ERIC Number: EJ1086814
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1443-1475
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Improving Outcomes for Refugee Children: A Case Study on the Impact of Montessori Education along the Thai-Burma Border
Tobin, Tierney; Boulmier, Prairie; Zhu, Wenyi; Hancock, Paul; Muennig, Peter
International Education Journal: Comparative Perspectives, v14 n3 p138-149 2015
There are 25 million displaced children worldwide, and those receiving schooling are often educated in overcrowded classrooms. Montessori is a child-centred educational method that provides an alternative model to traditional educational approaches. In this model, students are able to direct their own learning and develop at their own pace, working with materials rather than in supervised groups or with direct teacher instruction. Because most children are working alone, teachers have more time to work one-on-one with children even when student-teacher ratios are quite large. This gives teachers increased opportunity to tailor their teaching to the specific needs and strengths of each student. We conducted an evaluation of Montessori classroom conversion for displaced students on the Thai-Myanmar border. We administered the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) to 66 children before and after classroom conversion and across treatment and control classroom conditions. We then conducted difference in difference testing. All domains showed meaningful improvements in ASQ scores, with the Montessori students gaining 18 points relative to the traditional students (p = 0.33). However, only the personal-social domain of the ASQ was statistically significant (8.8 point gain for the Montessori students relative to the control, p < 0.05) in our underpowered sample.
Descriptors: Outcomes of Education, Foreign Countries, Refugees, Questionnaires, Teacher Student Ratio, Teaching Methods, Montessori Method, Models, Personal Autonomy, Student Needs, Individualized Instruction, Control Groups, Scores, Student Improvement, Statistical Analysis, Child Development, Student Centered Learning, Family Characteristics, Student Attitudes, Parent Attitudes, Motor Development, Problem Solving, Communication Skills, Social Development, Preschool Children, Preschool Education
Australian and New Zealand Comparative and International Education Society. ANZCIES Secretariat, Curtin University, Box U1987, Perth, WA Australia. Tel: +61-8-9266-7106; Fax: +61-8-9266-3222; e-mail: editor@iejcomparative.org; Web site: http://www.iejcomparative.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Preschool Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Burma; Thailand
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A