Abstract/Notes: My Honors Thesis compares creativity in children taught in a Montessori classroom with students taught in a conventional classroom. I tested 58 children at Belle Valley Elementary School in Erie Pennsylvania, half in the Montessori program, half in traditional classrooms. Their ages ranged from 5-9, from kindergarten to 3rd grade. I hypothesized that the independence allowed in Montessori classrooms would help foster creativity in its students. The project uses two forms of evaluation to test the concept of creativity, the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking and consensual assessment to score a creative collage. Significant developmental differences were found; older children scored higher on the creativity tests. There was, however, no significant difference between Montessori and conventionally taught children. The conclusion is that in young children creativity develops over time, but that the type of schooling does not moderate this development.

Language: English

Published: Syracuse, New York, 2005

Abstract/Notes: This chapter examines Maria Montessori’s text, Education and Peace (1972) which was first published in 1949 in Italian. The text is a series of speeches she gave throughout Europe during the Interwar period of 1932-1939 and is divided into three parts. Part I is an introduction to Montessori’s vision for peace education. Part II collects the lectures from the Sixth International Montessori Congress in Copenhagen, 1937. Part III focuses on the lecture, “The Importance of Education in Bringing about Peace,” from an address to the International School of Philosophy in Amersfoort, 1937. The final section contains Montessori’s “Address to the World Fellowship of Faiths” in London, 1939. Montessori’s works assume a worldview where peace is the most natural state of consciousness and express her belief that humans can concretely address the fact that humanity seems to be devolving into greater forms of violence instead of advancing toward peace.

Language: English

Published: New York, New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2023

ISBN: 978-1-350-27561-4 978-1-350-27560-7 978-1-350-27562-1

Series: Bloomsbury Handbooks

Language: English

Language: German

ISSN: 0944-2537

Language: Spanish

ISSN: 0210-0630

Language: German

Published: Würzburg, Germany: Königshausen und Neumann, 1990

ISBN: 3-88479-423-X

Abstract/Notes: This qualitative case study explores how Montessori educators in a public charter Montessori school experience Montessori education for low-income Black children. Using the methodology of a qualitative intrinsic case study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with eighteducators (six teachers and two administrators). The participants are diverse in terms of age (26 to 54), race (three white, six African American), gender (two male and six female) and educational experience (2–25 years teaching). Education for Black children in the United States recounts histories of exclusion and segregation. Montessori education for children in the U.S. over the past 100 years shows a progression from exclusivity to inclusivity with the modern push for Montessori in the public sector. Neoliberal education reform is an important context to consider in the reproduction of injustice in American schools. This study’s findings show that participants are responding to this injustice. Negotiating tension, these educators draw onMontessori philosophy, culturally responsive teaching practices, and the tenets of an education for social justice to meet the unique needs of students who are impacted by trauma, inequity, and structural racism. Blending educational traditions to become more responsive to the conditions created by oppressive constructs has created a path through the tension. Prospect Montessori educators enact a hybrid Montessori program that focuses on relationships, communication, and social/emotional learning. This study’s educational implications stem from a call for Montessorieducation to examine its relevancy for under-served Black students.Keywords: Montessori, Neoliberal education reform, culturally responsive teaching, socialjustice

Language: English

Published: Chicago, Illinois, 2022

Language: English

Abstract/Notes: Maria Montessori’s vision of peace education includes a deep respect for integral human development where a focus on the whole child in the context of the larger community is the norm. Within Montessori education, children learn each part of the universe, living and non-living, play a role in the cosmic order of the world. Long before climate change became a mainstream concern and imminent threat, Montessori understood that ecoliteracy and a deep reverence for understanding how sustainability, sustainable living, respect for the environment, and a deep understanding of the means of production and exchange were essential to the development of a peaceful world. This chapter explores her philosophy of peace education, its relationship to environmental stewardship, and the implementation of these themes within the Montessori context.

Language: English

Published: New York, New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2023

ISBN: 978-1-350-27561-4 978-1-350-27560-7 978-1-350-27562-1

Series: Bloomsbury Handbooks

Abstract/Notes: Students who have attended Montessori pre-kindergarten and kindergarten appear to experience greater academic success than those who attend the general classroom. The purpose of this research was to examine what Montessori classrooms did differently than the general education classrooms and whether Montessori prepares students for greater academic success in elementary school. There is a vast amount of literature available on the impact of Montessori education on student achievement, but few comparison studies. The methodology for this research was causal comparative. Quantitative data was collected to ascertain the practices of Montessori classrooms to produce more academic success than that of the general education classroom. The purpose was to determine if students in a Montessori classroom will have higher academic success or if those in a traditional general education classroom setting will have higher achievement on the MAP reading and math assessment.

Language: English

Published: Central, South Carolina, 2023