This study investigates differences in academic achievement and self-concept of students enrolled in a traditional public school program and a public school Montessori program. The attitudes of parents of students are also compared. The population includes 182 experimental and control kindergarten, first-, second-, and third-grade students in a Texas metropolitan school district.

Maria Montessori's work was initiated in 1898 as a result of her becoming acutely aware of deficient children's learning patterns, while working at the Psychiatric clinic of the University of Rome. The principles which dominate the system, however, did not ·'"spring in full panoply from Montessori. Indeed, her inspiration came largely from early and mid-nineteenth century writings of two French physicians, Itard and Seguin, who were Also involved in the teaching of deficient children. Extending on the ideas of these two educator-physicians, as well as the ideas of Froebe!, Montessori innovatively brought the child's senses into contact with carefully selected didactic apparatus in a carefully structured and ordered environment. According to Montessori, the liberty of the child is a prerequisite for self-education and forms the first major pillar of her didactic theory, and thus becomes the focus of the first chapter dealing with her didactic approach (chapter three) • Montessori believed that the function of education was to assist growth and if the individual child was given the liberty of movement within a prepared environment, a sense of competence would be achieved and the learning of the child would come about almost spontaneously. The principles of individuality and the training of the senses comprise the other two pillars, and form the basis for chapter four and five respectively. The principle of individuality is rooted in the belief that each child has a uniqueness which cannot be ignored without irretrievable damage to his personality. The current educational situation in South Africa, reveals a diversity of educational problems as a result of different ethnic and cultural groups all being thrust into a common educational system. The insidious pressures of conformity to a single standard of education must of necessity lead to a compromise of '"standards. The exposure of educational deficiencies inherent in such a move is characterised by learning impediments and deficiencies in the educational scenario. Research has therefore been undertaken in an attempt to extract those aspects that could provide meaningful pedagogic assistance to meet a present educational need. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (History of Education)

Maria Montessori's work was initiated in 1898 as a result of her becoming acutely aware of deficient children's learning patterns, while working at the Psychiatric clinic of the University of Rome. The principles which dominate the system, however, did not ·'"spring in full panoply from Montessori. Indeed, her inspiration came largely from early and mid-nineteenth century writings of two French physicians, Itard and Seguin, who were Also involved in the teaching of deficient children. Extending on the ideas of these two educator-physicians, as well as the ideas of Froebe!, Montessori innovatively brought the child's senses into contact with carefully selected didactic apparatus in a carefully structured and ordered environment. According to Montessori, the liberty of the child is a prerequisite for self-education and forms the first major pillar of her didactic theory, and thus becomes the focus of the first chapter dealing with her didactic approach (chapter three) • Montessori believed that the function of education was to assist growth and if the individual child was given the liberty of movement within a prepared environment, a sense of competence would be achieved and the learning of the child would come about almost spontaneously. The principles of individuality and the training of the senses comprise the other two pillars, and form the basis for chapter four and five respectively. The principle of individuality is rooted in the belief that each child has a uniqueness which cannot be ignored without irretrievable damage to his personality. The current educational situation in South Africa, reveals a diversity of educational problems as a result of different ethnic and cultural groups all being thrust into a common educational system. The insidious pressures of conformity to a single standard of education must of necessity lead to a compromise of '"standards. The exposure of educational deficiencies inherent in such a move is characterised by learning impediments and deficiencies in the educational scenario. Research has therefore been undertaken in an attempt to extract those aspects that could provide meaningful pedagogic assistance to meet a present educational need. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (History of Education)

Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-08T16:35:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 carla.pdf: 3058194 bytes, checksum: 42ae68226414cb76578e98c76da50262 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-12-10 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Esta pesquisa, ao nível de Mestrado, objetiva analisar o espaço escolar de uma escola privada e católica de Florianópolis: o Centro Educacional Menino Jesus - CEMJ, fundado em 1955 e dirigido pela congregação das Irmãs Franciscanas de São José, que, a partir de 1973, introduziu o método Montessori, desenvolvido pela médica italiana Maria Montessori no início do século XX, adaptando seus pressupostos ao currículo da escola, confessional e católica. Vinculado ao contexto da Escola Nova, este Método propõe, dentre outras especificidades, um novo desenho espacial para a escola e, especificamente para a sala de aula, adaptando-o as necessidades infantis e tornando-o auto-educativo, ou seja, capaz de produzir a autonomia na criança. Tendo como ferramenta de análise as teorizações dos historiadores espanhóis Agustín Escolano Benito e Antonio Viñao Frago (2001), parto do pressuposto de que o espaço escolar é um mediador cultural em relação à gênese e formação dos primeiros esquemas cognitivos e motores, ou seja, um elemento significativo do currículo, uma ¿fonte de experiência e aprendizagem¿, sendo uma ¿forma silenciosa de ensino¿. (ESCOLANO, 2001, p. 26-27). Assim, a forma como o espaço é projetado e utilizado na sala de aula e em outros ¿lugares¿ da escola, contribui para o engendramento de uma determinada cultura escolar, capaz de produzir subjetividades e identificações bastante particulares. Nesta perspectiva, procuro entender as mudanças provocadas no espaço do colégio pelas modificações em seu encaminhamento metodológico, especificamente com a questão: O que o espaço do CEMJ pretendia/pretende ensinar? Para tal análise, utilizo como fontes básicas documentos, a entrevista com a irmã dirigente, depoimentos da coordenação pedagógica e professores (atuais e aposentados), o currículo da instituição e seus projetos político-pedagógicos, jornais da época, livros administrativos, o filme ¿Maria Montessori ¿ Uma vida dedicada as crianças¿ e, ainda, materiais do curso de formação para professores montessorianos do CEMJ, mais o acervo do Memorial da instituição, (fotografias, jornais da época, materiais e registros pedagógicos e administrativos). A delimitação do recorte temporal vai do ano em que o colégio introduz em seu desenho curricular o método chamado Montessori-Lubienska (1973), até o ano de 2006, por dois motivos: primeiro, porque naquele período no CEMJ (após longo trabalho de fusão interna), o modelo de versão norte-americana é considerado produzindo novas mudanças e, segundo, por coincidir com o momento em que realizo meu estágio de pesquisa na graduação

This study constitutes an attempt to describe and analyse the quality of selected early childhood development programmes in South Africa, and provide criteria by which the quality of programmes could be assessed. The need for, and importance of, providing quality early childhood development programmes is highlighted. The influence of educational pf:lilosophies on programmes is recognised, hence the total development of the child and educational philosophies related thereto are discussed. Factors and components within programmes that contribute to high quality are explored. Moreover, criteria by means of which quality early childhood development programmes may be assessed, are provided. In this regard criteria for the formulation of aims, selection and the organisation of content, assessment, role of the teacher and parent involvement in programmes are suggested. It is against these criteria that selected early childhood development programmes in South Africa are described and analysed. programmes conclude the study. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Didactics)

This study constitutes an attempt to describe and analyse the quality of selected early childhood development programmes in South Africa, and provide criteria by which the quality of programmes could be assessed. The need for, and importance of, providing quality early childhood development programmes is highlighted. The influence of educational pf:lilosophies on programmes is recognised, hence the total development of the child and educational philosophies related thereto are discussed. Factors and components within programmes that contribute to high quality are explored. Moreover, criteria by means of which quality early childhood development programmes may be assessed, are provided. In this regard criteria for the formulation of aims, selection and the organisation of content, assessment, role of the teacher and parent involvement in programmes are suggested. It is against these criteria that selected early childhood development programmes in South Africa are described and analysed. programmes conclude the study. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Didactics)

The thesis is focused on the use of the Marie Montessori method at the second stage of the primary school. The first part explains the principles of Montessori education and training, including the introduction of appropriate didactic recommendations. There are mentioned possibilities of project teaching and description of the cooking project that is the subject of the research. The aim of this work was to find out what changes pupils perceive after completing the annual cooking project. The results showed that pupils learned how to cook, work in a team and how to resolve conflicts. They started eating more vegetables. Cooking is fun. In the future, pupils want to choose whether or not to participate in the project.