Abstract/Notes: The paper presents the results of research on cognitive representation of freedom in middle and late childhood, based on the philosophical and psychological understanding of the issue. The basis of the considerations were classic models of representation: J. Piaget and L. Wygotski, modern models: A. Karmiloff-Smith, K. Nelson, J. Mandler and theory of building the experience of M. Tyszkowa. These theories say that cognitive representation is uniquely human way of gaining knowledge which is connected with continuous redescription of obtained information. The research involved 33 six-year-old- and 31 nine-year-old children. Researchers used the Piaget’s clinical method which was based on a created questionnaire. The children’s task was to provide connotations with the word freedom, paint the freedom and tell about the possibility of making decisions in their relationship with parents.Obtained material (verbal and non-verbal) shows that children use the representations of freedom at the implicit and explicit level. / W artykule zaprezentowano wyniki badań nad poznawczą reprezentacją wolności u dzieci w średnim i późnym dzieciństwie, w oparciu o filozoficzne i psychologiczne rozumienie niniejszej problematyki. Podstawą rozważań były klasyczne: J. Piageta i L. Wygotskiego,i współczesne: A. Karmiloff- Smith, K. Nelson, J. Mandler modele reprezentacji oraz koncepcja budowania doświadczenia M. Tyszkowej. Wymienione koncepcje pozwalają ujmować reprezentację poznawczą w kategoriach specyficznie ludzkiego sposobu zdobywania wiedzy, który polega na ciągłej redeskrypcji posiadanych informacji. Badaniami objęto trzydzieścioro troje dzieci w wieku sześciu lat i trzydzieścioro jeden w wieku dziewięciu lat. Wykorzystana została metoda kliniczna Piageta w oparciu o stworzony kwestionariusz. Dzieci wymieniały skojarzenia ze słowem wolność, przedstawiały ją w sposób graficzny i prezentowały możliwość podejmowania decyzji w relacji z rodzicami. Zebrany materiał werbalny i niewerbalny pokazuje, że dzieci posługują się reprezentacjami wolności na poziomie ukrytym i jawnym.

Language: Polish

DOI: 10.14632/eetp.2017.13.47.183

ISSN: 1896-2327, 2353-7787

Abstract/Notes: This text presents a theoretical analysis of Maria Montessori’s concept of cognitive autonomy, defined as a process of gaining power and control over one’s own thinking and learning, building the ability to regulate its course and evaluate the results of learning. The main aim of the article is to present the cognitive potential included in M. Montessori’s pedagogical thinking, the undiscovered dimensions of her concepts, and the unusual actuality confirmed by the latest research results. The first part of the article presents the constructive nature of the learning process based on self-discipline, the internal ability to regulate one’s own impulses, and control them consciously. The second part of the article presents contemporary interpretations of Maria Montessori’s concepts, provided by researchers and teachers- practitioners from the perspective of new psychological and pedagogical achievements. The evolution in the thinking of Montessori teachers is seen here as being a sensitive balance, with the “purity” of Montessori’s original ideas on the one hand, and a critical reflection over one’s own personal teaching practice, and discovering problems or phenomena, which – although unnamed – are deeply rooted in the Montessori classroom environment. / Artykuł jest teoretyczną analizą montessoriańskiej koncepcji autonomii (samodzielności) poznawczej dziecka, rozumianej jako stopniowe zdobywanie kontroli nad własnym uczeniem się, budowanie zdolności do regulowania jego przebiegu i oceny efektów. Głównym celem jest ukazanie potencjału poznawczego zawartego w myśli pedagogicznej Marii Montessori, głębi jej koncepcji pedagogicznej, a zarazem zaskakującej aktualności założeń, które znajdują potwierdzenie w wynikach współczesnych badań nad uczeniem się. W pierwszej części tekstu ukazano uczenie się jako proces konstruktywistyczny, oparty na zdolności do samodyscypliny, wewnętrznego regulowania własnych impulsów, poddawania ich świadomej kontroli. W drugiej części artykułu ukazano współczesne interpretacje koncepcji M. Montessori, dokonywane przez badaczy i nauczycieli praktyków, pod wpływem najnowszych badań psychologicznych. Przedstawiona tu ewolucja poglądów nauczycieli charakteryzuje się z jednej strony dbałością o „czystość” montessoriańskiej idei, z drugiej zaś krytyczną refleksją nad własną praktyką edukacyjną i odkrywaniem w niej idei i problemów, które – choć nienazwane – tkwią głęboko zakorzenione w przygotowanym do samodzielnego uczenia się otoczeniu klasy Montessori.

Language: Polish

DOI: 10.14632/eetp.2017.13.47.89

ISSN: 1896-2327, 2353-7787

Abstract/Notes: We report here cognitive and academic outcome measures at ages 12 and 16 for approximately 80% of a sample of 205 children who had been randomly assigned to 2 programs for developmentally delayed preschoolers, Direct Instruction (DI) and Mediated Learning (ML). There were no main effect differences between programs, but there were aptitude-by-treatment interactions similar to those found earlier: initially lower functioning students benefited more from the ML program, whereas initially higher functioning students benefited more from the DI program. Multiple regression analyses suggested that lower scores on cognitive and academic achievement measures are associated with greater experience in special education, even controlling for preschool period ability measures, gender, and ethnicity. The challenges of interpreting this result are discussed.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1177/001440290507100306

ISSN: 0014-4029, 2163-5560

Language: English, Norwegian

Published: [Oslo, Norway]: Statens spesiallärerhögskole, 1982

Abstract/Notes: Studies in cognitive neuroscience have shown that education practices can affect the development of executive functions (EF) in young children, although there is very little evidence on young preschool children. The present study aims to provide support for this endeavor, and consists of a quasi-experimental design with one-group pre-test/ post-test measures of cognitive control at age 3 in an urban public Montessori preschool. Three-year-olds (N = 23) in an authentic Montessori public preschool in Washington DC improved significantly on core EF measures (inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility) validated by the NIH Toolbox Early Childhood Cognition Battery, and the data revealed large effect sizes. Comparisons against NIH published norms revealed no selection bias. Performance on EF measures did not correlate with age but did correlate with amount of time between testing sessions, suggesting the possibility that experience, more than age, could have contributed to cognitive control growth. A controlled comparison between mixed-age and single-age classes revealed no differences in these EFs, raising the possibility that aspects of the environment other than the age composition are likely to contribute to growth. We propose that a potential contributor to EF growth is Montessori education, and more specifically, that this growth might be found in the design of interaction of the child with the environment. In particular, we discuss the design element called control of error, and consider why this element might be related to cognitive abilities such as inhibitory control. In current national discussions on the importance of equitable early childhood education, the synthesis of findings from neurocognitive studies has implications for children’s academic and life success.

Language: English

DOI: 10.3389/feduc.2018.00106

ISSN: 2504-284X

Abstract/Notes: On 6 May 2022, 70 years after Maria Montessori’s death, Stockholm University and the Department of Education and Didactics organized an international Montessori symposium. The idea was to present a breadth of research on Maria Montessori. The symposium dealt with Maria Montessori in the interwar period, an analysis of the history of ideas. Another presentation suggested possible research models to study this large field. The symposium also presented interpretations of Montessori’s writings that point her out as a visionary and pioneer in education for a sustainable world. An additional research area addressed was the potential of neuroscience to examine the effects of teaching theory and learning in Montessori education. Finally, this report describes a study on whether Montessori-inspired education compared to traditional education stands up in areas of socio-economic disadvantage.

Language: English

DOI: 10.16993/jmre.20

ISSN: 2002-3375

Abstract/Notes: This study was undertaken to discover the effect of the Montessori Method on the cognitive tempo of 4–5-year-old children. Using an experimental pre-test–post-test paired control group design, the study sample included 60 children attending İhsan Doğramacı Applied Nursery School (affiliated to Selcuk University, Department of Health Sciences) in Konya during the 2015–2016 education year. The data of the study were collected using Kansas Reflection-Impulsivity Scale for Preschool – Form A. The tests were administered to children before and after the treatment and a follow-up test was administered to the treatment group six weeks following the completion of the treatment. The statistical analyses of the research data were done using Mann–Whitney U test and Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test. The results of the study indicated that the Montessori Method decreases the number of errors and extends the reflection time among the preschool children in the treatment group.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1080/03004430.2016.1217849

ISSN: 0300-4430, 1476-8275

Abstract/Notes: There is now a broad international consensus that investing in early childhood education and care represents the highest “return on investment” in terms of economic and social development. The pursuit of the dual objective of efficiency and equity has resulted in a reorientation of preschool curricula towards preparation for compulsory schooling, emphasizing the acquisition of the “fundamentals” (reading, writing, and arithmetic) most useful for future academic success. The chapter offers first a comparative analysis of how this “schooling process” unfolded in French and Belgian nursery schools and in the Danish kindergarten. It attests to the persistence of specific cultural and political traditions relating to both the respective roles of the state and families in early childhood education, as well as of conceptions of childhood and relations between adults and children. Second, based on field research conducted in French-speaking Belgium, it discusses the idea that the search for children's well-being and performance at the same time creates tensions in the exercise of the teaching profession. It then shows that it is possible to understand the success of the discourse of cognitive neuroscience and so-called alternative pedagogical methods, including Montessori, because these discourses seem to propose a way to overcome these tensions.

Language: English

Published: New York, New York: Routledge, 2024

ISBN: 978-1-00-337720-7

Abstract/Notes: Manipulatives are ubiquitous in early childhood classrooms; yet, findings regarding their efficacy for learning mathematics concepts are inconsistent. In this article, we present four general principles that have emerged from cognitive science about ways to ensure that manipulatives promote learning when used with young children. We also describe how Montessori instruction offers a concrete example of the application of these principles in practice, which may, in turn, explain the high levels of mathematics achievement among children who attend Montessori programs during early childhood. The general principles and concrete examples presented in this article should help early childhood programs maximize the benefits of using manipulatives for developmentally appropriate mathematics instruction.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1177/2158244015589588

ISSN: 2158-2440

Abstract/Notes: Describes in operational terms the benefits of Montessori's developmental perspective for children from birth to 3 years, and from 3 to 6 years. Identifies optimal outcomes for social, moral, cognitive, and emotional development to be used in educational and psychological research and for child assessment. (KB)

Language: English

ISSN: 1522-9734