Maria Montessori was a very well educated women, from
studying mathematics and science she moved onto study medicine at the
University of Rome. After 10 years of working in this area her interest moved
to children with mental disability. Montessori was influenced by the work of
Jean-Marc-Gaspard Itard (born in 1775). The work was based on a child who was
found running wild around in the Aveyron wood. Itard developed many of his own
methods in order to allow the child to develop. His methods allowed the “promoting the boys language skills based on
sensorial experiences and matching, pairing and sorting activities” Isaacs(2010).
Montessori recognised that children need to be given the opportunity to developed rather
than being treated medically.
In 1900 the National League for Retarded Children opened the
medical- pedagogical institute, which we call today children with special
needs. Twenty-two children attended and Montessori was the director of these
children. During the same year Montessori returned to the University of Rome to
study education and anthropology. She kept a deep interest and pursued Seguin’s
(a pupil of Itard) theory that children need to be educated through their
senses of concrete experiences. From
this she later developed the ‘materialised abstractions’. The materialised
abstraction were based on two theories which were “exploring the notion of
training of the senses and the importance of approaching abstraction through
concrete forms a child could see and touch” Isaacs(2010).
In 1907 Montessori
opened the first children’s house known as Casa dei Bambini. As soon as the
children entered Montessori observed the reactions of the children, which gave
her a further insight of the nature of children. From this Montessori
discovered an important approach ‘The Montessori approach’.
The Montessori approach was a holistic approach and aimed to
develop children as a whole to their full potential. It was made up of three key elements; the
child, the favourable environment, the teacher.
The child is made up of 3 stages. The absorbent mind is from
conception to six years. Within this stage there are three embryonic stages
also known as the ‘periods of rebirth’.
One being the physical embryo, this is when the physical body is being
formed in the womb. The second is spiritual embryo, this is the period after
birth where the child becomes an individual and grows a personality. The third
being the social embryo, when the child is ready to be in involved in social
aspects of their life, and they are aware of their culture, needs, and feeling
of others. The second stage is childhood
which Montessori describes as the calm stage. The child is egger to learn and
to be a part of a group . The final stage is Adolescence which has similar
elements as the first stages such as unpredictability. During this stage
puberty takes place from twelve to fifteen years of age.
“Montessori, just like Piaget saw the environment as a key
factor in children’s spontaneous learning” Isaacs(2010). Qualities of the
favourable environment are; accessibility and availability, freedom of movement
and choice, personal responsibility, reality and nuture, beauty and harmony. By
having these qualities Montessori supported that children are able to
scaffold their learning.
The teacher plays a vital part in learning.
Montessori 's idea was that teachers were to be a guide
to scaffold learning not to be a dictator or a disciplinarian. The foundations for learning was set by
Montessori but it was the teachers responsibility to develop such materials to
meet the individual childs needs. Montessori also called out for teachers to be
current in legislation, and to be well trained. 
Throughout the whole develop of Montessori, she was able to
recognise and change major factors which influence our education today. Factors
such as; the layout of the classroom, child sized equipment, life skills,
sensorial materials, mathematics, language cultural studies, art and
creativity, imagination, the outdoors, and social skills. To name but only a
few of these factors, child sized equipment such as cupboards, chairs and
tables. Montessori wanted the child to feel as the school belonged to them and
they were welcome to their environment. By this children felt more freedom to
carry out and encouraged to do activities by choice. Also Montessori created materials to ensure
that children learn through trail and error where they are able to self-discipline.
A good example of this is a shape sorter, where children are able to learn and
recognise that a circle will not fit in a square.
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