Language: English

Published: Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Montessori-Pierson Publishing Company, 2020

ISBN: 978-90-79506-35-4

Series: Montessori Series , 11

Abstract/Notes: On page 22, Paul Epstein ("Work Needs Play") argues that both work and play are essential elements, especially in light of the social isolation that children experienced during the pandemic. On page 34, Tori Virlee, Erin Hardin, and Chelsea McKinlay ("A Journey into the Science of Reading") present challenges that children at the Early Childhood level face when it comes to developing reading skills and offer reasoning for these challenges as well as some techniques to augment what the Montessori Language materials provide. The Montessori Movement was created to serve social justice, but it also evolved in a climate of colonialist and oppressive policies and practices, some ofwhich persist today.

Language: English

ISSN: 1054-0040

Abstract/Notes: In this study, systems thinking and codesign principles are applied together to develop a process framework to identify leverage points for an intervention in a new Montessori school. We show how a series of codesign workshops with children, parents, teachers, and management generated insights into the importance of collaboratively codesigning with stakeholders while applying Soft Systems Methodology (SSM). This approach demonstrates the advantages of incorporating diverse perspectives and fostering group coaction. These findings add to the limited literature on the practical applications of process-focused SSM, as they have informed the development of a step-by-step plan for forthcoming data collection sessions at the school, which will be organized as a Summer Research Camp. The future Summer Research Camp project will focus on continuing to work with the stakeholders to codesign interventions in the system, by following the SSM cycle aimed at gaining an understanding of the systemic factors affecting the school.

Language: English

Published: Milan, Italy: International Association of Societies of Design Research, 2023

DOI: 10.21606/iasdr.2023.748

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

Abstract/Notes: The article presents the philosophies of John Amos Comenius, Immanuel Kant and Maria Montessori. It focuses on problem areas that are particularly inspiring for modern thinking about peace and education for peace and points out a broad definition of peace provided by each of the above philosophers. Their theories go far beyond identifying peace with the absence of war and they consider peace to be a process that requires building and strengthening as well as the participation of all people, not only politicians. From this perspective, peace building becomes an important educational task. The basic goal is to ensure that individuals have the feeling of authorship and responsibility for peaceful coexistence among people. Only a combination of peace-reinforcing political initiatives with daily activities supported by education and aimed at promoting peace provides real chances to make the world a better place.

Language: Polish

ISSN: 0023-5938, 2657-6007

Abstract/Notes: More than 100 years ago, an Italian physician began designing an education system with the expressed purpose of helping children thrive to their full potential, rather than pass tests. Psychology research is strongly supportive of the system’s underlying theoretical principles, and accumulating studies show that when the system is well implemented, children’s outcomes even on tests are superior to those obtained with business-as-usual school programs. Researchers are now examining whether these good outcomes are in part due to the educational method causing epigenetic effects (i.e., changes in gene expression).

Language: English

DOI: 10.1177/0963721418769878

ISSN: 0963-7214, 1467-8721

Language: English

ISSN: 1054-0040

Abstract/Notes: The idea that concrete materials benefit children’s learning has a long history in developmental psychology and education, dating back to M. Montessori (1917), J. Piaget (1970), and J. S. Bruner (1966). Too often, however, scholars use these traditional views to give concrete materials a blanket endorsement. The articles in this issue go beyond traditional views and advance our understanding of the conditions under which students do and do not benefit from using concrete materials. They suggest that some processes involved in using concrete objects are not restricted to children of a certain age but rather apply across ages. They also highlight the need for systematic investigations into the type and amount of direction students need when working with concrete materials in the classroom.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1111/j.1750-8606.2009.00093.x

ISSN: 1750-8606

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 20-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. First, the research aimed to determine what elements of EfS were in operation in the school prior to involvement in AuSSI. Second, 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 5 years of participation in AuSSI. Third, 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 5-year period. The total participants included 11 teachers and 75 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 3 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 3 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 3 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 recognises the complex, dynamic interplay of issues involved in a school's EfS journey. It is strongly recommended that 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

DOI: 10.1017/aee.2013.8

ISSN: 0814-0626, 2049-775X

Abstract/Notes: A growing number of schools across the globe have implemented design thinking (DT) as an instructional approach to increase student engagement, motivate creative thinking, and teach students to problem solve. Although offering significant opportunity to students, implementing DT can involve pushing against the traditional “grammar of schooling.” Drawing on in-depth qualitative case study data, we present findings on a previously low-performing, underenrolled middle school that underwent a dramatic shift when becoming a magnet school focused on DT. We explain the intentional leadership actions that facilitated structural and cultural changes, including building a collaborative leadership structure. Interactions between the principal and the teachers led to the emergence of practices that supported innovation schoolwide. At the same time, internal and external challenges rooted in the grammar of schooling arose, requiring educators to respond to sustain the momentum for change. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1086/709510

ISSN: 0195-6744, 1549-6511