Research from the past 40 years indicates that Black students in primary and secondary school settings are subjected to exclusionary discipline, including suspension and expulsion, at rates two to three times higher than their White peers (Children's Defense Fund, 1975; Skiba, Michael, Nardo, & Peterson, 2002). Although this phenomenon has…

Janet Begin's paper is based on the recognition and recent discussion of early childhood education in America. Her research touches on the challenges of implementing Montessori birth-to-six programs at Cornerstone Montessori School, Crossway Community Montessori School, East Dallas Community Schools, and Family Star Montessori School. She examines…

Within the current standards-based framework of early primary education, teachers must negotiate the integration of assessment with traditional, developmental orientations to teaching and learning. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine teachers' approaches to early primary assessment within five different school contexts: public,…

This article discusses the results of a survey conducted at the Princeton Montessori School (PMS) in New Jersey, a school serving age levels from infants through middle school. The author designed a series of five to six questions about memories of activities, teachers, and friends for all current K-8 students with a minimum of 1 year of…

The purpose of this study is to examine a preschool program with a high level of quality family involvement. Since family involvement during the early years has been linked to achievement and success in school, it is important to examine how such partnerships can be fostered in a meaningful way. The study employs an inductive qualitative approach,…

Understanding of base 10 and place value are important foundational math concepts that are associated with higher use of decomposition strategies and higher accuracy on addition problems (Laski, Ermakova, & Vasilyeva, 2014; Fuson, 1990; Fuson & Briars, 1990; National Research Council, 2001). The current study examined base-10 knowledge,…

A public Montessori school is expected to demonstrate high student scores on standardized assessments to succeed in the current school accountability era. A problem for a public Montessori elementary school is how to make sense of the school's high-stakes assessment scores in terms of Montessori's unique educational approach. This case study…

Experiential education and service-learning are "buzz words" within many educational circles. The purpose of this study was to explore students' (N=18) and professor experiences with/in a student-directed experiential education elective course, with a particular focus on a service-learning initiative. Stephen Brookfield's critical…

As the Montessori Method continues its expansion in public education, a social justice lens is needed to analyze its contributions and limitations, given the increase in racial and socioeconomic diversity in the United States. Furthermore, much of the work in Social Justice Education (SJE) focuses on classroom techniques and curriculum,…

This qualitative study investigated how pedagogy-driven schools create inclusive communities. From the analysis of open-ended interviews with members of 3 pedagogically driven public elementary schools (Core Knowledge, Experiential, and Montessori) in the United States of America, 3 themes emerged: (1) "community and culture," (2)…

Within the United States, there are a variety of early education models and curricula aimed at promoting young children's pre-academic, social, and behavioral skills. This study, using data from the Miami School Readiness Project (Winsler et al., 2008, 2012), examined the school readiness gains of low-income Latino (n = 7,045) and Black (n =…

This study compared word recognition for words written in a traditional flat font to the same words written in a three-dimensional appearing font determined to create a right hemispheric stimulation. The participants were emergent readers enrolled in Montessori schools in the United States learning to read basic CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant)…

This study examines life in a Montessori classroom, with special attention focused on spontaneous episodes of imaginary play. The goal is to better understand what is going on when children engage in imaginary play and how this play assists young learners in their development. This article examines three play episodes, each from a different area…

In an ongoing effort to address the needs of 21st century teachers, a service-learning project was designed which coupled structured reflection and technology. The reflective practitioner model through the use of traditional methods coursework has long been viewed as the most appropriate model for the development of teachers (Hall, 2012). However,…

Background/Context: Montessori education has flourished as an alternative approach to schooling for a hundred years. In the century since the first Montessori school opened in the slums of Rome, the movement has undergone sustained growth while simultaneously enduring efforts to modify the method in order to reach a wider audience. Despite…