Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Montessori'

The Montessori method is a comprehensive, child-centered, developmentalist philosophy of education developed by Dr. Maria Montessori in Rome, Italy, in the early 1900s. The Montessori method differs from traditional approaches to education, and has had limited exposure in the U.S. until the last 20 years. Despite this growth, little research data exists on the effectiveness of the method or of parent understanding the method. This research project attempted to determine parent understanding of the Montessori method of education at three Montessori schools in Massachusetts that educate children from toddlers to grade 8.

The objective of the research was to design, implement, and analyze a survey that measured parent understanding of the Montessori principles and classroom practices. The survey was developed using the Montessori principles as the foundation. The goal was to determine both the extent of parent understanding of the Montessori principles and parent perception of how these principles are carried out in the Montessori classroom.

Parents and guardians were asked a total of 10 questions, 7 of which were five-point Likert scales. The quantitative questions specifically addressed the six Montessori principles and were designed to test parents’ overall understanding of each principle. Responses ranged from a principle being not at all important to very important. The qualitative portion of the survey instrument utilized three open-ended, self-completed questions designed to reveal a range of parent perceptions about Montessori education and classroom practices.

The surveys revealed that parent values and thinking do line up with some aspects of the Montessori method and philosophy. The surveys also revealed that parents seem to value classroom practices contrary to the founding principles. What parents value and what parents think about regarding concepts such as goal setting, achievement, competition with peers, and teachers preparing and presenting lessons is in direct contrast with some of the Montessori founding principles and intentions.

If Montessori schools wish to remain viable, they will need to reconcile the Montessori principles with conflicting parent values and, further, determine how to better align their principles with parent views and desires for their children.

This research examined the level of purpose development amongst Montessori sixth graders through the use of an in-person, paper-and-pencil survey, the RYPS (Bundick et al., 2006). It is suggested that Montessori students are highly prepared to consider their purpose in life as defined by Damon and colleagues (2003) because of the values of Cosmic Education. Survey responses were counted and averaged using an on-line spreadsheet program. The sample was found to be purposeful at a higher rate, 34%, than other samples (Damon, 2008; Moran, 2009), and 54% espoused a sense of purpose. It is concluded that adults seeking to educate young people for purpose development examine the uses and benefits of Montessori education.

Fastställt via akademichefsbeslut HIG-STYR 2019/7 den 2019-01-07

 Daniel Petterson, fil dr, univ. lekt Pedagogik och Erika Björklund, fil dr, univ. lekt Pedagogik går in som examinatorer på PEG700 under veckorna 1 till och med 3, 2019 då Peter Gill, prof. Pedagogik, gått i pension från och med 2019-01-01.

I dagens samhälle uppstår det nya friskolor samt vanliga kommunala skolor, som erbjuder något extra utöver den svenska läroplanen. Montessoripedagogiken är en pedagogik som lockar människor, vilket jag har fått tagit del av i mitt arbete med uppsatsen. Trots att själva grundfilosofin uppstod under ledning av Maria Montessori för över hundra år sedan lever den fortfarande kvar. Det svenska Montessoriförbundet verkar för att breda ut Montessoripedagogiken i Sverige och de deltar i mässor och liknande för att sprida information. Syftet med arbetet är att dels beskriva och förklara vilka faktorer som spelar in för några föräldrars val till att deras barn ska skolas in i en förskola/skola med Montessoripedagogik, dels ta del i några Montessoripedagogers sätt att samverka med föräldrar/vårdnadshavare. Genom att använda mig av en kvalitativ metod för att samla in data i form av intervjuer fick jag en inblick i vilka faktorer som spelade in i valet för studiens deltagare. Faktorer som spelade in i valet för föräldrarna var dels Montessoripedagogiken, men för en förälder skedde valet utan att ha någon kunskap om pedagogiken.  Pedagogernas sätt att samverka med föräldrarna har ibland varit problematiska på grund av språkliga brister, men även på grund av föräldrarnas egen kunskap om Montessoripedagogiken. Två tredjedelar av föräldrarna anser att de har större kunskap om Montessoripedagogiken idag, än vad de hade innan barnet skolades in.

Nyckelord: Föräldrar, Montessoripedagogik, Skola

Keywords:   Montessori, Parents, School

Possible long term effects of previous Montessori education on college age students are relatively unexamined. In this descriptive, exploratory, qualitative study, 13 students who had earlier attended Montessori schools for at least six years were asked to reflect on their just-completed freshman year. Thematic analysis of their in-depth, semi-structured interviews revealed similarities in how they experienced themselves as learners; understood the construction of knowledge, opinion, and truth; experienced themselves as growing and changing; and viewed the influence of their Montessori education. Though their level of epistemological maturity was not measured directly, their responses suggested a more advanced level than usually achieved by comparably aged college students. Their patterns of response also correspond to characteristics Montessori described as the fourth plane of development, which would be achieved by adolescents whose earlier educational experiences had successfully brought them through the first three planes. These findings suggest that further research is needed into the possible long term effects of a Montessori education on individuals as they reach adulthood. Although altering current educational models would be enormously challenging, further examination of this alternative is recommended.

This research aimed to deepen understanding about effective Montessori teachers and broaden the context of the topic by examining aligning Montessori theory with Indigenous theory and sustainability theory. The research was guided by an Indigenous research paradigm and involved using appreciative inquiry and tapping into the wisdom of experienced Montessori educators, considered as coresearchers and elders. Using Bohm’s dialogue process, six small groups of elders pondered together about the essence of Montessori and their insights about teachers who effectively implement the Montessori concept. The total of 20 coresearchers concluded that the essence of Montessori was when Montessori became a way of life, a process, coresearchers believed, is lifelong. The elders determined effective Montessori teachers are those who can apply the Montessori concept in their classroom. Key attributes of effective Montessori teachers included ability to trust, exercise keen observation skills, and develop mindfulness. One insight offered for teacher educators included allowing more time for adult learners to practice implementation of the theory. For administrators, elders believed that teachers’ development unfolds just as students’ and requires in-kind support. Findings help inform prospective and current Montessori teachers, teacher educators, and school administrators. Findings show an alignment between Maria Montessori’s educational theory and how it is practiced, reveal the complex nature of the Montessori concept, and indicate Montessori education fosters a sustainability mindset.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to closely examine the RISE evaluation system and its effectiveness in non-traditional, Montessori schools. The research consisted of a qualitative study interview approach using three administrators, one who did not use the RISE evaluation system, and two who were mandated by their central office to use it; and four teachers, all who were evaluated with the RISE evaluation system. This qualitative study used the theoretical framework—hermeneutic phenomenology. Interviews with the administrators and teachers were used to collect the data. The interviews were administered in personal offices, coffee shops, and at my personal office. All interviews(except one) were tape recorded and transcribed by me. The transcribed interviews were coded to create an item analysis.

The main purpose of this study was to determine if the RISE evaluation system would be an effective tool to use in non-traditional classrooms, such as a Montessori classroom. This study was intended to give educators of non-traditional schools and classrooms information about the RISE evaluation system’s effectiveness.

This research contributes to the field by studying the RISE evaluation system’s effectiveness in non-traditional classrooms. This study provides a framework for examining the factors for conducting effective evaluations using the RISE evaluation system in non-traditional schools.

I detta arbete jämför jag Waldorf (muntlig undervisning och eurytmi), Montessori (ser barnet i dess egen utveckling) och förhållningssättet inlärningsstilar (individanpassat klassrum för maximal inlärning). Syftet med arbetet är att beskriva metoderna och att jämföra likheter och skillnader.

Arbetet är indelat i; en inledande del där jag beskriver syfte, metod och ger en bakgrund till varför jag valt detta ämne, en litteraturdel där jag går igenom de tre metoderna Waldorf, Montessori och inlärningsstilar samt deras syn på den lärande eleven och dess miljö, min egen erfarenhet där jag berättar om hur jag använt och kommit i kontakt med dessa metoder, en undersökning där jag jämför åtta klassers inlärningspreferenser med varandra och därefter presenterar jag min slutdiskussion.

Min hypotes när jag började detta arbete var att stökiga klasser har en majoritet av kinestetiskt/taktila elever och att dessa kan bli hjälpta av programmet inlärningsstilar. Min hypotes gick inte att bevisa genom detta arbete.

The purpose of this study is to examine how educationalists work with bilingual children's language by looking at how and what approaches are used to encourage language development. I have chosen to compare two educational philosophies: Montessori and Outdoor Education, to see how big the differences / similarities are in working methods. The background to this study is that preschools uses various approaches and have different methods to stimulate the children. This means that the conditions for children's language development might look different depending on the preschool they go to. The information used has been gathered through interviews, where I have taken note of educationalists thoughts on their working methods, and through professional literature dealing with this topic. Results and analysis has been performed and presented in various areas that are common in preschool: Reading, gathering, singing and rhymes. The examination shows that there are some differences but that the preschools are working in a similar manner.