Philosophy regarding Montessori Education

Abstract
The education approach plays a fundamental role in the cognitive development of a child. The Montessori theory of Education introduced in 1903 by Maria Montessori has been identified to significantly contribute to effective cognitive development. The Montessori curriculum has emerged popular across the globe with the Montessori principles being adopted across private and public school setting. The Montessori education philosophy demands a redefining of school and redesigning of the classroom from a constrained environment to a free environment where children have autonomy in interest and pace of learning. The Montessori education is designed to offer sensory training, arithmetic, language acquisition, practical life skills, physical education and self-discipline to the children. The Montessori theory is founded on the philosophy that education process is grounded on two elements; child and environment. The Montessori curriculum is designed to ensure individualized and sequential learning pace. Contrary to the abstract conventional education system that has a standardized curriculum, the Montessori education system is a spontaneous designed to allows the learners to explore their innate power and urge for knowledge. Multiple studies have demonstrated that education curriculum integrating the Montessori principles performs superior to the conventional principles of education.
Key Words
Montessori Education, Absorbent Mind, Environment
1. Background of Maria Montessori Curriculum
Fostering children’s enthusiasm and intrinsic motivation for knowledge remains a fundamental challenge for the contemporary education system and a foundation for the Montessori education curriculum introduced in the early 20th century by Italian Physician Dr. Maria Montessori (Gurek, 2013). The Montessori curriculum was fundamentally designed for the “absorbent mind” phase of life and puts emphasis on the interaction of a child and immediate environment. Montessori conceived the philosophy that interaction with the environment shapes the cognitive development of a child. She claimed, “The child make use of all that he finds around him, shapes himself for the future.”- Dr. Maria Montessori. Montessori methods reformulated the conventional teaching pedagogy of teacher-centered learning to child-centered education and has continued to attract interest across the globe. The Montessori education approach has prevailed for over 100 years and continues to remain a flourishing with over 22,000 Montessori schools operating in over 100 countries (Marshall, 2017)
Montessori was a major force for integration of constructivism, sensory theory and self-directed learning in education curriculum (Cooeny & Samantha, 2018). Born on the 31st August 1870 Chiaravalle, Italy, Maria Montessori grew to an aggressive woman who pushed the limits of the traditional Italian society by pursuing engineering and medical fields, fields that were predominantly considered as a male profession (Marshall, 2017). Maria Montessori pursued a medical degree in neurology, specializing in mental illness and graduated from the University of Rome Medical School and became the first woman to be awarded a Medical Degree in Italy (Cooeny & Samantha, 2018). Working at the pediatric unit and attending to children with intellectual disabilities, Montessori developed interest in the science, psychology and special education needs of children (Gutek, 2013). Montessori appointment as director of Orth phrenic School opened an opportunity for pursuing an integral pedagogical method of children education in 1901 and later on in 1907 opened the first Montessori school in San Lorenzo district in Rome serving 2-6-year-old 50-60 children from low-income households. The school was the first center to apply the Montessori materials that incorporated her clinical experience and pathology of “degenerate” child.
Montessori founded Association Montessori International (AMI) in 1929 to promote quality education and remained vocal quality training till her demise in 1959. Montessori traveled across the globe to offer lectures on her theories of training and remain recognized for her contributions to psychology and education of children. Her work attracted substantial interest and saw her being nominated for the 1949, 1950 and 1951 Nobel Peace Prize. The Montessori education approach has prevailed for over 100 years and continues to remain a flourishing with over 22,000 Montessori schools operating in over 100 countries. The system was introduced by Maria Montessori (1870–1952) in the 19th century (Marshall, 2017).
Montessori left a legacy in childhood education by introducing the pedagogical method of early childhood education. The Montessori education theories are founded on the sensory education concepts of physicians Edouard Sequi and Jean Itard and scholarly work of scholar Froebel (Cooeny & Samantha, 2018). She claimed that a child’s mental and physiological constitution determines the child’s power to act while the environment provides the essential milieu for cognitive development (Gurek, 2013). Accordingly, it’s the interaction between the child and the environment that determines the extent of the physic and psychological powers development. The cornerstone of the Montessori curriculum is autonomy where children are given the freedom to have control over the daily learning routine. Montessori emphasis the existence of inherent capacity of children to bear responsibility hence should be allowed to exercise their judgment driven by enthusiasm and imagination. The Montessori curriculum is founded on the concept that interaction with activities, events, believes and ideas construct one’s knowledge and understanding (Ültan?r, 2012).
Dr. Montessori believed that kids who are allowed to be creative, free independent and let to listen to their inner voice would emerge free, independent and creative adults which would ensure a society devoid of wars with abundance kindness and peace (Cooeny & Samantha, 2018). Montessori pedagogy work extensively focused on the “Absorbent mind” phase of 0- 6 years of cognitive development. The absorbent mind phase entails both cognitive skill development and the establishment of patterns of acculturation and socialization (Gutek, 2013). The phase entails a psychic construction where children effortlessly assimilate sensorial stimuli of their environment. According to Montessori, the infancy phase entails survival skills unconscious learning and is associated with the high intensity of learning. Montessori noted that “ …if we compare our ability as adults to that of the child it would require us 60 years of hard work to achieve what a child has achieved in this first three year” -Dr. Maria Montessori
2. Principles of Montessori Method
a. Learning Environment
One of the overarching pedagogical principles of Montessori education is the learning environment. The principle argues that the learning environment ought to be designed to support the children’s intellectual, emotional physical and social skills development through independent and explorative learning (Gutek, 2013). Montessori advocates home setting as the first learning environment for children, a concept that saw the first Montessori school being established in the same apartment where the children were residing. Accordingly, learning and socialization of children are a collective responsibility of the parents and teachers, therefore, proximity of home and school was crucial for consistent learning in formative years.
Montessori education system emphasizes a “planned environment” which is a natural environment that allows easy functionality and movement of the child. Unlike the contemporary education structure where learners are immobilized on a desk, Montessori classroom environment is structured to enable learning through hands-on, self- directed activity and collaborative plan aided by themed designed learning materials (Ültan?r, 2012). According to Montessori, classroom designed for experiential learning foster a deeper understanding of science, mathematics, music, language, and social interactions. Montessori believed in the transmission of knowledge was effectively done through the internalization of concepts and patterns. "If education is always to be conceived along the same antiquated lines of a mere transmission of knowledge, there is little to be hoped from it in the bettering of man's future" Dr. Maria Montessori. A typical Montessori classroom is a spacious and open room with multiple shelves and diverse learning materials. The furniture in the classroom are scaled to the child size to create an environment similar to the home environment since the home is the first learning environment. Notably, each piece of material in a Montessori classroom serves a specified purpose and seeks to create a match with the children’s interest. The materials are scientifically designed reflecting or modern society to enable the learners to develop cognitive skills. A Montessori classroom environment allows the learners to make choices and to direct their learning as opposed to the traditional approach where the learners passively learn by learning to their teachers (Gurek, 2013)
b. Three-year Mixed- Age Classrooms
A second outstanding feature of the Montessori environment is the “three years mixed-age classrooms” of children into groups of less than 3 years, 3- 6 years, 6-9 years and 9-13 years centrally to the traditional schooling that groups learners in “one age classrooms” (Gurek, 2013). The mixed age concept mimics the home, community or work environment where the learners coexist. A mixed age atmosphere where the learners have varied abilities foster interaction where the learners learn to appreciate, challenge and help each other. The environment teaches the older children leadership skills, empathy, tolerance, and patience while the younger children could learn virtues such as manners, courtesy and conflict resolution. Montessori (1949) argues that peer earners have natural mental osmosis that makes a peer child be a better instructor to peers compared to an adult instructor. Given the age differences, the children learn at an individualized pace which eliminates competition, envy, humiliation and anti-social life which is prevalent in the mainstream curriculum. Collaborative learning creates a sense of community which prepares the learners social skills.
c. Self-Directed Learning
Another distinguishing principle of Montessori education that separates it from contemporary education is the “self-directed learning” where the children exercise their volition and engage on both independent learning and group learning based on their interest on the environment. Montessori sought to move away for the conventional teacher-learner transmission of knowledge to an approach that explores the inner-teacher and a psychic power that children possess at birth. According to Montessori, a teacher is a co-explorer and facilitator who motivates the children to formulate, question and challenge ideas (Ültan?r, 2012). The self-directed learning environment removes the absolute authority on learning materials conferred to the teacher by the contemporary curriculum, hence ensures that the child is the center of learning. The fundamental role of the teacher is preparing the learning materials and establishing a calm and joyful learning atmosphere. A point stressed by Montessori is the definition of success of a teachers’ work is the ability of the students to operate independently. Montessori claimed ‘"The greatest sign of success for a teacher is to be able to say the children are now working as if I didn't exist". -Dr. Maria Montessori. Montessori introduced the “Follow Child” philosophy where a teacher observes constructively and interferes less to enhance joyful exploration and self-discovery. Unlike the conventional education system where the focus of the teacher is to ensure the children learn specific concepts, Montessori teachers fundamentally nurture internal motivation critical-thinking skills.
d. Role of the Child
The “role of the child” is another unique feature of the Montessori curriculum. Montessori observed that children have sensitive periods of childhood occurring from birth to age six. Dr. Montessori argues that children undergo distinctive planes of both psychological and physical changes that influence education development. The phases include; infancy (0-6 years), childhood (6 -12 years), adolescence/teenage (12-18years) and transition to adulthood (18- 24 years) (Cooeny & Samantha, 2018). The infancy planes span zero to six years which Montessori (1949) refers to it as the “Absorbent Mind” phase. The absorbent mind phase entails both cognitive skill development and the establishment of patterns of acculturation and socialization (Gutek 2013). The phase entails a psychic construction where children effortlessly assimilate sensorial stimuli of their environment. She argued that there was a universal law that governed cognitive development during the absorbent mind phase. The infancy stage is characterized by an inquisitive mind and associated with mastering basic human skills such as speech, intelligence, movement coordination, and culture adaptation. The phase demonstrates a critical aspect of education; that education is a natural process inherently carried by human beings and is acquired through experiences from interactions with the environment; “ Education is a natural process carried out by the child and is not acquired by listening to words but my experiences in the environment.” According to Montessori, education curriculum ought to merge with transitional sensitive periods when children have intrinsic compulsion learn from the immediate environment. It’s in the sensitive periods that the child learns, absorbs skills and assimilates unconsciously. The sensitive period is a phase of normalization where the child adjusts and becomes grounded to their environment through their individualized effort. “The child becomes a person through work”
3. Differential of Conventional and Montessori Education Methods
The Montessori approach is founded on constructivism theory where learning is embedded on inner reflections and interactions with peers and teachers in constructing knowledge which fostering both social and academic skills. The Montessori approach encourages individualized learning that responds to the learner’s interest, needs, and abilities. The Montessori practices nurture intrinsic motivation as opposed to extrinsic motivation to learning. Contrary to the Montessori approach, the conventional approach is centered on group pace of learning where the learners are typically constrained on the desk with the teachers directing learning. The learning speed of children in a conventional setting is externally determined and depending on other learners pace of learning. Learning is arbitrarily scheduled in 20-40 minutes’ sessions of learning which implies a constant change of focus of learning. The conventional learning approach has a structured curriculum that guides the teachers who plan the learning activities. On the centrally, the Montessori curriculum is spontaneous and designed to afford the learner autonomy in learning. The Montessori curriculum is designed to ensure individualized and sequential learning pace. The repetitive design and sequential materials ensure that a learner completes a single activity before proceeding to the next activity which ensures mastery of constructs and self-sufficiency of the learners. The learners have the freedom to repetitively engage in an activity which aids in refining the children understanding of a construct. Moreover, the learning sessions are strategically linked to ensure consistency in learning (Shivakumara, et al., 2016).
In the conventional classroom settings, the learners are grouped in a uniform age group centrally to the three-year span of age grouping in the Montessori classrooms. The Montessori classroom consists of student groupings according to interest and skill levels as opposed to age. Mixed age grouping fosters collaborative, supportive and trusting relationships among the learners. The older children in a mixed age classroom get leadership and mentorship opportunity while the younger observe advanced practices from seniors which cultivates an environment for social skills learning. Shivakumara, et al. (2016) identified “more pronounced” leadership skills in mixed –age classrooms. The mixed-group approach cultivates self-awareness and self-discipline as each of the children has responsibility such as conflict resolution. The conventional education approach emphasizes on memorization of concepts and use of standardized test to evaluate children learning progress which essentially fosters competitive learning as opposed to intrinsically motivated learning. Shivakumara, et al. (2016) comparative analysis identified that the children educated under the Montessori curriculum had superior cognitive and social performance relative to children with the conventional education orientation, which demonstrates the significance of incorporating the Montessori principles in the education curriculum.
4. Conclusion
The ultimate objective of education is fostering independence where a learner becomes fully grounded on the dynamics of life. Undoubtedly, the Montessori curriculum is designed to cultivate independence from the onset. The education policy should, therefore, endeavor to incorporate the Montessori principles to ensure children develop both social and academic skills at earlier phases of cognitive development. As Montessori observed with her first school Casa dei Bambini, reorienting the education system to a learner-centered approach particularly in early childhood education is fundamentally significant for lifting the poverty-affected children who are mainly the beneficiaries of conventional education from the circles of quality education deprivation. As opposed to the approach that children are empty vessels that need to be filled with knowledge, children need to be given an opportunity to explore their innate hunger for knowledge. As Montessori emphasizes “The goal of early childhood education should be to activate child’s own natural desire to learn.”



References
Cooeny, A., & Samantha, J. (2018, November 19). The Educational Theory of Maria Montessori. Retrieved from New Foundations
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Marshall, C. (2017). Montessori education: a review of the evidence base. Npj Science of Learning, 2(1), 11. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-017-0012-7
Montessori, M. (1949). The Absorbent Mind. The Theosophical PublishingHouse.
Shivakumara, K., Dhiksha, J., & Nagara, O. (n.d.). [No title found]. International Journal of Educational Policy Research and Review, 3(2).
Ültan?r, E. (2012). An Epistemological Glance At The Constructivist Approach: Constructivist Learning In Dewey, Piaget, And Montessori. International Journal of Instruction, 18.