A study of Parents’ views and choices towards the Montessori Method
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The Dr Maria Montessori established the Montessori Method in the early 1900’s. Her first book ‘The Montessori Method’ was translated into English in 1912 and has since become a globally recognised form of education (Isaacs, 2012). This paper concentrates on the parents’ views and choices towards the Montessori Method as this particular subject remains largely unstudied, especially within the UK. The author of this thesis is qualified in Montessori early years practice and therefore has a personal interest in gaining an insight into the parents’ point of view. The thesis identifies and analyses the key aspects of the philosophy and curriculum within the Montessori Method. This was achieved by studying Dr Montessori’s original ideas and recent supportive or critical reviews. To gain the perspective of the parents, questionnaires were designed to elicit answers to the following questions: What are the parent’s views of the Montessori Method? Do parents understand the Montessori Philosophy?; Do parents choose a nursery because it is using the Montessori Method? The study was conducted within two private Montessori Nursery schools: N: B and N: A. The questionnaire had a Likert 5 scale design, consisting of 16 questions and 1 open question giving the option of additional comments. 40 questionnaires were distributed in each setting. The response rate was: N:B: 23 (57.49%): and N:A: 16 (40%), with a total sample size of 39. The Likert scale results were processed into graphs and the displayed numerically. Additionally 26 participants provided extra information in the optional section, the results of which were organised into a graph of the five recurrent themes together with illustrative quotes. The results showed that even though the majority of the parents chose their nursery because it was using the Montessori Method and agreed with the philosophy, only a minority actually demonstrated a level of understanding of the method. The conclusion was that parents thought they know what Montessori education was but actually their understanding was superficial. The implication of this finding is that parents express a willingness to support the Montessori Method and Practitioners need to provide more information for them. However, the study was restricted due to the quantitative design of the questionnaire and the lack of academic sources to support findings. Parents’ participation was willingly given, suggesting further study in this area to be feasible.
BA (Hons) Educational Studies
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