Abstract/Notes: This study describes and evalutes the first year of a bilingual Montessori early childhood program implemented at two sites in central Texas. In-depth descriptions are provided of two program components--oral language development and classroom management. Hypotheses related to changes in students' language proficiency and classroom behavior were tested, using the James Language Dominance Test to measure comprehension and production of Spanish and English, and the Coping Analysis Schedule for Educational Settings to assess changes in students' behavior. The description of the oral language development component of the program includes instructional activities for vocabulary enrichment, isolating the sounds of language, and clarifying the functions of words. Adaptations of the Montessori method for implementation in a bilingual setting are presented, along with the discussion of two unexpected findings--the inhibition of the use of Spanish by many Mexican American children, and the association of one language or the other with a particular set of materials. The description of the classroom management component of the program includes the preparation of the environment, observation and record-keeping practices, the basic techniques for presenting materials, and "grace and courtesy lessons." Maria Montessori's views on the nature of education, the role of the teacher, and the concept of discipline and behavior change are discussed and compared to more modern theorists. The results of the formative evaluation reveal that children made significant improvements in English and Spanish comprehension and production. Behavior changes observed included positive shifts in percentage of time spent in self-directed activity, in paying attention to the task at hand, and in positive social interaction. The results of the study are basically descriptive, since only the children in this program were tested and observed. The results indicate that the program goals for the first year were met, and point to a number of possible changes for program improvement, including the use of more Spanish, the recruitment of more Spanish-dominant students, the development of separate sets of materials for Spanish and English instruction, and the sharing by teachers of their particular classroom management strategies.

Language: English

Published: Austin, Texas, 1980

Language: English

Published: Nashville, Tennessee, 1976

Language: English

Published: Lawrence, Kansas, 1973

Abstract/Notes: Funding for Preschool programs has currently become a political agenda being debated in our nation. It is important to give our children an early start to education regardless of socioeconomic status, as it can be beneficial to them as they grow. This study will provide evidence to sway our politicians to fund preschool programs as they positively affect children in their kindergarten year. Historical Teaching Strategies Gold assessment data of 84 randomly selected kindergarten students will provide evidence of the effects of a preschool program. This data was collected from a year in kindergarten and consists of students that have attended a preschool in-district program, students who have attended a Head Start and outsider provider preschool program, and students who have no preschool education. Although this study did not have a significant difference among the groups, the researcher found that students who have attended an in-district preschool program made better positive gains throughout their kindergarten year than students who attended a Head Start and outside provider preschool program and those students who did not have a preschool education.

Language: English

Published: Jersey City, New Jersey, 2022

Abstract/Notes: Montessori education is known as peace education. Normalization is one of the most significant concepts within Montessori education and which herself identifies as the “most important result.” The purpose of this study is to find out when and how precisely this Montessori theory of Normalization occurs in deviated children between zero and six years old; to precisely identify the timing, steps, and circumstances of Normalization, and secondly to examine the possibility of the normalized state of children to lead to peace in society. A total of 48 online survey responses were received from around the world. Twenty-one of the participants completed the open-response sections of the survey, and the analysis was primarily conducted based on these total responses. Results from teachers showed that Normalization begins with children’s spontaneous choice of work and comes with a solid and certain length of concentration. After they finished the work, peacefulness appeared in each child. The children experience this Normalization repeatedly and it manifests either as permanently or semi-permanent. This study centers on Normalization as a potential powerful tool for social change since this state is directly linked to concomitant individual and community peacefulness which can certainly spill beyond the classroom walls into general society. Furthermore, this study identifies the importance of analyzing the permanence of the state of Normalization since knowing the conditions for and causes of this permanence is key to both replication in experiments and its potential as an effective means for long lasting social change.

Language: English

Published: River Falls, Wisconsin, 2022

Abstract/Notes: The purpose of the study was to investigate and compare teachers’ and parents’ beliefs about children’s self-care behaviors considering child (age, gender, having sibling), parent (socioeconomic status) and teacher-related (teaching experience) characteristics and to investigate and compare the beliefs about the self-care implementations. Explanatory mixed-methods design was used. The data was gathered from 208 early-childhood educators in nine central districts of Ankara and 531 parents whose children were educated in these teachers' classrooms. Quantitative data were collected with the “The Beliefs on Young Children’s Self Care Behaviors Survey” and “demographic information form”. Then, semi-structured interviews were done with 10 preschool teachers and 11 parents on a voluntary basis. According to results of the study, teachers believed the development of self-care behaviors as children grow, despite no dramatic changes in their observations according to age. The parents also had similar beliefs, and their observations about the certain behaviors changed. Considering children’s gender, the participants believed girls having better self-care skills, despite no dramatic differences in their observations. Considering the “having sibling”, parents’ observations differed in certain behaviors unlike teachers’ observations. Participants believed positive impact of having sibling on self-care. Moreover, as considering SES, teachers’ observations did not change according to SES unlike parents’ observations. Participants had different beliefs about the effect of SES on self-care. Besides, according to teaching experience, the observation of “self-protection from accidents” behaviors increased systematically. Additionally, some problems were encountered in self-care implementations. The participants’ belief about the factors negatively effecting the implementations were similar.

Language: English

Published: Ankara, Turkey, 2022

Abstract/Notes: Virtual preschool seems to contradict the Montessori Method, a hands-on, sensorial-based early childhood curriculum. However, many virtual Montessori schools, borne out of the temporary need for isolation due to the Covid-19 pandemic, seek to continue this new implementation of Montessori education permanently. This qualitative study examined how eight preschool teachers in one US-based virtual Montessori program described how they made sense of implementing the Montessori curriculum in an online setting, how they understood the academic and social experiences of their preschool students, and what advantages and disadvantages they perceived for children in the enactment of Montessori education in the virtual format. Using a thematic analysis, this study found that teachers described many adaptations to Montessori education in the virtual format, including to the materials and to the class structure. They felt that their offerings generally met the academic and social needs of their students, while staying as true to the Montessori Method as possible. Teachers found various advantages in the enactment of virtual Montessori school, including the potential to reach children and families who would otherwise not have access to Montessori education in their local communities. Teachers also found various disadvantages, including the uncertainty of the future of the program, and the interference of the screen in a child’s path towards deep concentration, and did not feel that virtual Montessori preschool was an adequate stand-alone replacement for in-person Montessori preschool. Further research is needed on the effectiveness of other virtual Montessori preschools, on the experiences of children completing a full three-year cycle in the virtual Montessori Children’s House program, and on the academic and social readiness of children emerging from virtual Montessori preschool programs for both in-person Montessori and traditional elementary school.

Language: English

Published: Linköping, Sweden, 2022

Abstract/Notes: The purpose of this study is to determine whether teachers' attitudes towards family participation in preschool education institutions that adopt the approaches related to Montessori, Reggio Emilia and MEB education programs differ. In addition, teachers' level of education, age, type of institution, professional qualifications and professional experiences are also considered as variables. In addition, the opinions of pre-school teachers about family participation were examined comparatively. The sample of the study consists of 81 preschool teachers working in the educational institutions that adopt the approaches related to Montessori, Reggio Emilia and MEB education programs in Kadıköy, Maltepe and Ataşehir districts of Istanbul province in the 2018-2019 Academic Year. The Attitude Scale on Family Participation Studies for Teachers and the Personal Information Form containing open-ended questions for family participation were simultaneously filled in order to reveal the similarities and differences in family participation studies. According to the results of the study; the attitude points of the teachers who work in preschool education institutions which adopt the approaches related to Montessori, Reggio Emilia and MEB programs have shown a significant difference. In this context, it was determined that the scores obtained from the attitude scale differed according to the approaches.The attitude scores of the teachers working in preschool education institutions, which adopted the Reggio Emilia approach, was higher than the attitude scores of the teachers working in preschool education institutions that adopted the Montessori and MEB educational approaches. In addition, the attitudes of pre-school teachers towards family participation showed statistically significant differences according to age and category of the institution they served. However, it was determined that the attitudes of pre-school teachers towards family participation did not show a statistically significant difference between the professional title and professional experience categories. At the same time, it was concluded that preschool teachers' views on family participation reflect the educational approaches adopted by preschools. / Bu çalışmanın amacı, Montessori, Reggio Emilia ve Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı eğitim programlarına ilişkin yaklaşımları benimseyen okul öncesi eğitim kurumlarında aile katılımına ilişkin öğretmen tutumlarının farklılık gösterip göstermediğini ortaya koymaktır. Ayrıca öğretmenlerin öğrenim düzeyi, yaşı, görev yaptıkları kurum çeşidi, mesleki ünvanları ve mesleki deneyimleri gibi özellikler de değişken olarak ele alınmıştır. Ayrıca okul öncesi öğretmenlerinin aile katılımına yönelik görüşleri karşılaştırmalı olarak incelenmiştir. Araştırmanın çalışma grubunu 2018-2019 Eğitim Öğretim yılında İstanbul iline bağlı Kadıköy, Maltepe ve Ataşehir ilçelerinde bulunan Montessori, Reggio Emilia ve MEB eğitim programlarına ilişkin yaklaşımları benimseyen eğitim kurumlarında görev yapan 81 okul öncesi öğretmeni oluşturmaktadır. Çalışma grubunu oluşturan okul öncesi öğretmenlerine "Öğretmenler İçin Aile Katılım Çalışmaları Hakkında Tutum Ölçeği" ile aile katılım çalışmalarındaki benzerlikleri ve farklılıkları ortaya koymak amacıyla demografik bilgileri ve aile katılımına yönelik açık uçlu soruları içeren "Kişisel Bilgi Formu" eş zamanlı olarak doldurtulmuştur. Araştırmanın sonucuna göre; Montessori, Reggio Emilia ve MEB programlarına ilişkin yaklaşımları benimseyen okul öncesi eğitim kurumlarında görev yapan öğretmenlerin aile katılımına yönelik tutum puanları anlamlı farklılık göstermiştir. Bu bağlamda tutum ölçeğinden alınan puanların yaklaşımlara göre farklılık gösterdiği tespit edilmiştir. Reggio Emilia yaklaşımını benimseyen okul öncesi eğitim kurumlarında görev yapan öğretmenlerin tutum puanları Montessori ve MEB eğitim yaklaşlarımını benimseyen okul öncesi eğitim kurumlarında görev yapan öğretmenlerin tutum puanlarından yüksek çıkmıştır. Ayrıca okul öncesi öğretmenlerinin aile katılımına yönelik tutumları yaş ve görev yaptıkları kurum çeşidi kategorilerine göre istatistiksel olarak anlamlı farklılık göstermiştir. Ancak okul öncesi öğretmenlerinin aile katılımına yönelik tutumlarının mesleki ünvan ve mesleki deneyim kategorilerinin istatistiksel olarak anlamlı farklılık göstermediği tespit edilmiştir. Bununla birlikte okul öncesi öğretmenlerinin aile katılımına yönelik görüşlerinin görev yaptıkları anaokulları tarafından benimsenen eğitim yaklaşımlarını yansıttığı sonucuna ulaşılmıştır.

Language: Turkish

Published: Istanbul, Turkey, 2019

Language: English

ISSN: 0277-9064

Abstract/Notes: The number of preschoolers expelled and suspended from school is the highest among all student groups. In the long run, preschool expulsions and suspensions can have statistically detrimental effects on a child's life trajectory. In addition, students who are expelled or suspended have a higher dropout rate than other students. Researchers suggested that professional development of evidence-based strategies for preschool teachers could effectively address this issue, as challenging behavior is the leading cause of suspension and expulsion for students. However, traditional methods of professional development have not proven to be effective. According to researchers, consistent coaching has been suggested as an effective way to develop professional competence. In this of this study, the effect of virtual coaching on Head Start teachers use of behavior-specific praise is examined. Head Start programs need cost-effective ways for their teachers to learn evidence-based strategies. Providing virtual coaching could alleviate these costs.

Language: English

Published: Auburn, Alabama, 2022