Can the Montessori Method Have Developments in Secondary Education?. Laeng, M. Montessori Research Europe (MoRE) Newsletter, 2003.
abstract   bibtex   
"MORE Abstracts 2003? Maria Montessori’s method is deservedly well-known in the child education field, where the brilliant educationist successfully extended to normal children what she had experimented with subnormal ones. The applicative method in the “Children’s Homes”, destined to welcome children from three to six years of age, was later developed for very young children in the Montessori Birth Centres and for the slightly older children in primary school. Now, we wonder whether it also has interesting aspects for lower and upper secondary schools. Montessori indeed devised a complete course of development divided into four six-year periods, as Comenius had already done. She thus did not limit herself to childhood and wrote a book Dall’infanzia all’adolescenza which gives an affirmative answer to the question and provides some guidelines. But, especially her son, Mario Montessori, working in many courses on psychoarithmetic and psychogeometry, showed how the directive principles of the method are not only applicable, but are indeed very effective also for lower secondary schools. Mathematics offers particularly useful examples. But even the grammatical and logical analysis performed by affixing labels indicating the functions of various parts of the discourse, already started up in the Montessori method for primary schooling, both for Italian and foreign languages, may be extended to lower secondary schools. The abstract essence of the symbols take on a tangible feature without renouncing their conveyance of concepts. The education of preadolescents and adolescents is not, however, only intellectual. It is also an education for feelings, openness to social cooperation and character building. The broader range of Montessorian thought is felt in education for peace, meant as a world task. And, opening up to multiculturalism and combating every discrimination, it offers secondary education challenging perspectives. Thus, religious education, which in Spain and Italy Maria Montessori linked to Catholic education, may be extended in an ecumenical spirit also to other religions, such as the oriental ones that she got to know in India.
@article{laeng_can_2003,
	title = {Can the {Montessori} {Method} {Have} {Developments} in {Secondary} {Education}?},
	abstract = {"MORE Abstracts 2003?

Maria Montessori’s method is deservedly well-known in the child education field, where the
brilliant educationist successfully extended to normal children what she had experimented with
subnormal ones. The applicative method in the “Children’s Homes”, destined to welcome children
from three to six years of age, was later developed for very young children in the Montessori Birth
Centres and for the slightly older children in primary school. Now, we wonder whether it also has
interesting aspects for lower and upper secondary schools.
Montessori indeed devised a complete course of development divided into four six-year periods, as
Comenius had already done. She thus did not limit herself to childhood and wrote a book
Dall’infanzia all’adolescenza which gives an affirmative answer to the question and provides some
guidelines. But, especially her son, Mario Montessori, working in many courses on
psychoarithmetic and psychogeometry, showed how the directive principles of the method are not
only applicable, but are indeed very effective also for lower secondary schools.
Mathematics offers particularly useful examples. But even the grammatical and logical analysis
performed by affixing labels indicating the functions of various parts of the discourse, already
started up in the Montessori method for primary schooling, both for Italian and foreign languages,
may be extended to lower secondary schools. The abstract essence of the symbols take on a tangible
feature without renouncing their conveyance of concepts.
The education of preadolescents and adolescents is not, however, only intellectual. It is also an
education for feelings, openness to social cooperation and character building. The broader range of
Montessorian thought is felt in education for peace, meant as a world task. And, opening up to
multiculturalism and combating every discrimination, it offers secondary education challenging
perspectives. Thus, religious education, which in Spain and Italy Maria Montessori linked to Catholic education, may be extended in an ecumenical spirit also to other religions, such as the
oriental ones that she got to know in India.},
	language = {eng},
	journal = {Montessori Research Europe (MoRE) Newsletter},
	author = {Laeng, Mauro},
	year = {2003},
	pages = {6--7}
}

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