This diploma thesis focuses on inclusive education at alternative elementary schools such as Montessori and Waldorf. Alternative education is experiencing great boom and the number of schools and pupils educated in non-traditional ways has risen. In 2016 has been also newly institutionalized policy about inclusive education that has the aim to include children with special educational needs into standard educational process. Aim of this thesis is to find out whether Montessori and Waldorf are more suitable for these children. This thesis also identifies relationships between alternative elementary schools and the public sector, or more precisely how are these relationships perceived by education policy makers. Lastly, this paper describes and explains relationships between parties playing important part in inclusive education and elementary schools. Methodology used in this thesis is qualitative research and research design is represented by single-case study. Used data are collected from three half- structured interviews with elementary school principals. Secondary data were obtained through various documents, cases and reports. analyzed using technique called thematic coding. Alternative (and above all Montessori) schools showed as very suitable for children with special educational needs. But...

This diploma thesis examines the pupil selection to Marie Montessori pedagogical classes and schools. The aim of the thesis was to find out how the individual schools choose pupils in Marie Montessori classes and schools. Furthermore, it was examined what reasons parents have to choose this pedagogy for their child and what conditions parents and pupils have to fulfill for admission to this education. Last but not least, I analyzed how the admission procedure is taking place. The basic research design was a multi-case study. I chose four primary schools with this pedagogy in the big city as well as in smaller towns. I divided the research into two parts. In the first part I conducted semi-structured interviews with employees of selected schools and with parents of children from Montessori classes. In the second part I observed the first class admission interviews. I have found out that each school has defined pupil selection requirements and that these requirements vary considerably between schools. Parents opt for the Montessori School because of its individual approach to individuals. Teachers believe that it is appropriate that parents apply the same educational methods at home and that they would like to apply this as an admission criterion. The whole admission interviews were the same as in...

Syftet med studien är att skapa kunskap kring vilka normer som styr montessoripedagogers uppfattningar på barns agentskap, hur barn får makt och delaktighet över sitt lärande, samt hur miljö och material utformas för att gynna barns lärande och utveckling i montessoriförskolor. Forskningsfrågorna i studien är: Vilken betydelse ger montessoripedagoger inom montessoriförskolor utformningen av den pedagogiska miljön för barns utveckling och lärande? Hur uppfattar montessoripedagoger barns möjlighet till delaktighet i den pedagogiska miljön i montessoriförskolor? Studien genomfördes med individintervjuer med sex montessoripedagoger, som har stor kunskap om montessoripedagogiken. Efter analys av empirin kunde två tydliga teman utskiljas: Miljön strukturerar lärande och utveckling och Frihet att välja inom givna ramar. Resultatet i studien bidrog till att urskilja tydliga strukturer som råder på fyra olika montessoriförskolor gällande inomhusmiljöns utformning och hur barn blir delaktiga.

Research shows that early childhood interventions with fidelity to Montessori model generate learner’s outcomes that outperform the traditional model. The evidence is confirmed in developed and in developing countries. This formative evaluation reports the results of a Montessori model in implementation in township of Mfuleni, located in Cape Town, South Africa. Providing insights into the functioning of the programme, the evaluation confirms that the roll out of the Montessori model is still underway which may explain the reason of the learners not outperforming the comparison group.

Projektet tar sin utgångspunkt i Maria Montessoris teorier om barn och lärande. -Hur kan vi ge barnet frihet? frågar hon i sin bok ”Spontaneous Activity in Education”. Stockholms kulturskola bygger på frivillighet och dess mål är att tillgängliggöra kultur för alla barn. Men kan en kulturskola ge barn frihet på det sätt Montessori menade? Syftet med en kulturskola som utgår från Montessoris teorier är att skapa en trygg men spännande värld för upptäckter och lärande på barnens egna villkor.Min uppgift har blivit att skapa förutsättningar i miljön för att underlätta en lärandeprocess genom lek, men samtidigt undvika för många störningsmoment. Därför hanteras programmet genom att dela upp skolan i flera mindre hus för att åstadkomma koncentration och för att kunna skapa en relation mellan två, eller högst 3 aktiviteter. Namnet på kulturskolan är inspirerat av den slingrande rörelsen: arabesquen, vilket är ett begrepp som används inom konst, musik och dans. / The project is based on Maria Montessori's theories about children and learning. - How can we give the child freedom? she asks in her book "Spontaneous Activity in Education" . The communal culture school is completely optional, and its aim is to make culture available for all children. But can a culture school give children freedom in the way Montessori meant? The purpose of culture school based on Montessori's theories is to create a safe but exciting world of discovery and learning on children’s own terms. My task has been to generate the conditions in the environment in order to facilitate a process of learning through play, while avoiding too many distractions. Therefore, the program is managed by dividing the school into several smaller houses to provide concentration and to create a relationship between two, or a maximum of three activities. The name of the school is inspired by the flowing movement: the arabesque, which is a term used in art, music and dance.

Work in the six chapters first formulates thesis of the need to address the problem of loss of quality of teaching of the Catholic religion. This is then given to the second chapter, which carefully considers its history. After a brief third chapter which collectively will talk about alternative education speak collectively alternative education is included in this current analytical processing analysis Montessori and Waldorf education. It analysis processes the history of the founders of both pedagogies and the relation to the didactic triangle educator - curriculum - student. The sixth chapter is a synthesis of findings and draw conclusions about the relationship of spirituality to Christianity and usability of teaching methods. Keywords Christianity, education, Montessori, Waldorf, teacher, student

Svensson, Elisabeth (2018). Rektors ledarskap och organisation i Montessori- friskolor – enintervjustudie av tre rektorer. (Principals leadership and organization in Montessori-schools - aninterview study of three principals). Pedagogik, Institutionen för Skolutveckling och ledarskap,Fakulteten för Lärande och samhälle, Malmö universitet.The research that has taken place has consisted of interviews with principals in two Montessorischools(F-6, F-9) and one Montessori-inspired school (F-6). My purpose with this study was toinvestigate how principals pedagogically lead and organize the daily work connected with how theschool structurally is built and lead. The interviews have been accomplished by a manual withquestions and are semi-structured. I have with a phenomenologically approach tried to describe,interpret and analyze the principals daily work from respondents own perspective. In my analysis,I have used the complexity theory in order to understand and interpret the complexity of the schoolorganization and two models of leadership, transformational and transactional leadership. Theresult of the analysis shows that the Montessori-school principals strategically consciously workwith attitudes and methods of working in the context of learning and teaching. I have identified abasis for how school leadership can be practised within the Montessori pedagogy. I have also in myanalysis established the fact that many of the characteristics of the Montessori pedagogy correspondwith what is stated in the curriculum of the compulsory school (Lgr 11). In relation to theleadership of the principals I have been able to state the fact that both a transformational and atransactional leadership are represented in the three schools. I have made the complexity in theprincipal’s leadership evident in the relation to the organization of the schools and have identifiedan obvious challenge and conflict of interest between the main organization, that is controlled bythe committee, and the principal and the staff of the the schools. My analysis clearly shows that theopinion of all three principals is that the daily work in the school organization is complex. I make acomparison with the complexity theory, which indicates that when the abstract and the simplifiedissues in the daily work meet with the more concrete and complex issues, this will cause difficultiesin the organization. .The study can hopefully increase the knowledge of principals’ leadershiprelated to the organization in Montessori-schools and be complementary to further research in thisfield.

Denna kvalitativa studie undersöker hur förskollärares förhållningssätt under barns fria lek inom de två pedagogiska inriktningarna Reggio Emilia och Montessori kan tolkas utifrån Foucaults maktperspektiv. Hur fri är egentligen den fria leken? Forskning kring den fria leken utgår i huvudsak från två områden. Den fria lekens betydelse för barns lärande och utveckling samt pedagogens roll i barns fria lek. Genomgång av forskningsfältet kring detta ämne visar att den makt som utövas under den fria leken är ett mindre utforskat område. Observationerna i studien har genomförts på sex förskollärare på fem kommunala förskolor, i två kommuner i Sverige. Resultatet visar att förskollärarna inom Reggio Emilia och Montessori ofta intar ett passivt övervakande förhållningssätt. När förskollärarna inte förhåller sig som passiva övervakare så intar de istället ett styrande förhållningssätt. De korrigerar då barnens beteende och normaliserar dem, det vill säga fogar in dem inom ramen för rådande normer. Detta för att barnen ska bli bättre och nyttigare människor. / <p>2019-12-20</p>

In a Texas school district, administrators did not monitor the fidelity of implementation (FOI) of the Montessori kindergarten program implemented in 2005, which left administrators without empirical data regarding program implementation. The purpose of this qualitative evaluative case study was to explore teachers' and administrators' perceptions and implementation of the Montessori program. Using the implementation of science framework, which involves examining FOI by monitoring interventions, implementation methods, enabling contexts, and intended outcomes, data were collected through interviews, nonparticipatory observations, and a review of archived Montessori documents. A convenience sample of 10 Montessori teachers, who met criteria of over 5 years of teaching experience, and 2 or more years experience teaching in the Montesorri program, and administrators who met criteria of supervising Montesorri grades, volunteered to participate in this study. Data were analyzed using comparative and inductive analyses and analytical coding. Findings from the data resulted in emergence of 5 themes: administrative support and capacity building for the Montessori program to support FOI, availability of more advanced Montessori resources, peer coaching to support novice Montesorri teachers, precise and consistent comprehension of the Montessori learning model, and relevant and targeted professional development related to Montesorri program implementation. A 3-day professional development project was designed to promote FOI of the Montessori program for teachers and administrators. The project will improve stakeholders' knowledge and capacity building to strengthen Montesorri program FOI and promote students' academic success. Fidelity of Implementation of an Urban Elementary Montessori Kindergarten Program by DaMesia D. Starling MS, Walden University, 2010 BS, Jarvis Christian College, 2003 Project Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education Walden University April 2018

Aktuell forskning belyser betydelsen av sensoriska upplevelser och rörelse i inlärningsprocessen. Sensoriska upplevelser påverkar hjärnans aktiveringsmönster på ett positivt sätt, vilket leder till en mer effektiv inlärningsupplevelse. Montessoripedagogiken betonar lärande genom sensoriska upplevelser som en nyckelaspekt i barns utveckling. Ett noggrant utformat utbildningsmaterial anses vara en viktig tillgång med stor betydelse, men samtidigt skapar montessorimaterialet förväntningar och en läraridentitet associerad med montessoripedagogiken, vilket ger upphov till dilemman i den dagliga praktiken. Syftet med denna studie är att analysera montessoripedagogernas berättelser om hur det språkmaterial som designats av Maria Montessori för barns skriv- och läsutveckling lever vidare, tolkas och används i samtiden. I studien användes en kvalitativ forskningsansats med semistrukturerade intervjuer med sex informanter från fyra montessoriförskolor. Deltagarna informerades om forskningens syfte och gavs möjlighet att dra sig ur när som helst, samt att pseudonymer användes för att säkerställa konfidentialitet. Tematisk analys användes för att identifiera mönster i montessoripedagogernas berättelser om språkmaterialet. Studiens teoretiska ram är baserad på Michael Billigs begrepp om ideologiska dilemman, vilket användes för att analysera montessoripedagogernas berättelser om språkmaterialen. Detta gjordes för att lyfta fram montessoripedagogernas åsikter, nuvarande användning och tolkning av språkmaterialet designat av Maria Montessori. Montessoripedagogerna uppskattar språkmaterialet, men en läraridentitet konstrueras genom materialet där de navigerar genom ideologiska dilemman och konflikter mellan det vedertagna "common sense" inom montessorisystemet och deras egna erfarenheter och strategier. Slutsatsen om att en läraridentitet konstrueras genom materialet kan vägleda skolledare vid implementering av utbildningsmaterial. Ett dilemmaperspektiv kan vara en tillgång för att stödja pedagogers och arbetsgruppens arbete för att förstå sitt material och anpassa sig till nya metoder och verktyg för att möta barnens behov. Vid utformningen av nya utbildningsmaterial kan studiens resultat bidra med viktiga insikter att beakta.