Montessori versus Public Schools

Document Type:Thesis

Subject Area:Education

Document 1

In the study of psychology especially in the learning and teaching field, it is significant to understand the perception held by people regarding the differences in academic success that occurs between Montessori versus public schools. Problem statement The teaching and learning field is set up in a manner that the schools are either Montessori or public schools as seen in their varying methods of teaching. The Montessori approach to education is learner-centered thus putting its primary focus on the development of the learners by engaging all their five senses; touch, smell, sight, hearing, and taste. Public schools, on the other hand, use an approach that puts its principal focus on teaching method which takes place through listening, reading and watching the learners.

Sign up to view the full document!

The differences portrayed in the ways applied during learning have led to some perceived differences in the academic success of the learners from both schools as seen from several studies (Dohrmann, 2003; Lopata, Wallace. The findings from the article indicated that students from Montessori schools had more positivity regarding their school environment quality. Compared with students from public schools, the Montessori students had the perception that teachers were more friendly and fair; they were safe from emotionally perceived pains and didn't recognize much environmental chaos. In the findings, minimal significant differences between the learner's grade level or even the background related variables. As a result, the research study mainly focused on substantial differences taking place between both the public schools and the public school's students (Lillard, & Else-Quest, 2006).

Sign up to view the full document!

The study acquired the results from two different articles that applied different study designs. " In the design, a multimedia presentation was also incorporated precisely for the administrators (Murray, 2005). This research design was appropriate as it enabled the participants to have a chance of asking questions as well as offering comments. This research design appropriateness can thus be termed as one of the advantaged reaped from the use of this design while undertaking the study. The method of a large sample was significant in providing results representing a large number of individual thus making it more accurate. The limitation of the study was substantial of participants who were 1520 in number thus making the process of analyzing the results quite tedious. S census making the review a significant advantage as it was a representative of the entire public.

Sign up to view the full document!

Another research study, regarding the Montessori versus the public schools, was undertaken to provide an understanding as to why most of the parents preferred Montessori schools for their children over public schools ((Zarybnisky, 2010). The study had fifty participants who were parents from different demographics. Data was collected through mailed surveys to the selected participants for the quantitative research. The above research studies provided that parents from both Montessori as well as Public school's parents placed a lot of value on quite similar characteristics and factors. The study design was in the form of the teacher's assessment of the learner’s academic outcomes. The design incorporated in this study led to some disadvantage since the sampling bias encountered made the research inconclusive To find out the result of the academic achievement, a research study was undertaken comparing the Montessori and the public schools.

Sign up to view the full document!

The focus of the survey is findings out the educational achievement outcomes of the students studying at Montessori schools as compared to those in Public schools (Mallett & Schroeder, 2006). The participants were 1035 students from one of the urban public schools in Texas. 518 of them were Montessori students while the other 517 were non-Montessori students. The independent variable, the Montessori versus the Public method teaching will be used to test the effects they have on the dependent variable which is the perceived academic achievement differences. Research and Proposed Methodology Method For this research study, the design to be used is a cross-sectional comparison of the different individual's perceptions of the academic success of the students in the Montessori schools and the public schools primarily due to the varying teaching methods applied in the two types of institutions.

Sign up to view the full document!

The study participants, materials, statistical procedures and data analysis are discussed in the sections below. Participants The participants to take part in this research study will be students from PSY 510 and PSY 520. There are approximately 185 students enrolled in the MS Psychology program, with the breakdown being 28: males and 157: females. The participants will then be asked to study a formulated hypothetical scenario. After the two undertakings, they will be asked to fill out another survey on the academic success of the learners from the first hypothetical situation. The participants will then read another formulated hypothetical scenario after which they will fill out another survey on self-concept based on it. The final aspect of the study will be in the form of a debriefing whereby a detailed account of the two surveys carried out will be given.

Sign up to view the full document!

Information on the potential ethical concerns will then follow. The survey will contain questions on their overall perception of academic success based on the two scenarios of different schools, which are the Montessori schools and the Public schools. The survey responses will be measured with the use of a two-point Likert scale. The question's focus will be on their perception of the two learning methods and their understanding of the learner's success based on the two ways. Ethical concerns One ethical concern in conducting the research above is the small number of participating individuals. This concern majorly lies in the reporting aspect since it would be inappropriate to have statistical significance to draw real and valid conclusions other than concluding that there is need to undertake more research studies.

Sign up to view the full document!

Later, detailed statistics report will be provided on the standard deviation as well as the averages. The use of graphs will be considered only under the condition that they will aid in the description of the survey's outcome. However, the most critical statistics will be those relating to perceived academic success on Montessori schools surveys. A dependent t-test will be conducted for examination of the self-concept dimensions and the academic achievement. From this test, results will indicate whether there is a difference in the perceived success of Montessori schools versus public schools based on the learning methods employed. A statistical test to assess the surveys between the learning methods employed in Montessori schools versus those applied in Public schools will be done.

Sign up to view the full document!

The perceived academic success survey will provide the most significant report on how individuals perceive academic success between the Montessori schools and the public schools. The final results obtained from the two surveys will be factually presented as opposed to being causation statements. They will show that it is a fact that learners in Montessori schools perform better than those in public schools by the teaching method applied to each of them. The interpretation of the results will be carefully made to ensure that there will be no issues related to ethics arising thus acting as a misleading factor to the anticipated results. Gains And How Montessori Programs Differ From Traditional Programs. Corry, S. K. A comparison of Montessori students to general education students as they move from middle school into a traditional high school program.

Sign up to view the full document!

Dissertation published by the University of Nebraska – Omaha. , & Grimm, K. J. High school outcomes for students in a public Montessori program. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 22(2), 205-217. Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. , Wallace, N. & Finn, K. Comparison of academic achievement between Montessori and traditional educational programs. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 20(1), 5-13. Mallett, J. , & Peyton, V. Public Montessori elementary schools. Montessori Life, 20(4), 26-30. Peng, H. A comparison of the achievement test performance of children who attended Montessori schools and those who attended non-Montessori schools in Taiwan. A comparison of Montessori and traditional middle schools: motivation, quality of experience and social context. NAMTA, 28(3), 12-52. Saraswat RK (1997). Manual for self-concept questionnaire; Agra: National Psychological Corporation Survey Platform - Survey Module Overview | Qualtrics.

Sign up to view the full document!

From $10 to earn access

Only on Studyloop

Original template

Downloadable