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

Language: English

ISSN: 0277-9064

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

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

Language: English

Published: Commerce, Texas, 1977

Abstract/Notes: The purpose of this dissertation will be to survey and analyze American writings on Maria Montessori and her educational system, in order to show how the idea of Montessori education has interacted with some changing American ideas and social forces. These changes in social and intellectual currents can be likened to a shift from centrifugal to centripetal force; or to the expansion and then the contraction of a universe. The central metaphor is the same. It is applicable to, and illustrative of, much about the changing social and educational scene in America. The writings on Montessori, examined against this framework, should provide a new view on certain changes in American educational thinking.

Language: English

Published: Kent, Ohio, 1973

Language: English

Published: Washington, D.C., 1958

Abstract/Notes: During the very early twentieth century, Dr. Maria Montessori produced a pedagogical approach that permitted the developmental delayed, socioeconomically disadvantaged, and the youngest of children to advance their cognition and adaptive skills to conventional standards. Her renowned "Montessori Method" was unleashed in 1906 in her home country of Italy and found its way to the shore of the United States soon after. This research will compare the implementation of the Montessori Method in two states, Rhode Island and New York. Both states invested time and money into the instructional ideals of Dr. Montessori in response to the advice of educators and, as is frequently overlooked in the scholarly literature, at the request of parents and community organizations. This study will focus on policy implementation: the how and the who, and on the overall growth and decline of Montessori programs, concentrating on the role parents played.

Language: English

Published: Chicago, Illinois, 2011

Language: English

ISSN: 0277-9064

Language: English

ISSN: 0277-9064