Montessori

Maria Montessori made history as the first woman to graduate from the University of Rome’s School of Medicine. Dr Maria Montessori earned recognition for her work in mathematics and established sciences, alongside her exploration of emerging disciplines like anthropology and psychiatry. These areas of interest proved invaluable in her role as a scientist. Her educational philosophy was rooted in scientific observations, driven by the belief that children’s education is a means to build a better society. Conducting global observations, she discovered that the laws of development were universal and inherent in children of all races and cultures. Today, the Montessori approach to education, spanning from birth to maturity, is widely respected and practised internationally.

Montessori education views each child as a unique individual in self-formation, often equipped with accurate instincts about their next steps in growth and learning. Montessori schools foster this discovery through meticulously prepared environments supporting a child’s intellectual and spiritual growth. In Montessori classrooms, children are grouped according to developmental planes, with an age range of approximately three to six years in each level. Children engage in uninterrupted blocks of time on self-selected activities, often utilising specially designed manipulative materials that concretely illustrate abstract concepts. Emphasising freedom and responsibility, children move about the classroom at will.

Dr Maria Montessori believed children are self-constructing and naturally seek new ideas through curiosity and an innate drive to learn. She envisioned her educational method as a model for societal peace, emphasising skills of cooperation, respect, and self-control developed in a Montessori environment, leading to a happy and fulfilling life. Yet, her most significant contribution remains her gift to children — genuinely seeing, understanding, and respecting them, resulting in a unique approach to education. Her vision, established in 1907 with her first school, endures today as influential, inventive, and child-responsive. We honour Maria Montessori’s vision by adhering to the standards of the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) she founded.

Within the child lies the fate of the future.

Dr Maria Montessori

Maria Montessori had no internet, but she did have excellent training in observational skills through her training to become a medical doctor before the age of diagnostic equipment. After her medical studies, she also studied anthropology. This combination of studies, combined with her inquisitive mind, gave her the possibility of looking at child development – not from the point of view of an educator, but from the point of view of wonderment, of questioning what best supports normal human development. She did not begin her work with a selection of developmental theories; she started by observing children, children given a space to spend time, children given a certain level of freedom. She then sat and observed, spoke with the adults with whom she collaborated, and refined her “experiment.” She eliminated toys and experiences that generally did not apply to all children – or activities that did not capture the children’s interest. Over many years, she continued to observe, refine, and discuss her findings, creating what we have today known as the Montessori Method. Human development is a long process, a process which cannot be managed but a process which does need understanding and support. We cannot force it – we can only recognise it and offer our best efforts to understand and accept it. From our Montessori point of view, it is THE normal progression of life. For this reason Montessori called her approach “psycho-pedagogy” not an educational method.

Historical Timeline

1896: Maria graduates to great public acclaim from the University of Rome School of Medicine. She is the first woman in Italy to receive a medical degree. Maria also studied anthropology, biology and psychiatry. As an early feminist she represents Italy at the 1896 Women’s Conference in Berlin where, among other things, she is a strong advocate for equal pay.
1896-1907: Dr Montessori’s work brings her into close contact with children. During this period, the Italian Minister of Education appoints her as the Director of the Scuola Ortofrenica. This institution was dedicated to caring for and educating youngsters who were considered “cognitively challenged”. Through the development of her Montessori method, many of these 8-year-old students can pass standard testing with above-average scores.
1907: Dr Montessori opens Casa dei Bambini, or “Children’s House,” for children ages 3 to 6 years in one of the poorest neighborhoods in San Lorenzo, Italy.
1913: Dr Montessori made her first visit to the United States. Alexander Graham Bell and his wife, Mabel, founded the Montessori Educational Association.
1915: Panama-Pacific International Exhibition in San Francisco: Dr Montessori receives international attention with her “glass house” schoolroom exhibit. During this visit, Dr Montessori led a teacher training course in the States.
1922: The Italian government asks Dr Montessori to return to become a government inspector of schools.
1929: Dr Montessori founds the Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) in Amsterdam, Netherlands, with her son, Mario, to preserve her educational principles.
1939: Dr Montessori and her son travel to India to give a series of teacher training courses. Both are detained in India during World War II.
1947: Dr Montessori started a training centre in London and continued to spend time in India.
1949: Dr Montessori is nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
1950: Dr Montessori is nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
1951: Dr Montessori is nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
1952: Dr Montessori died in the Netherlands, assured that her legacy would be continued through the work of the Association Montessori Internationale.

Dr Montessori was a pioneering scientist and educator who developed an approach based on the development of the whole human being. Her work has been studied and designed for many years and is successfully evidenced today in neuroscience and research into the executive functioning skills of children and adults.

The following is a selection of links to Montessori research and studies.

Educational Technology Research and Development, University of Sydney – Finger tracing enhances learning: evidence for 100-year-old practice

Largest Ever Montessori Study: Strengths Across Race and Income, National Center for Montessori in the Public Sector. David Ayer, 2018

New Study: Public Montessori Raises Achievement, Closes Gaps, Angeline S. Lillard, PhD, 2017

Montessori: The Science behind the Genius, Angeline S. Lillard, PhD, 2017

Longitudinal Comparison of Place-Value and Arithmetic Knowledge in Montessori and Non-Montessori Students, Elida V. Laski, Marina Vasilyeva, and Joanna Schiffman, Boston College, Journal of Montessori Research 2016, Volume 2, Issue 1

Interventions Shown to Aid Executive Function Development in Children 4 to 12 Years Old, Adele Diamond and Kathleen Lee, Science magazine, August 2011

Empirical studies on Montessori education in Germany, Chloë Marshall, Department of Psychology and Human Development, University College London, 2008

Evaluating Montessori Education, Angeline Lillard and Nicole Else-Quest, Science magazine, September 2006

A comparison of Montessori and traditional middle schools: motivation, quality of experience, and social context, Kevin Rathunde, The NAMTA Journal, Vol. 28, No. 3, Summer 2003

If the children have freedom to choose their work, how the school ensures that the child’s education meets the state standards?

Children in Montessori environments are free to choose within limits and have only as much freedom as they can handle with appropriate responsibility. The teacher creates daily and weekly lesson plans and observes the work in every lesson for each child. The teacher connects the child with the curriculum and then tracks their progress to ensure that every child masters the appropriate level and element of the curriculum. Beyond there are three essential tools – the student has an awareness about the educational requirements and expectations as a minimum, records his work in a student journal on a daily basis and has a weekly individual meeting with his teacher.

What is the difference between Montessori and traditional education?

For children six and under, Montessori emphasises learning through all five senses, not just listening, watching, or reading. Children in Montessori classrooms learn at their own individual pace and according to their choice of activities from hundreds of possibilities. They are not required to sit and listen to a teacher talk to them as a group but are engaged in individual or group activities of their own, with materials that have been introduced to them 1:1 by the teacher who knows what each child is ready to do. Learning is an exciting process of discovery, leading to concentration, motivation, self-discipline, and a love of learning. Above age six, children learn to do independent research; arrange field trips to gather information; interview specialists; create group presentation, dramas, art exhibits, musical productions, science projects, and so forth. There is no limit to what they can create in this intelligently guided environment of freedom of choice. There is great respect for the choices of the children, but they easily keep up with or surpass what they would be doing in a more traditional setting. There is no wasted time, and children enjoy their work and study. After the teacher connects them with a lesson, much of the learning that follows comes from sharing and inspiring each other instead of competing with each other.

Can Montessori students adapt to traditional education?

Teaching our children to adjust to change without undue fear and anxiety is one of life’s important lesson for all children. But here’s the bonus for Montessori students: the Montessori Method is about developing coping tools through building confidence, independence, and problem-solving skills. As a result, most Montessori students are actually more adaptable than their non-Montessori peers.

Montessori children can transition to regular schools, and they do it well. Most children themselves reported that they adjusted just fine, and their parents reported that their child transitioned to the new school without acting out or showing any transitional problems.

The Montessori students hаvе good work habits and organisation, and hand in their assignments on time, they work independently and are focused, disciplined and self directed. The children transitioning to conventional schools from Montessori elementary programs have spent years working independently and with a good deal of freedom. They have been accountable to their teachers for the plans they agreed to, and they have been following up for years. They’ve been working at the graduate school level of self-responsibility.

Do Montessori schools have textbooks, homework, or grades?

The Montessori classrooms do not emphasise the use of textbooks, grades, or homework in their traditional meaning.

The Montessori students are encouraged to take ownership of their learning. This is essential in fostering the child’s natural, in-borne desire to soak up knowledge. Because children who are internally motivated are far more likely to become responsible, self-disciplined, confident, initiative-takers, with strong academic skills and a lifelong love for learning. This is a key to education as it should be: developed to teach how children really learn.