Abstract/Notes: Tagore started a school in 1901 and in 1918 he wrote, ‘…the Santiniketan School should form a link between India and the world…the epoch of narrow nationalism is coming to an end…. The first flag of victory of Universal Man shall be planted there’. This was the beginning of Visva-Bharati that finally encapsulated the school and university with its many programmes and courses under one unique integrated system. The university was a logical progression in his philosophy of education. The central idea of the university was for the east to offer to the west the best of its wealth and take from the west its knowledge. This was indeed a novel idea as the country was yet to have its own full-fledged universities. Tagore envisioned the university as the seat for research that would generate and also dispense knowledge. Tagore established the university in Santiniketan where he had founded his school. He wanted the university to offer education that was enmeshed with the Indian way of life so that knowledge grew out of the culture, society, history, literature, geography, economy, science and flora and fauna of the country. From this sense of nationalism, we see Tagore evolving into an internationalist based on equal terms of fellowship and amity between the east and the west. He shared his quest for such a centre of learning with the ideas of several noted international pedagogues. Tagore saw world problems and national interests as interrelated, and he felt that internationalism was the inner spirit of the modern age.

Language: English

Published: Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing, 2014

ISBN: 978-3-319-00837-0

Series: SpringerBriefs in Education

Abstract/Notes: PurposeThis study examined the impact of a Montessori mealtime intervention for people living with dementia to support the mealtime experience of residents and mealtime care practices of staff in a memory support unit. The mealtime intervention was part of a broader culture change project.MethodAn observational research design was used to evaluate changes in the mealtime experience and care practices across three time points (baseline, post-implementation, maintenance), spanning 30 months. Five video recordings of the lunch time service (range: 19?32 min) were analysed. The coding protocol comprised pre-determined indicators related to accepted dimensions of person-centred care. Resident and staff behaviours were quantified across four categories: providing choice and preferences, promoting the social side of eating, supporting independence and showing respect towards residents. Staff behaviours that reflected personal enhancing actions and personal detractors were also coded during each mealtime service.ResultsA significant increase in staff providing residents with the opportunity for choice and a subsequent significant increase in residents demonstrating choice behaviours was evident. Staff and residents both significantly increased their interactional behaviours, with greater social interaction between staff and residents. Staff further demonstrated greater support for mealtime independence that reached and maintained significance during the final two sampling points. Significant gains observed post implementation were largely maintained and, on specific measures, further increased over time. A significant increase in staff use of personal enhancing actions during mealtime care was also evident. Variability in individual staff and resident behaviour highlighted the complexity of mealtime care and culture change processes.ImplicationsThe study provides novel evidence to support the use of a Montessori mealtime intervention to achieve more person-centred mealtime care, and which resulted in a more respectful, enabling and social dining experience. Clinical implications and direction for future research are presented to build on these findings.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1177/14713012211057414

ISSN: 1741-2684, 1471-3012

Abstract/Notes: Altered behaviour associated with dementia can present a number of challenges in the provision of care within both community and residential aged care settings. This paper presents a qualitative case study investigation of the implementation of the Positive Interactive Engagement programme within a residential aged care setting. The Positive Interactive Engagement programme incorporates non-pharmacological sensory techniques that have been informed by a person-centred, Montessori approach. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews with workers at a residential aged care facility in South Australia yielded seven case studies. Data were thematically analysed both within and between cases. Our data indicate the programme demonstrates underlying Montessori principles and supports participant behaviour change, with a noted reduction in ‘disruptive’ behaviours and increased social connection amongst participants. Programme staff report increased job satisfaction. The Positive Interactive Engagement programme offers a model that demonstrates encouraging outcomes, and further research would be useful in ascertaining whether these outcomes translate to quantifiable improvements in the quality of life for people with dementia in a residential aged care setting.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1177/1471301218792144

ISSN: 1741-2684, 1471-3012

Abstract/Notes: Les approches centrées sur la personne constituent, dans l'accompagnement des personnes atteintes de démence, un courant humaniste fort et en plein essor. Néanmoins, les grands principes peuvent parfois être difficiles à traduire en actions concrètes sur le terrain. La méthode Montessori adaptée aux personnes âgées représente en essence une mise en œuvre de la vision des approches centrées sur la personne. Dans ce travail, nous nous intéresserons à son application par les professionnels de l'accompagnement des personnes âgées, en tant qu'approche centrée sur la personne, à un niveau individuel et collectif. Dans une première partie, nous effectuerons une revue détaillée de la littérature scientifique sur la méthode Montessori adaptée aux personnes âgées et ses liens avec les approches centrées sur la personne. Dans une seconde étude, nous nous intéresserons aux conditions d'application des principes Montessori à un niveau individuel dans le contexte de l'évaluation de personnes présentant des troubles cognitifs sévères, en utilisant la Montessori Assessment System et en nous intéressant à l'impact potentiel des troubles du comportement sur son administration. Dans une troisième étude, nous construirons un questionnaire visant à évaluer l'application des principes Montessori à l'échelle collective au sein d'institutions accompagnant des personnes âgées. Nous réaliserons une étude multi-centrique de validation (validité inter-juges, validité discriminante, cohérence interne). [Person-centered care in dementia care represents a strong and booming humanistic movement. However, its principles may be challenging to apply concretely on the field. The Montessori method for people with dementia is, in essence, an attempt to apply the philosophy and vision of person-centered care. In this work, we will focus on the application of the Montessori method for people with dementia by staff in dementia care, at an individual and collective level, as a person-centered approach. In a first part, we will make a detailed and review the scientific literature about Montessori for dementia and its links with person-centered care. In a second study, we will focus on the application conditions of Montessori principles at an individual level, in the context of assessment of person with severe dementia with the Montessori Assessment System. More specifically, we will observe the impact of behavioral disturbances on its administration. In a third study, we will create a questionnaire to assess Montessori principles application at a collective and institutional level, in nursing homes for persons with dementia. We will assess its validity (inter-rater reliability, discriminant validity, internal consistency) in a multi-center study.]

Language: French

Published: Montpellier, France, 2019

Abstract/Notes: Little is currently known about how teachers in New Zealand Montessori early childhood centres reflect on Montessori philosophy and practice individually and collaboratively within teaching teams. The purpose of this research was to discover the current views about reflection on Montessori philosophy, the barriers teachers faced in reflecting and opportunities they identified for reflection. The impact that requirements for self review and teacher reflection have had on the approach taken to reflection, inquiry and professional learning by teachers in Montessori early childhood centres was also investigated. This research study used a mixed method case study and data was collected from teachers working in Montessori early childhood centres through semistructured interviews with three groups and an online survey of individual teachers. Participants placed high importance on reflection. However some participants were reluctant to critique Montessori philosophy; either because they viewed it as ‘valid’ or because they were concerned about being regarded as ‘heretical’ by other teachers. Participants felt safe raising questions within their teaching teams, but were more wary of debating and questioning philosophical issues with teachers in the wider Montessori community. Others regarded reflection as an opportunity to develop a shared understanding of Montessori philosophy and practice in their early childhood centre. Despite the participants’ perception that their team spent time reflecting on Montessori philosophy and relating this to daily teaching practice, it was still a challenge to make these reflective activities a priority in limited centre team meeting times. In addition, it appears that more support is needed to improve skills and knowledge about how the cyclical process of review or inquiry can engage with Montessori philosophy, inform centre philosophy, drive centre practice and improve outcomes for children. This study suggests that teachers would benefit from the creation of ‘safe spaces’ where they can engage with colleagues from their own or other Montessori early childhood centres in debate and discussion so that teaching practice becomes based on critical engagement with the underlying theoretical or philosophical principles of Montessori education.

Language: English

Published: Wellington, New Zealand, 2014

Abstract/Notes: This volume is a critical study of one of today’s most controversial topics in educational theory, setting the many arguments in perspective and clarifying the issues that arise when attention is focused on the learner. The author examines the problems of individual education, the distinctive demands childhood makes on the school and the claims of social education. The related questions of freedom, authority and discipline are then discussed, together with the ways in which curriculum development must take account of the learner’s interests, needs and dispositions in preparing him/her for life. The concept of educating the whole person is critically examined, together with the claim that education for life and the development of personal integrity require an integrated curriculum. Since child-centred educational theory is often dismissed as irrelevant to practice, the book concludes with an assessment of the various limitations which concern with practical activity imposes on educational theorists.

Language: English

Published: New York, New York: Routledge, 2012

ISBN: 978-0-203-80865-8

Abstract/Notes: This volume is a critical study of one of today’s most controversial topics in educational theory, setting the many arguments in perspective and clarifying the issues that arise when attention is focused on the learner. The author examines the problems of individual education, the distinctive demands childhood makes on the school and the claims of social education. The related questions of freedom, authority and discipline are then discussed, together with the ways in which curriculum development must take account of the learner’s interests, needs and dispositions in preparing him/her for life. The concept of educating the whole person is critically examined, together with the claim that education for life and the development of personal integrity require an integrated curriculum. Since child-centred educational theory is often dismissed as irrelevant to practice, the book concludes with an assessment of the various limitations which concern with practical activity imposes on educational theorists.

Language: English

Published: London, England: Methuen and Co., 1970

ISBN: 0-416-13760-1

Abstract/Notes: This study investigated early childhood educators' beliefs regarding whether and when they should interact with children. Interviews were conducted with five educators chosen for their alignment with five distinct philosophical approaches representing a range of contemporary early childhood education services in New Zealand. A qualitative approach was used to elicit their individual stories to delve into the complexities of child-centred interactions., The literature reviewed highlighted an apparent tension between developmental and sociocultural perspectives, namely the issue of whether and when educators choose to interact with children. However, this study suggests that such tension is nullified when educators align their daily practice with clear philosophical guidelines.

Language: English

DOI: 10.1177/183693911203700405

ISSN: 1836-9391, 1839-5961

Language: French

ISSN: 1244-7161

Abstract/Notes: Malaysia is a country with approximately 53% Muslims. The rest of the population belong to different religions like Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism and Taoism. Due to religious and ethnic pluralism and a cultural antagonism inside the society, the Muslims have been virtually forced to adopt alternative thinking and to make new experiments in order to keep in line with the Chinese. Malaysia is, in an Islamic context, an interesting country. In the rural areas where the Malay population is in majority, syncre tic religious practices such as Muslim Shamanism, magic and healing are still common.1 Urban areas, on the other hand, are marked by a more intellectual approach towards Islam, due partially to the great number of Muslim students who pursue their post-graduate studies overseas. The Chinese form the economically strongest group in Malaysia, and have thus tended to be in control of the private schools with the highest intellectual levels. The establishment of private schools is growing and competition is strong to get students. Many Malays from the upper strata of society have therefore sent their children to schools run by Chinese...

Language: English

ISSN: 0578-8072