Understanding what it means to be a Montessori teacher: Teachers' reflections on their lives and work.
(2003) In Malmö Studies in Educational Sciences- Abstract
- The overall aim of this study has been to come to a better understanding of what it means to be a Montessori teacher, by getting a group of Montessori teachers to reflect on their lives and work. Data exploration has comprised journals, interviews, written reflections and collaborative contextual analysis. Analysis of the teachers' occupational life histories and the findings as a whole have been used to shed light on: · Values and specific aspects of the philosophy of Montessori education that primarily attract teachers to this profession. · Ways in which teachers' conceptions of their professional roles reflect their own personal values, beliefs and convictions. · Teachers' views regarding the role of Montessori education today and in... (More)
- The overall aim of this study has been to come to a better understanding of what it means to be a Montessori teacher, by getting a group of Montessori teachers to reflect on their lives and work. Data exploration has comprised journals, interviews, written reflections and collaborative contextual analysis. Analysis of the teachers' occupational life histories and the findings as a whole have been used to shed light on: · Values and specific aspects of the philosophy of Montessori education that primarily attract teachers to this profession. · Ways in which teachers' conceptions of their professional roles reflect their own personal values, beliefs and convictions. · Teachers' views regarding the role of Montessori education today and in the future.
Eight female Montessori primary school teachers participated in the study. Findings reveal that the strengths of the Montessori method lie in its focus on philosophical awareness, the holistic approach and a genuine ethic of care. Montessori's fundamental educational principles are also in alignment with the current Curriculum for Compulsory Schools (Lpo 94). On the other hand, difficulties are experienced due to conflicting traditional/contemporary interpretations of Montessori theory and practice and a general lack of collaboration among Montessori teachers. Open discussion and a sharing of ideas and experiences would help Montessori teachers come to terms with how to apply fundamental principles in new ways without the fear of losing an educational "identity". The Montessori teachers in this study reflect this attitude. Tendencies toward continuity/meaningful change in education depend to a great extent on the ways in which teachers are able to critically reflect about how they think and what they do. Taking seriously what teachers have to say is in fact essential in order to understand the forces that, among other things, govern and sway teachers' inner as well as outer motivations, something of relevance and concern to all involved in teaching and educational processes. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Popular Abstract in Swedish
Det övergripande syftet med föreliggande studie är att utveckla en bättre förståelse om vad det innebär att vara montessorilärare. Utgångspunkten är lärarnas egna liv- och verksamhetsberättelser. Insamling av data har skett genom loggböcker, intervjuer, skriftliga reflektioner och diskussioner. Analys av lärarnas livsberättelser i samband med övriga data har granskats för att belysa grundläggande värderingar, lärarrollen och framtida perspektiv. Åtta kvinnliga montessorilärare deltog i studien. Det visar sig att Montessorimetodens styrka ligger i en välutvecklad filosofisk medvetenhet, ett holistiskt perspektiv och en genuin känsla av omsorg. Montessoris grundläggande principer stämmer väl... (More) - Popular Abstract in Swedish
Det övergripande syftet med föreliggande studie är att utveckla en bättre förståelse om vad det innebär att vara montessorilärare. Utgångspunkten är lärarnas egna liv- och verksamhetsberättelser. Insamling av data har skett genom loggböcker, intervjuer, skriftliga reflektioner och diskussioner. Analys av lärarnas livsberättelser i samband med övriga data har granskats för att belysa grundläggande värderingar, lärarrollen och framtida perspektiv. Åtta kvinnliga montessorilärare deltog i studien. Det visar sig att Montessorimetodens styrka ligger i en välutvecklad filosofisk medvetenhet, ett holistiskt perspektiv och en genuin känsla av omsorg. Montessoris grundläggande principer stämmer väl överens med den nu gällande läroplanen (Lpo 94). Svårigheter är motstridiga tolkningar av montessoris teori och praktik och en allmän brist på samarbete mellan lärare. En mer öppen diskussion och ett delgivande av idéer och erfarenheter bland montessorilärare borde leda till att grundläggande principer kan appliceras på nya och innovativa sätt, utan att montessoris "identitet" går förlorad. Detta synsätt delas av montessorilärarna i denna studie. Tendenser mot att hålla fast vid det gamla eller att bidra till meningsfull förändring beror till stor del på lärarnas förmågor att kritiskt granska den egna verksamheten. Genom att ta lärares röster på allvar kan en djupare förståelse uppnås för krafter, som styr lärarnas motiv och handlingar. Det metodologiska angreppssättet är av relevans för alla som är intresserad av lärande och utbildning. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/21066
- author
- Malm, Birgitte LU
- supervisor
- opponent
-
- Prof Goodson, Ivor, University of East Anglia, Norwich
- organization
- publishing date
- 2003
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- teacher research, occupational life histories, life history research, Montessori, Special didactics, Specialdidaktik
- in
- Malmö Studies in Educational Sciences
- pages
- 220 pages
- publisher
- School of Education, Malmö University
- defense location
- Malmö University
- defense date
- 2003-03-21 10:15:00
- external identifiers
-
- other:ISRN: LUSDAG/(SAPP-1094) 1-220 (2003)
- ISSN
- 1651-4513
- ISBN
- 91-85042-02-1
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 7a1b5bf9-5754-42f9-9d7f-648464c2d7fc (old id 21066)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 16:38:41
- date last changed
- 2019-05-22 07:39:53
@phdthesis{7a1b5bf9-5754-42f9-9d7f-648464c2d7fc,
abstract = {{The overall aim of this study has been to come to a better understanding of what it means to be a Montessori teacher, by getting a group of Montessori teachers to reflect on their lives and work. Data exploration has comprised journals, interviews, written reflections and collaborative contextual analysis. Analysis of the teachers' occupational life histories and the findings as a whole have been used to shed light on: · Values and specific aspects of the philosophy of Montessori education that primarily attract teachers to this profession. · Ways in which teachers' conceptions of their professional roles reflect their own personal values, beliefs and convictions. · Teachers' views regarding the role of Montessori education today and in the future.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
Eight female Montessori primary school teachers participated in the study. Findings reveal that the strengths of the Montessori method lie in its focus on philosophical awareness, the holistic approach and a genuine ethic of care. Montessori's fundamental educational principles are also in alignment with the current Curriculum for Compulsory Schools (Lpo 94). On the other hand, difficulties are experienced due to conflicting traditional/contemporary interpretations of Montessori theory and practice and a general lack of collaboration among Montessori teachers. Open discussion and a sharing of ideas and experiences would help Montessori teachers come to terms with how to apply fundamental principles in new ways without the fear of losing an educational "identity". The Montessori teachers in this study reflect this attitude. Tendencies toward continuity/meaningful change in education depend to a great extent on the ways in which teachers are able to critically reflect about how they think and what they do. Taking seriously what teachers have to say is in fact essential in order to understand the forces that, among other things, govern and sway teachers' inner as well as outer motivations, something of relevance and concern to all involved in teaching and educational processes.}},
author = {{Malm, Birgitte}},
isbn = {{91-85042-02-1}},
issn = {{1651-4513}},
keywords = {{teacher research; occupational life histories; life history research; Montessori; Special didactics; Specialdidaktik}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{School of Education, Malmö University}},
school = {{Lund University}},
series = {{Malmö Studies in Educational Sciences}},
title = {{Understanding what it means to be a Montessori teacher: Teachers' reflections on their lives and work.}},
year = {{2003}},
}