Abstract/Notes: Described are 12 innovative PACE projects in San Mateo County, California, which were developed with Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title III funds. Among the projects are--a preschool center, an industrial arts program, an elementary school music program, and adult job training. Others are--an identification and intervention project for emotionally disturbed children and families, upward bound summer programs, an elementary school project using multimedia audiovisual materials, and an educational resources center. One project has established a Montessori preschool. There is also a program emphasizing computer assisted instruction and one to enhance student self-image.
Language: English
Published: Redwood City, California,
1968
Article
✓ Peer Reviewed
Fundamental Movement Skill Proficiency of Selected South African Montessorian Pre-Schoolers
Abstract/Notes: The Montessori philosophy and environment offers opportunities for free movement within the classroom. Physical development includes the acquisition of fundamental movement skills (FMS) which children acquire through different opportunities for movement. Previous research has shown that Montessorian pre-schoolers were more physically active during the school day compared to those attending traditional pre-schools. This led to questioning whether this noted increase in physical activity had any effect on the learning of FMS. The purpose of this study was to examine the proficiency of FMS of children aged 3–6 years in three private Montessori pre-schools. This purposive sample consisted of 105 Montessori 3–6 year olds in the Western Cape, South Africa. FMS were evaluated using the Test of Gross Motor Development Second Edition (TGMD-2). About 51.6% of the 3 year olds mastered run but scored in the poor category for five out of the six object control skills. The majority of 4 year olds (75.7%) reached mastery only in run. Most of the 5 year olds achieved mastery in run (69%) and slide (65.5%), and only 51.7% in kick. About 87.5% of the 6 year olds achieved mastery in run and slide, only half of them in leap, hop, kick and catch. No area of FMS were mastered by all the participants, but overall, the performance ranged from ‘average’ to ‘above average’. This shows potential for improvement in FMS proficiency. Therefore, children, even in a Montessori environment, require specific instruction to achieve proficiency of all FMS.
Abstract/Notes: In this study, we asked whether Montessori schools, which tend to have high student engagement, are associated with lower average rates of chronic absenteeism and/or smaller racial disparities therein relative to non-Montessori schools. We use multilevel modeling to answer this question, following an approach proposed in Author et al., (in press) for analyzing racial disparities in count outcomes. We identified a sample of Title 1 Montessori and non-Montessori schools using propensity score matching and data from the Civil Rights Data Collection. We did not observe significant differences in average overall rates of chronic absenteeism across school types, nor in average racial disparities in the rates of chronic absenteeism between Black and White or Hispanic and White students, though Montessori schools had slightly lower average rates for White students. We discuss shortcomings in the way chronic absenteeism data is collected, and how these shortcomings do not allow researchers to answer questions about why students are chronically absent, thereby limiting intervention work.
Publication: Frontiers in Education - Educational Psychology,
vol. 9
Date: 2024
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Abstract/Notes: This study explored the effects of peer interactions on kindergarten children’s construction of conservation and conflict resolution knowledge during storybook reading. Previous studies have identified that peer interactions can support the meaning-making processes of children in social relationships and problem-solving, but little is known about whether the interaction with mixed-age or more competent peers is more important in supporting knowledge construction. Sixty-four younger children in K2 and older children in K3 with similar socioeconomic backgrounds were recruited from a Montessori kindergarten in Kunming, China. An experimental design was applied to explore age group and conserver dominance effects on conservation and conflict resolution. Children were assigned randomly to eight groups in three 30-to-40-minute intervention sessions. Each session had a different theme for the children to learn about conservation and conflict resolution concepts and a hands-on activity to practice and discuss. ANOVAs were performed to test group effects, while multiple regression analyses were conducted to explore individual variations in age and pre-test scores in predicting post-test scores. Conservation knowledge was significantly better among children who differed in age groups in the post-test, but differences were not found in conflict resolution knowledge. Groups balanced with equal conservers and non-conservers improved the best, suggesting that peer social interactions can facilitate conservation and conflict resolution construction. These results provide new insights for early childhood educators to support peer interactions and children’s development. Implications, limitations, and future research are discussed.
