Abstract/Notes: This research aims to investigate the effect of Montessori method on social competence and behaviors of 3.5–5 years-old-children on their emotion regulation skills. Sequential Explanatory Design, one of the mixed method designs, was used in the study. The study group of the research consisted of 55 children attending two independent preschools in Eskişehir. Personal Information Form, Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation Inventory-Teacher and Parent Forms, Emotion Regulation Checklist and Parent Interview Forms for the Evaluation of Montessori Method have been used to collect the data. Friedman test used for data analysis. Post-hoc analysis with Wilcoxon signed-rank test and MannWhitney U were conducted to reveal the source of differentiation between the scores. It was determined that significant differences between Social Competence – Behavior and Emotion Regulation Skills sub-scale pretest and posttest mean scores of children in the study group. There are significant differences between the posttest scores of study and control groups.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1080/03004430.2017.1392943

ISSN: 0300-4430, 1476-8275

Abstract/Notes: The relationship between time in Montessori and Traditional Preschool programs and the preschool child's develoment of [1] personal skills, [2] relationship with teachers, [3] peer relations, [4] behavioral control, and [5] cognitive skills with age controlled was used to compare the relative effectiveness of the programs. This design was necessary since it is likely that parents who select the Montessori program for their child are different from parents selecting traditional preschool programs for their children. Three Montessori programs [n = 108] and three traditional programs [n = 116] provided the subjects for the study. The Pre Kindergarten Scale [PKS], a multiple choice behavioral rating scale was completed by the programs’ teachers on each child. The results revealed that the only variable significant in predicting time in program for the traditional program, relationship with teacher, was the only variable insignificant in predicting length of time in program for the Montessori program. The strongest relationship was for length of time in the Montessori program and relationship with peers [18 percent of variance] with age controlled.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1080/0300443910720111

ISSN: 0300-4430, 1476-8275

Abstract/Notes: The aim of this study is to examine the relationships between the visual perception and drawing skills of children in the Montessori preschools. In this regard relational secreening model was used. The study group was composed of 83 children in Montessori preschools located in Ankara province. The data of research was collected by using the Bender Gestalt Visual motor Perception Test developed by Bender (1983) and Goodenough-Harris Draw-aPerson Test developed by Goodenough and revised by Harris (1963). It was detected that as the visual perceptions of children increased, the drawing skills also increased. / Montessori eğitim kurumlarındaki okul öncesi dönem çocuklarının görsel algı ve çizim becerileri arasındaki ilişkinin incelenmesi amaçlayan bu çalışmada ilişkisel tarama modeli kullanılmıştır. Çalışma grubunu Ankara’da bulunan Montessori eğitim kurumlarına devam eden 83 okul öncesi dönem çocuğu oluşturmaktadır. Çalışmada araştırmacılar tarafından geliştirilen ve çocukların sosyo-demografik bilgilerini sorgulayan bilgi formu, Bender (1938) tarafından geliştirilen ve Türkçe’ye uyarlaması Yalın (1980) ve Somer (1988) tarafından yapılan “Bender-Gestalt Görsel Algı Testi” ve Goodenough (1926) tarafından geliştirilip Harris (1963) tarafından yeniden düzenlenen “Goodenough-Harris Adam Çizme Testi” kullanılmıştır. Araştırma sonucunda çocukların görsel algı ve çizim becerileri arasında pozitif yönlü düşük düzeyde anlamlı bir ilişinin var olduğu görülmüştür.

Language: Turkish

ISSN: 2147-9844

Language: English

Abstract/Notes: It is essential to interpret information, determine its veracity, and assess its significance in today's society. Children need not acquire more information to be successful in the modern world; instead, they must develop higher-order thinking skills (HOTS). This study aims to establish whether or not children with a Montessori background have higher levels of HOTS than students with a non-Montessori background. The study analyzes data from a competency-based test in English, mathematics and science conducted for 78 fourth-grade students. It was discovered that the Montessori-educated children performed better in English and Science. Yet the difference in mathematics, where Montessori students scored higher, did not achieve much statistical significance.

Language: English

DOI: 10.37118/ijdr.26209.01.2023

ISSN: 2230-9926

Abstract/Notes: This research was conducted to determine whether there is any effect of the Montessori approach-based STEM activities on the development of the problem-solving skills of pre-service preschool teachers or not. The mixed-method was employed in the research. The sample of the research consisted of 50 pre-service teachers, who were taking education in the Preschool Teacher Training Department of the Faculty of Education. A single grouped pretest-posttest pattern was created to determine the difference in the problem-solving skills of the pre-service teachers in the research. The quantitative data gathered during the process of the research were analysed with the statistical methods; the qualitative data were analysed with the content analysis. The “Problem Solving Scale” and the “Semi-structured Protocol Form” were used to collect the quantitative data in the research. Qualitative data prepared to support quantitative data consists of the open-ended semi-structured protocol form. The participants were educated with the Montessori approach-based STEM education for 14 weeks. In the results reached as a result of the research, it was observed that there was a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test scores of problem-solving skills and the qualitative analysis results supported the quantitative results.

Language: English

DOI: 10.30831/akukeg.824773

ISSN: 1308-1659

Abstract/Notes: Students who develop and apply their self-directed learning skills have advantages in school over those who do not (Betts & Knapp, 1981; Candy, 1991; Guglielmino, 1977; Schunk & Zimmerman, 2012). This is because self-directed learning (SDL) skills enable autonomous learning where students self-initiate, solve problems, develop new ideas, and monitor themselves with minimal external guidance (Knowles, 1976; Zimmerman, 2000). Despite the importance of these skills, research shows that few students consistently engage in SDL (Dent & Koenka, 2016; Zimmerman & Schunk, 2001). Because of SDL's multi-faceted and complex nature, it is difficult to discern why this is the case (Dent & Koenka, 2016; Zimmerman & Schunk, 2001). Multiple dynamic, interacting factors, including maturation, environmental supports, and historical events, likely contribute to students’ SDL development (Hoyle & Dent, 2017). As such, recent literature suggests that a relational dynamic systems (RDS) approach can help elucidate the dynamic, context-dependent patterns by which SDL skills unfold (Hoyle & Dent, 2017). According to RDS theories, development occurs within multi-level, interacting, relational systems; therefore, the bi-directional relationship between the person and their environment should be the unit of analysis (Lerner et al., 2011). This study aimed to provide a systematic investigation of the development of SDL skills, accounting for important contextual and developmental influences as well as individual pathways. Adolescence appears to be an optimal time for students to gain SDL skills (Brown, 1978; Brown et al., 1983); hence, this study focused on that developmental period. Also, because the Montessori educational approach is conducive to SDL skill development (Lillard, 2017; Rathunde, 2009, 2014), it was used as the school backdrop for this study. Furthermore, during data collection, a global pandemic caused by COVID-19 impacted school environments and was also included as a developmental context in this study. Specifically, this study utilized a longitudinal convergent mixed methods design to (1) identify patterns of SDL skill development across adolescence, (2) illustrate the reasons for those changes, and (3) illuminate the indirect effect of COVID-19 on students’ SDL. Emergent themes from student interviews conducted over four years augmented growth curve analysis results from an accelerated longitudinal design utilizing student surveys to address the research questions. Descriptive, correlational, multi-level model (MLM), and repeated-measures ANOVA analyses of student survey responses across four years (4 waves) of data collection with students grades 7 through 12 (n = 284) were applied to address the quantitative research questions. Emergent themes, derived through thematic analysis of 29 interviews, or 11 cases of students with a range of SDL skills (average, above average, and below average), addressed the qualitative research questions. Finally, quantitative results and qualitative findings were combined and compared to investigate convergence, divergence, and expansion areas that addressed integrative research questions. Findings shed important light on the development of adolescent students’ SDL skills across adolescence. Quantitative results and qualitative analyses were combined to address the research question: Do adolescent students’ SDL skills increase, decrease, or remain stable throughout middle school and high school? Findings resulted in areas of convergence and divergence across methods. Despite some diverging quantitative results, namely a non-significant growth model, other quantitative results, a non-significant no-growth model and descriptive plots, converged with qualitative findings from student interviews to suggest that within and between students, SDL skill development can include a combination of growth, decline, or stability over time. Findings from this study also suggest that each SDL skill can develop on its own timetable. Also, findings suggest a developmental pattern whereby SDL skills vary more in middle school than in high school. These findings have begun to disentangle contradictory results of earlier SDL research (e.g., Heater, 2005; Pajares & Valiante, 2002; Reio & Ward, 2005). From a practice perspective, the findings imply that it may benefit students to have tailored interventions that meet them where they are developmentally, considering each SDL skill individually and all together. The second integrative research question that was addressed in this study was: What roles do factors like grade level and the Montessori learning environment play in SDL development? Quantitative results and qualitative findings converged to suggest that students' SDL skills develop, at least in part, as a factor of the length of time a student has been immersed in the Montessori program. The findings also show that a student’s maturation may play a role in SDL skill development, especially when environmental contexts are supportive. In addition, qualitative interviews with students identified features of the Montessori program, such as open work time, scaffolded opportunities to be self-directed, autonomy support, and supportive teachers that aided students in their SDL development, which also aligns with the literature (Zumbrunn et al., 2011). This finding strengthens prior research, which found cursory evidence for how Montessori schools support the development of SDL skills (Ervin et al., 2010). In addition, quantitative results and qualitative findings diverged for the third overarching research question: Have changes in the learning environment associated with COVID-19 shaped the development of students’ SDL skills? If so, how? Although the quantitative results from this study failed to detect any indirect effects of the impact of COVID-19 on students’ SDL, qualitative findings found that changes in their learning environment as a result of COVID-19 impacted students’ SDL both negatively and positively. Research has also found that the global pandemic drastically impacted the school environment, so it is most likely that the quantitative measure failed to detect an effect (Huck & Zhang, 2021; Tarkar, 2020). Furthermore, in the interviews, most students reported a combination of negative experiences (e.g., more distractions at home, lowered motivation, fewer social interactions, higher stress, and missing in-school learning) as well as positive experiences (e.g., increased time management, access to resources, multi-tasking, organization, ability to shut out distractions, and time to sleep) that impacted their SDL abilities. Qualitative findings from this study extend prior research by providing student accounts of their experiences, including silver linings (Wilson et al., 2020). Despite its limitations, this study revealed important exploratory findings about how students’ SDL skills can develop across adolescence. Areas of convergence across qualitative and quantitative methodologies underscore the reliability of the study findings. There were also unique quantitative and qualitative findings that extend prior research and provide important implications for future research and practice.

Language: English

Published: Claremont, California, 2023

Language: English

ISSN: 0888-0352

Language: English

ISSN: 1071-6246

Language: English

ISSN: 1071-6246