Montessori Education

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The following articles have been provided by the North American Montessori Teachers’ Association (NAMTA) www.montessori-namta.org


Joyful Engagement: A Specific Lens for Observation in Montessori Primary and Elementary Environments
By Paula Leigh-Doyle

Paula Leigh-Doyle uses “joyful engagement” as the main criterion for a child’s success in the Montessori classroom.  She defines joyful engagement in terms of Montessori’s solid foundation of mind-body integration, suggesting “ways to support the child’s nervous system (usually through movement) so that they may feel grounded, integrated, and able to process information to the fullest of their potential.”  For both the primary and elementary level, she offers ways to evaluate any proposed intervention in light of whether it is compatible with the Montessori goals of joyful engagement and increasing independence.

A Neuro-Holistic View

We need to understand the child’s inner workings in order to interpret the outward behaviors we are observing; but the child is not just a brain, and the brain is not just a linear function.  We must appreciate the vast interdependencies of the whole nervous system (sensory input, processing, and movement in addition to the experiences that influence emotion).  This is what I call a neuro-holistic view.  With all the recent interest in brain-based research, we must be careful not to forget about the rest of the body.  It takes the whole nervous system for our brain to have any use at all.

Essential elements for full engagement include attention (usually precipitated by interest); movement, sensory input, and an alert nervous system (the whole body and the whole brain); integration of the mind and will with the body for receiving information (the senses), processing information (the cerebellum), and producing a directed output (movement or cognition).  These elements result in a state of focus and concentration for optimally engaged learning.  In the words of Carla Hannaford, “The plasticity and exquisite organization of the nervous system gives us a window on the potential for life-long learning and healing.”  The opportunity presented by the fact that “within the nervous system lies the potential and hope for every human being to experience successful living” invites us as educators to learn more (Smart Moves 32).

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2009 NAMTA Baseline Special Education Survey
analysis by Barbara Kahn

What does a survey of eighty-two Montessori schools tell us about current trends and practices regarding the population of students with special needs?  Montessori teachers and school administrators have a natural and trained positive disposition toward adapting and accommodating their environments and teaching to a wide range of children with special needs.  In an effort to establish a baseline for Montessori special education, these survey results, although limited, give a concrete sense that Montessori education is growing in its commitment to special education.

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The following information about Montessori research articles with regards to Down syndrome or other special needs students were recommended to the BC Down Syndrome Centre by the Montessori Society of Canada:

The NAMTA Journal Volume 33 Number 2 Spring 2008 was specifically dedicated to Montessori and Special Education. Some of the Chapters that might be of interest include:

a) Montessori and the Special Needs Child
b) The Special Needs Child from the Montessori Perspective
c) The Special Needs Child from the Neuropsychologist’s Perspective
d) Learning Differences or Learning Disorders? Meeting Authentic Needs of the Three to Six     child
e) Montessori’s Helping Children Who Learn Differently
f) Support and Engagement for All Students
g) Whole-School Approaches to Montessori Special Education
h) Getting the Lowdown on the Slowdown
i)  Montessori and Embodied Education


All of these articles are from a single issue of The NAMTA Journal. This is a Journal that NAMTA currently sells as a back issue for $7 (US).  If you would like to order this special education Journal, here are the details: the spring 2008 issue of The NAMTA Journal can be purchased online through the NAMTA website. Customers must specify The NAMTA Journal, Vol. 33, No. 2, spring 2008. Here is a link to the order list of all back issues on the NAMTA website:
http://www.montessori-namta.org/NAMTA/NAMServs/journbackiss.html#Spec08.


Following is a second Journal on special education that NAMTA published in spring 2009. This Journal is a special edition that NAMTA sells for $17 (US).

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To order this Journal from NAMTA
http://www.montessori-namta.org/NAMTA/PubVidSubpages/montpubs.html#special