning Centre (LLC) of Ladyville, Belize implemented non-traditional theoretical curricula reflecting the social-constructivist theory to early learning. The methodologies include: Pikler, Montessori and components of the Reggio Emilia philosophy. The staff of LLC discovered creative, innovative and strategic ways to differentiate traditional academic learning through a diverse non-traditional learning environment. Procedures: Responses from the administration, caregivers, teachers, staff and students were interpreted and documented through various means of audio/DVD/video recordings, photography, interviews and journals. In addition I used detailed anecdotal field notes that became pieces to the methodology for the project. Findings: Responses, thoughts, ideas and viewpoints were given by the administration, teachers, students and staff regarding the implementation of non-traditional curricula within an institutionalized and non-traditional learning environment of a developing country. Implication: An institutionalized and international socio-cultural perspective will extend early childhood education further through a qualitative ethnographic study in Belize. This project gives voice to the silent and voiceless.

Language: English

ISSN: 1556-763X, 1938-9809

Language: English

ISSN: 2235-767X

Language: Polish

ISSN: 1896-2327, 2353-7787

Abstract/Notes: Il contributo intende sondare alcuni tratti della pedagogia e del metodo Montessori di interesse per ripensare gli attuali contesti educativi escolastici sempre più interdipendenti ed eterogenei (Zoletto, 2012). L’individualizzazione nell’apprendimento e la differenziazione sono tensioni costanti nel pensiero di Montessori e si concretizzano nel ruolo dell’ambiente preparato dall’adulto a misuradi ogni bambino, in cui sono organizzati materiali di sviluppo non condizionati daappartenenze culturali (PescieTrabalzini, 2007) e nella pluralità linguistica assunta quale tratto strutturale del contesto (Consalvo, 2020), come avviene in molte scuoledi metodo che stanno sperimentando progetti bilingui. È dall’ambiente secondo Montessori (2000) che i bambini prendono il linguaggio, le abitudini e le caratteristiche della comunità a cui partecipano e per questo gli ambienti scolastici e le atmosfere relazionali costruiti sulla base della unicità e differenza di ognuno sono interculturali (Pesci,2006). Il contributo propone le prime riflessioni scaturite dal lavoro di indagine sull’attualità interculturale di Montessori in prospettiva plurilingue, che èuno dei filoni di ricerca del PRIN (2017) Maria Montessori from the past to the present(Unitàdi ricerca: Bologna, Milano, Roma, Aosta). / This paper will explore some aspects of the Montessori method and pedagogy that are pertinent in rethinking today's increasingly interdependent and heterogeneous educational and school contexts (Zoletto, 2012). Personalized learning and differentiation are constant tensions in Montessori thinking, taking shape in the environment prepared by the adult specifically for each child, where the developmental materials offered are not conditioned by cultural affiliations (Pesci e Trabalzini, 2007) and linguistic plurality is a structural feature of the context (Consalvo, 2020), as occurs in many method schools that are experimenting with bilingual projects. According to Montessori (2000), children acquire language, habits and the characteristics of the community they are part of from the environment, and for this reason school environments and the relational atmospheres based on the uniqueness and differences of each individual are intercultural (Pesci, 2006). The paper offers some initial reflections starting from an investigation of Montessori's intercultural relevance in a multilingual perspective, one of the PRIN (2017) research areas Maria Montessori from the past to the present (Research Units: Bologna, Milan, Rome, Aosta).

Language: Italian

DOI: 10.6092/issn.2420-8175/13899

ISSN: 2420-8175

Abstract/Notes: The study investigated the effects of school environment and methods of teaching on language skills achievement of pre – primary school pupils in Edo State. It also investigated the interaction effects of Montessori and played methods and urban and rural environments on pupils' achievement in listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. Three urban and three rural areas which were selected from two Local Government Areas (LGAs) were used for the study. Six pre - primary schools were purposively selected for the study. A total of 228 kindergartens 2 pupils intact classes were used for the study which lasted for eight weeks. The study was a pretest, posttest, quasi- experimental control group design with independent variables as methods and school location while achievement in Language Skills Achievement Test (LSAT) was the dependent variable. Descriptive statistics and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) were used to analyze the data obtained while the Multiple Classification Analysis (MCA) was used as post-hoc test for further significance. Three research questions were answered with three hypotheses, tested at 0.05 level of significance. Results showed that the Montessori Method of teaching pre –primary pupils was more effective than the play method. Similarly, urban school pupils achieved higher than their rural counterparts. There was also a significant interaction effect of methods and school location on pupils' academic achievement in Language skills. It was therefore recommended that the Nigerian Government should adopt the Montessori Method as a dominant method of teaching pre – primary school pupils and that pre – primary school owners should provide materials adequately for teaching and learning.

Language: English

DOI: 10.31014/aior.1993.04.03.335

ISSN: 2621-5799, 2657-215X

Abstract/Notes: The IEA Preprimary Project is a longitudinal, cross-national study of preprimary care and education designed to identify how process and structural characteristics of the settings children attended at age 4 are related to their age-7 cognitive and language performance. Investigators collaborated to develop common instruments to measure family background, teachers’ characteristics, setting structural characteristics, experiences of children in settings, and children’s developmental status. Data from 10 countries are included in the analysis; in most countries, the sample of settings is representative of preprimary settings in that country. For the analysis, a 3-level hierarchical linear model was employed that allowed decomposition of variation of child outcomes into three parts—variation among children within settings, among settings within countries, and among countries. Four findings are consistent across all of the countries included. Age-7 language improves as teachers’ number of years of full-time schooling increases and the predominant type of activity teachers propose in settings is free choice rather than personal/social. Age-7 cognitive performance improves as children spend less time in whole group activities and the variety of equipment and materials available increases. There were also a number of findings that varied across countries depending on particular country characteristics. The findings support child-initiated activities and small group activities and are consistent with developmentally appropriate practices promoting active learning.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2006.07.007

ISSN: 0885-2006, 1873-7706