Language: English

ISSN: 0889-5643

Language: English

ISSN: 1354-1498

Abstract/Notes: While many BIPOC Montessori educators engage in anti-racist and culturally responsive teaching, Montessori education remains predominantly race-evasive. As a philosophy, it is rooted in colorblind perspectives in its focus on "all children" and lack of explicit centering of BIPOC students’ experiences. Teaching must account for race and racial lived realities in order to better support BIPOC students’ ways of knowing in culturally relevant and sustaining ways. This study seeks to center the voices of BIPOC Montessori educators and disrupt the pattern of Montessori research conducted without a critical racial lens. Framed by Critical Race Theory, this study focuses on the strengths, assets, and anti-racist teaching practices that one BIPOC educator brings to her classroom. I use critical ethnographic methods to better understand how a BIPOC Montessori teacher at a public charter Montessori school interprets and enacts the Montessori method to support BIPOC students. I consider how her racial identity informs her practices, and the structural barriers she faces at her school when enacting anti-racist and strength-based approaches. The guiding research questions of this study are: How does a Black Montessori teacher interpret the Montessori philosophy to more relevantly support her BIPOC students? How does she practice the Montessori method through culturally relevant and sustaining practices? What are the structural barriers that continue to challenge her as a Black educator doing her work? My analysis suggests that the teacher maintains her classroom space as a tangible and intangible cultural space that reflects and maintains her students' identities; that her own identity as a Black woman deeply contribute to the school's work around anti-racism and culturally responsive pedagogy; and that there are external barriers that both the teacher and the school face, that prevent them both from fully achieving culturally responsive teaching practices. At the core of the study, I seek to understand the possibilities and challenges of Montessori education from the perspective of BIPOC Montessori educators, and how we could learn from them to better support BIPOC students. I hope to begin a path toward more counter-stories in the Montessori community to specifically support BIPOC Montessori educators and understand the structural barriers they face to anti-racist teaching in Montessori programs in the United States.

Language: English

Published: College Park, Maryland, 2023

Abstract/Notes: The purpose of this qualitative thesis was to find out whether Montessori pedagogy based Montessori day care center Aurinkoleijona supports the self-management of the child, and what kind of experiences the parents of children have in the subject area. The thesis is a case study, and in the theoretical part it raises the documents guiding the early childhood education as well as the history of Finnish early childhood education, and the alternative pedagogics. Further, the thesis immerses Montessori pedagogy and the development of self-regulation and self-management of the child. At present, children's learning and learning difficulties are topical themes. Finland has been in the elite of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) for many years, but recently the results have weakened. Learning difficulties are influenced by many factors, but one factor that can be considered is the difficulties that are faced in self-management. In order for a child to have a good start in the development of self-management, attention should be paid to supporting it in early childhood education. With Finnish early childhood education being high quality, it provides a good foundation for the overall development of each child, including self-management. The thesis deals with the development of practical early childhood education in the Montessori day care center Aurinkoleijona by exploring potential development targets for supporting the child's self-management. The research questions are: "How does the Montessori pedagogy support the child’s self-management?" and "What kind of experiences do parents have with their child’s or children’s self-management?". Research methods were observation and a questionnaire for the parents of the child. Material was analyzed by utilizing content analysis. The results show that the operational environment of the Montessori day care center Aurinkoleijona has been created in a way that it supports the self-management of the child by many means. Versatile functions, calmness of the atmosphere, furniture that are in the child’s level, and the role of adults in the environment enable a good basis for supporting the self-management of the child. Parents’ experiences of day care center were positive. Children in the day care center are growing up to be independent, and self-directed future schoolchildren, who take others into consideration. / Tämän laadullisen opinnäytetyön tavoitteena oli selvittää, tukeeko montessoripedagogiikkaan pohjautuva Montessori-päiväkoti Aurinkoleijona lapsen oman toiminnan ohjausta sekä minkälaisia kokemuksia lasten vanhemmilla on tästä ohjauksesta. Opinnäytetyö on tapaustutkimus, jonka teoriaosiossa nostetaan esille varhaiskasvatusta ohjaavien asiakirjojen lisäksi suomalaisen varhaiskasvatuksen historiaa sekä vaihtoehto pedagogiikoita. Työssä syvennytään lisäksi tarkemmin Montessoripedagogiikkaan sekä lapsen itsesäätelyn ja oman toiminnan ohjauksen kehittymiseen. Tänä päivänä lasten oppiminen ja oppimisvaikeudet ovat ajankohtainen puheenaihe. Suomi on loistanut PISA-tutkimuksen kärjessä monia vuosia, mutta viime vuosina tulokset ovat heikentyneet. Oppimisvaikeuksien taustalla vaikuttavat monet tekijät, mutta yhtenä tekijänä voidaan pitää vaikeuksia oman toiminnan ohjauksessa. Jotta lapsi saa hyvän alun oman toiminnan ohjauksen kehittymiseen, on varhaiskasvatuksessa kiinnitettävä huomiota sen tukemiseen. Suomalaisen varhaiskasvatuksen ollessa laadukasta, se mahdollistaa hyvän pohjan jokaisen lapsen kokonaisvaltaiselle kehitykselle, sisältäen myös oman toiminnan ohjauksen. Opinnäytetyö kiinnittyy käytännön varhaiskasvatustyön kehittämiseen Montessori-päiväkoti Aurinkoleijonassa tutkimalla mahdollisia kehittämiskohteita lapsen oman toiminnan ohjauksen tukemisen osalta. Tutkimuskysymykset ovat: ”Millä tavoin Montessori-pedagogiikka tukee lapsen oman toiminnan ohjausta?” sekä ”Minkälaisia kokemuksia vanhemmilla on lapsensa/lastensa oman toiminnan ohjauksesta?”. Tutkimusaineiston keruumenetelminä käytettiin havainnointia ja lapsen vanhemmille suunnattua kyselylomaketta. Aineisto analysointiin sisällönanalyysia hyödyntämällä. Tutkimustulokset osoittavat, että Montessori-päiväkoti Aurinkoleijonan toimintaympäristö on luotu niin, että se tukee lapsen oman toiminnan ohjausta monin keinoin. Monipuoliset toiminnot, ilmapiirin rauhallisuus, kalusteiden lapsentasoisuus ja aikuisten rooli ympäristössä mahdollistavat hyvän pohjan lapsen oman toiminnan ohjauksen tukemiselle. Lasten vanhempien kokemukset päiväkodista olivat positiivisia. Lapsista kasvaa päiväkodissa itsenäisiä, omaohjautuvia ja toiset huomioon ottavia tulevia koululaisia.

Language: Finnish

Published: Turku, Finland, 2017

Abstract/Notes: The purpose of this Bachelor's thesis is to find out children's satisfaction with day care in montessori kindergarten Aurinkoleijona. This study is part of Verkonkutoja-project conducted at Turku University of Applied Sciences. The objective of this research is to create a patern to collect and process customers' feedback. It focuses on five to six years old children in Aurinkoleijona Salo Unit. ”Quality Game” adapted to the children's needs and abilities was used to collect the data. It contained 24 questions considering six themes related to day care: empathy, educational work, circumstances, reliability, responsiveness and assurance. The total of 11 children played the ”Quality Game for Children”: the test group of 3 children in Halikko Unit and 8 children in Salo Unit. The theoretical frame of reference for this thesis was defined in accordance with the quality of day care. It consisted of the facts collected from different sources. The quality of day care is comprised of the experiences of both clients – children and parents – and day care - workers. The quality of day care can be called intersubjective. According to the results, most of the children are satisfied with day care in montessori kindergarten Aurinkoleijona according to the results. Children are especially satisfied with the staff of Aurinkoleijona and its action. All the corresponders can depend on day care adults. Some of the children think that the adults do not have enough time for them. They also give criticism of the day care assignments. The present time and events has an influence on children's satisfaction. There are occasional events in the background of dissatisfaction. Concentration on the game and other children's opinions have an influence on the results. The results show that children are fond of day care theme days, but there is room for improvement. The results of the thesis and the ”Quality Game for Children” will be used in Verkonkutoja-project during next year. / Opinnäytetyöni tarkoituksena oli selvittää lasten tyytyväisyyttä päivähoitoon montessori-päiväkoti Aurinkoleijonassa. Työni on osa Turun ammattikorkeakoulun Verkonkutoja -hanketta, jossa kehitetään asiakaspalautteen keruu- ja käsittelymallia kunnille ja yrityksille. Kohderyhmänä oli Salon yksikön 5 – 6 -vuotiaat lapset. Aineistonkeruumenetelmänä käytin Stakesin Laatupeliä, josta olin muokannut lapsille oman version. Lasten laatupelissä lapsille esitettiin 24 kysymystä liittyen päivähoidon eri osa-alueisiin: empatia, kasvatustyö, olosuhteet, luotettavuus, vastaavuus ja varmuus. Lasten laatupeliä pelasi yhteensä 11 lasta: testipelissä 3 lasta Halikossa ja varsinaisessa pelissä 8 Salossa. Teoreettinen viitekehys työssäni oli päivähoidon laadun määrittely. Se koostui eri lähteistä keräämästäni tiedosta. Päivähoidon laatu muodostuu niin asiakkaiden – lasten ja vanhempien – kuin päivähoidon työntekijöidenkin kokemuksista. Päivähoidon laatua voidaankin kuvailla intersubjektiiviseksi. Tulosten mukaan suurin osa lapsista on tyytyväisiä päivähoitoon montessori-päiväkoti Aurinkoleijonassa. Erityisen tyytyväisiä lapset ovat henkilökuntaan ja sen toimintaan. Kaikki vastanneista kertoo luottavansa päiväkodin aikuisiin. Kritiikkiä herättää aikuisten ajankäyttö ja päiväkodin tehtävien tekeminen. Lasten tyytyväisyyteen vaikuttaa juuri käsillä oleva hetki. Varsinkin tyytymättömyyden taustalla on yksittäiset tapahtumat. Lisäksi peliin keskittyminen ja muiden lasten mielipiteet vaikuttavat tuloksiin. Tuloksista ilmenee, että lapset pitävät päiväkodin teemapäivistä, mutta niissä on kehittettävää. Opinnäytetyöni tuloksia ja Lasten laatupeliä käytetään Verkonkutoja-hankkeessa ensi vuoden aikana.

Language: Finnish

Published: Tampere, Finland, 2009

Language: English

ISSN: 0010-700X

Language: English

ISSN: 1470-8647

Language: English

Published: New York, New York: A. A. Knopf, 1930

Language: English

Abstract/Notes: This article examines the role played by the conferences of the New Education Fellowship (NEF) in the emerging disciplinary field of the sciences of education between the two world wars. As Fuchs points out in an article in the present issue, the field of education at this time was being internationalized, and, being an international movement, the field impacted on by the NEF was international in scope.1 As will be seen, the ideas and practices of the new education were mediated by national cultural differences and thus their impact on the disciplinary field varied from nation to nation.2 In addition, the development of the field in terms of journals, conferences and its institutionalization within nations was uneven, which presents further difficulties when trying to evaluate the impact of the NEF's conferences. Much of the following discussion focuses on their impact on the disciplinary field in England though, as will be seen, not exclusively so. One of the distinguishing features of the NEF other than its international scope was that it was a movement that connected lay enthusiasts for the educational reforms associated with the new education with major figures in the developing disciplines of psychology and education, such as Carl Gustav Jung, Jean Piaget and John Dewey. The relation between these lay and professional constituencies is examined and conclusions drawn regarding the professionalizing process in the field and the impact of the conferences on educational research and its institutionalization.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1080/0030923042000293742

ISSN: 0030-9230, 1477-674X