Abstract/Notes: This research investigated Education for Sustainability (EfS) at an independent Montessori primary school, located in the Perth metropolitan area of Western Australia. A longitudinal case study involving analysis of data from a twenty year period was conducted to determine the effectiveness of EfS. Historical information about EfS at the school from 1990 to 2005 was examined, with the main focus of the study being on the impact of the Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI) between 2005 and 2009. AuSSI promotes a whole school, whole systems thinking approach to EfS. Three school-based issues in EfS were studied. Firstly, the research aimed to determine what elements of EfS were in operation in the school prior to involvement in AuSSI. Secondly, student outcomes including engagement with whole systems thinking, attitudes and values, knowledge and understandings, and skills and behaviours related to EfS, were investigated during the first five years of participation in AuSSI. Thirdly, teacher perceptions of the EfS program, including engagement with whole systems thinking, were examined during this same time period. A case study approach was employed to enable in-depth investigation of EfS in the life of the school prior to, during and post implementation of AuSSI. This approach facilitated revelation of participants' lived experiences, their perceptions and understandings of EfS, as well as detailed information about student outcomes in EfS. Case study methodology was also compatible with the culture and processes of the participating school and provided an opportunity for utilising a whole systems thinking approach. Data was gathered from a range of sources, through surveys, interviews, observation and document analysis over a five year period. The total participants included eleven teachers and seventy five students. The research identified particular antecedents of EfS in the Montessori Method of education that existed in the school prior to AuSSI, including the whole child approach, together with the Montessori learning environment, curriculum and values. Following participation in AuSSI, student attitudes and values, knowledge and understandings, and skills and behaviours related to EfS were enhanced for all year levels. However, after three years when specific EfS actions and projects ceased, student EfS outcomes were limited. Furthermore, students’ thinking and behaviour indicated a ‘silo’, rather than whole systems thinking approach to EfS. Teachers perceived the EfS program as highly effective in the initial three years after joining AuSSI. Key elements that enhanced EfS included EfS staff champions who had access to EfS networks, leadership support, and active school community involvement in all EfS processes. However, after three years of being an AuSSI school, the culmination of reduced leadership support for EfS, lack of staff training, vague designation of staff with EfS responsibilities and inadequate community involvement, resulted in cessation of the EfS program. Teacher perceptions on whole systems thinking revealed alignment between Montessori philosophy, EfS and whole system thinking was more in theory than in practice. Through an in-depth longitudinal case study of a school this research highlighted the importance of whole school EfS professional learning, embedding EfS and whole systems thinking across the curriculum at all year levels, whole school support, and the usefulness of a sustainability continuum that recognizes the complex, dynamic interplay of issues involved in a school’s EfS journey. It is strongly recommended improvements to pre-service teacher education in EfS are implemented, and a review of the AuSSI toolkit is conducted to refine EfS evaluation processes and to target the specific EfS needs of teachers at different stages of schooling, as well as to enhance understanding and implementation of the whole systems thinking approach. Finally, EfS professional learning for all school staff in all schools is warranted to enhance depth of EfS engagement.

Language: English

Published: Perth, Australia, 2012

Language: English

Published: Winchester, England: Jacob and Johnson, 1912

Language: English

Language: Polish

Published: Warsaw, Poland: [s.n.], 1931

Language: English

Published: Washington, D.C.: AMI/USA, 1989

Pages: 80-84

Abstract/Notes: Presented at NAMTA conference on educational reform, Washington, DC, February 28-March 3, 1991

Language: English

ISSN: 1522-9734

Language: English

Published: Cincinnati, Ohio, 1977

Abstract/Notes: This thesis investigates the potential of the Montessori education to contribute to building the subjective conditions for peace in the aftermath of conflict in the developing world. Information from semi-structured interviews with Montessori teachers was analyzed and six themes are identified that contribute to creating the subjective conditions of peace. The roles of school environments, experiences outside the school, teacher-student relationships, experience in nature, the Montessori curriculum, and cultivating inner peace are discussed in the context of the relevant literature of peace and conflict, peace education, and Montessori education. Finally, the thesis concludes that Montessori education has extraordinary potential to contribute to the subjective conditions of peace in post conflict situations and suggests future research on the implementation of Montessori education in the developing world.

Language: English

Published: Halifax, Nova Scotia, 2017

Abstract/Notes: Academic Information Management System (AIMS) for L’atra Montessori School (LMSI) is a school management solution which is highly adaptable for Schools, Institute of Higher Learning and Training Academics. AIMS is built on today’s leading edge internet technology. It is a comprehensive, easily implemented and user friendly. It is the answer that understands the challenges and are focused on delivering effective, high?quality Information System that allow you to creates the right balance of process efficiency and learning excellence. Attaining a higher pass rate of students is consequential for any institutions, this puts pressure on the lecturer to review teaching methodologies and devoting time to students. Information should be readily available for teachers, parents, students and school administration. Administrative duties should be automated and minimized, allowing all parties room to excel. AIMS offers the robust functionality needed to automate the entire academic processes from class scheduling, student enrolment, and class registration including financial aid information such as billing. AIMS provides a centralized data warehouse that gives you a single source of information to make well-informed financial and operational decisions in real time.

Language: English

Language: English

Published: New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 2023

ISBN: 978-0-19-026409-3

Series: Oxford Research Encyclopedias