Maria Montessori

Many of Maria Montessori’s (18701952) ideas are embedded in virtually every early childhood program, and her influence on our thinking about curriculum has been profound (Goffin, 2001; Morrison, 2011). Montessori was the first woman in Italy to earn a medical degree, and she was a tireless child advocate. She insisted that through proper early education, underprivileged and cognitively impaired children could be successful. She worked first with children who were described at that time as “mentally retarded” (a term we would not use today) and subsequently with poor children in the tenements of Rome, establishing preschools, each of which was called a Casa dei Bambini (Children’s House). In essence, Dr. Montessori proposed the idea of children at risk and the notion that society had a moral responsibility to devote resources to early intervention.

Dr. Montessori embraced and expanded Froebel’s kindergarten concept. She felt that children were natural learners and should drive much of their own learning. She asserted that children should be grouped in multiage (2½ to 5 years) classes to allow flexibility and opportunities for peer mentoring. Montessori developed an extensive set of “didactic” materials and lessons designed to be attractive to children and used by teachers to teach specific concepts and skills. She adapted furniture to child size as a gesture of respect for the unique needs of early learners (Montessori, 2008).

Montessori believed that the environment in which children learn should be meticulously prepared and organized to offer materials and activities in a carefully orchestrated sequence. She trained teachers to observe children carefully and recognize sensitive periods, the most appropriate moments at which to introduce new lessons. Montessori’s ideas about early education promoted the development of independence, responsibility, curiosity, and aesthetic sensitivity (Montessori, 2011). We will discuss her method in more detail in Chapter 2.

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