Language: Portuguese

DOI: 10.22483/2177-5796.2019v21n1p203-220

ISSN: 2177-5796

Abstract/Notes: School liking shows clear associations with academic success, yet we know little about how it changes over levels of schooling, what predicts liking school at each level, or how attending alternative schools like Montessori might impact liking. To better understand school liking across time and education settings, we surveyed adults about how much they remember liking elementary, middle, and high school, and identified key school features that predicted higher school liking at each level. Because Montessori schools have many features that other literature suggests predict higher school liking, we purposely sampled Montessori alumni as well, and compared their schools' features for elementary school only (due to sample size). Moreover, we collected open-ended responses about what participants in both conventional and Montessori liked least about school, revealing what features of their school experiences might have led to less overall school liking. The unique contributions of this study are (1) showing how a wide range of school features predict recalled school liking, (2) examining data for all school levels using a single sample of participants, and (3) comparing recalled school liking and its predictors across conventional and Montessori schools. The sample included 630 adults, of whom 436 were conventional school alumni and 187 were Montessori alumni (7 participants did not report school type). Participants' mean age was 35.8 years (SD = 10.53, range = 19–77), and 53% were female. Participants were recruited online, and they responded to Qualtrics surveys about school liking, school features, and their demographics. School liking overall was tepid, and was highest in elementary and lowest in middle school. For all participants, recalling a sense of community and interest in schoolwork were most strongly associated with school liking. Adults who attended schools which emphasized studying topics of personal interest and rewards for positive behavior also liked school more. Montessori school alumni reported higher school liking and that learning was what they liked most about school; by contrast, conventional school alumni most liked seeing friends. Levels of school liking, as recalled by adults, are low overall, but are higher in elementary school and higher amongst those who recall their schools as having stronger community, catering more to student interest, and rewarding positive behavior. In addition, school liking was higher among people who attended Montessori schools. Further research could extend to a cross-sectional study of children currently enrolled in different types of schools.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1002/pits.22777

ISSN: 0033-3085, 1520-6807

Abstract/Notes: This article uses the case of independent charter schools in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to test whether New Public Management style reforms are compatible with the public administration pillar of social equity. Using three years of data, the author identifies inequities in access and outcomes due to the structural differences between charter and traditional public schools. Structural differences include governance, admissions, and transportation policies. Overall, independent charter schools serve fewer Black pupils, are less accessible, but do obtain comparatively better achievement scores. The article concludes with suggestions on how metagovernance can be used to ensure social equity in decentralized governance reforms. The study demonstrates how social equity can be analytically evaluated in a governance reform environment, and provides guidance on how structural barriers to social equity can be overcome in complex governing networks.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1080/10999922.2021.1908730

ISSN: 1099-9922

Language: English

DOI: 3.0.CO;2-0 target='_blank'>10.1002/1520-6807(196701)4:1<48::AID-PITS2310040112>3.0.CO;2-0

ISSN: 0033-3085, 1520-6807

Language: Italian

ISSN: 0033-9571, 1724-1871

Abstract/Notes: We emphasize the importance of the executive functions from an early age and how they keep developing throughout childhood.The study’s main objective is to study the correlation between the time students have been in a Montessori school and sexes, with the executive functions. As for the more specific objectives, we consider the assessment of the executive functions in a Montessori school and to determine the level of the executive functions in students. This work, outlines the evaluation of neuropsycological development and the executive functions in a group of boys and girls from CCE Montessori Palau Girona school. To this end, the administration of the test ENFEN (Portellano et al. 2009) and CUMANES (Portellano et al. 2012) has been conducted and we have focused on two sub-tests from each one. Together, we have evaluated a total of 30 primary school pupils aged 9 and 12. From the results, we have analyzed the strong and weak points, and a proposal for intervention from them has been made so they can serve as a basis for the future. No differences in the results of the executive functions evaluated have been observed between the sexes but within the different ages there have been differences. It was observed that for most of the executive functions a positive slope, although not significant, between the time the students enrolled in the Montessori methodology and a higher positive score in the executive functions, being more significant with the youngest, 9 year olds. A greater significance in males versus females was also observed. In conclusion, no differences were found in the executive functions of students respect to sexes but a higher score in the executive functions related to a longer period of time enrolled in the Montessori methodology was observed.

Language: English

ISSN: 2394-6709

Language: Italian

ISSN: 0033-9571, 1724-1871

Abstract/Notes: Although there is literature explaining how female ethnographers negotiate male-dominated research settings, there is a lack of literature explaining how male ethnographers negotiate female-dominated settings. It is, more or less, taken for granted the research settings males choose will be suitable for them. The field of early childhood education, and preschools in particular, would benefit from a basic explanation of male fieldworker practices and why they are necessary for men in early childhood education settings. Drawing on personal experiences from two years of ethnographic research, I turn to a Montessori preschool in the Midwestern United States to address the complexities of being a male fieldworker in a female-dominated setting. I first explicate some dimensions of preconstructing suspicion of males in ECE. I then develop a gender recasting strategy with the goal of recasting masculinity. Recasting masculinity is a reflexive self-presentation strategy using personal characteristics as resources to build trust and rapport with research participants.

Language: English

DOI: 10.4471/qre.2014.50

ISSN: 2014-6418

Abstract/Notes: Little is known about how children’s drawing ability may vary between different educational approaches. This study investigated the expressive and representational drawing ability of British National Curriculum, Steiner, and Montessori pupils aged 5 to 9 years old. Ability was measured from performance on specified drawing tasks. One hundred and 35 children participated, 45 from each educational establishment consisting of 15 from each of the three age groups, 5-, 7- and 9-year-olds. Participants completed three expressive drawings (depicting a happy, sad, and angry mood) and three representational drawings (observational drawing of a wooden mannequin, a house from memory and a free drawing). Results indicated that for expressive drawings Steiner pupils generally depicted more content themes, used formal properties more expressively, and produced higher quality expressive drawings than Montessori and National Curriculum pupils. Where there were differences between National Curriculum and Montessori pupils the Montessori children tended to do better than the National Curriculum pupils on these measures. Although representational drawing development varied in younger Steiner pupils compared to their National Curriculum and Montessori peers, no differences were observed among the oldest children attending the three schools. The positive relationship between expressive and representational drawing performance was the strongest in Steiner pupils. The results suggest the art program in Steiner education is more conducive to nurturing expressive drawing ability than those delivered in Montessori and National Curriculum education, with seemingly no disadvantage in representational drawing ability in the primary school years.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1037/a0024460

ISSN: 1931-3896, 1931-390X

Language: German

DOI: 10.1007/BF00406761

ISSN: 0033-3026