Introduction of Montessori Education to a remote Indigenous Early Childhood program: A study of the ways in which Aboriginal students respond
Abstract
This article explores the ways Ngaanyatjarra students in Australia respond to Montessori pedagogy in a remote Aboriginal early childhood context. The article initially presents key literature pertaining to early childhood education, Aboriginal education, and Montessori education in Australia. The qualitative methodology underpinning the research is subsequently outlined. The approach emphasized in this research is that of interpretivism. The data analysis process highlighted three headings: concentration and engagement, student autonomy, and student independence. The findings of this research indicate the potential for Montessori pedagogy as a viable alternative practice of education for remote Aboriginal early childhood contexts, as Montessori pedagogy may align more harmoniously with the cultural dispositions of Ngaanyatjarra students. Finally, recommendations are presented in light of the research.
References
Acker, T., & Carty, J. (2011). Ngaanyatjarra art of The Lands. Crawley, Western Australia: UWA Publishing.
Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS]. (2011). Australian statistical geography standard (ASGC) Volume 5- Remoteness structure. Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/D3310114.nsf/4a256353001af3ed4b2562bb 00121564/6b6e07234c98365aca25792d0010d730/$FILE/ASGS%20Remotene ss%20Structure%20-%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf
Australia Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority [ACECQA]. (2012). National quality framework. Retrieved from http://files.acecqa.gov.au/files/Information%20sheets/2- ACECQA%20Information%20Sheet%20-%20Overview.pdf.
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2014a). The shape of the Australian curriculum. Retrieved from http://www.acara.edu.au/verve/_resources/The_Shape_of_the_Australian_Curr iculum_v4.pdf
Australian Government, Department of Social Services (n.d.). Growing up of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children: A literature review. Retrieved from http://www.dss.gov.au/about-fahcsia/publications-articles/research- publications/occasional-paper-series/number-15-the-growing-up-of-aboriginal- and-torres-strait-islander-children-a-literature-review?HTML
Baxter, P., & Jack, S. (2008). Qualitative case study methodology: Study design and implementation for novice researchers. The Qualitative Report, 13(4), 544-559.
Berg, B. (2007). Qualitative research methods for the social sciences (6th ed.). Boston.MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Boulden, K., Hilson, B., & Tyne, M. (2010). Developing sustainable partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders and communities to improve early childhood infrastructure. Retrieved from http://montessori.org.au/government/submissions/MCEECDYAMontessoriAT SIPaper.pdf.
Breadmore, J. (1986). Montessori in the outback. Retrieved from https://montessoriaustralia.org.au/sites/default/files/downloads/issues/Strelley Mob.pdf.
Christie, M J. (1984). Formal education and Aboriginal children. The Aboriginal Child at School, 1(14), 40-44.
Cossentino, J. (2006). Big work: Goodness, vocation and engagement in the Montessori method. Curriculum Inquiry, 36(1), 63-92. doi:10.1111/j.1467- 873X.2006.00346.x
Council of Australian Governments [COAG]. (2009). Closing the gap on Indigenous disadvantage: the challenge for Australia. Canberra: AGPS
Creswell, J. W. (2003). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.
Denzin, K., & Boulden, K. (2010). A strait start to early education: Montessori 0-3 programs in the Torres Strait. Retrieved from http://amiesf.org/downloads/StraitStartMoUMCFTagaiTSIREC.pdf
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet [DPMC]. (2016). Closing the gap: Prime Ministers report 2016. Retrieved from http://closingthegap.dpmc.gov.au/assets/pdfs/closing_the_gap_report_2016.pdf
Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations [DEEWR] (2009). The early years learning framework for Australia: Belonging, being and becoming. Retrieved from http://www.deewr.gov.au/Earlychildhood/Policy_Agenda/Quality/Documents/ Final%20EYLF%20Framework%20Report%20-%20WEB.pdf
Feez, S. (2013). Montessori: The Australian story. Sydney, Australia: NewSouth Publishing.
Ford, P.L. (2010). Aboriginal knowledge narratives and country: Marri kunkimba puti puti marrideyan. Brisbane, Australia: Post Pressed.
Gay, L.R., Mills, G.E., & Airasian, P. (2006). Educational research: Competencies for analysis and applications. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
Harris, S. (1984). Aboriginal learning styles and formal schooling. The Aboriginal Child at School, 12(4), 3-23.
Harrison, N. (2005). The learning is in-between: The search for a metalanguage in Indigenous education. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 37(6), 871- 884.
Leedy, P.D., & Ormrod, J.E. (2001). Practical research: Planning and design (7th ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.
McKnight, A. (2016). Preservice teacher’s learning with Yuin Country: Becoming respectful teachers in Aboriginal education. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 44(2), 110-124. DOI: 10.1080/1359866X.2015.1066491
Miles, M.B., & Huberman, A.M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks CA: Sage Publications.
Ministerial Council of Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs (MCEECDYA). (2010). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education action plan 2010-2014. Retrieved from http://www.mceecdya.edu.au/verve/_resources/a10- 0945_ieap_web_version_final2.pdf
Ministerial Council of Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs [MCEECDYA]. (2015). National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education strategy. Retrieved from https://www.education.gov.au/national- aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-education-strategy.
Minutjukur, M. (2013). Introducing red dirt thinking. Sidney Myer Rural Lecture 3- Red Dirt Curriculum: Re-imagining Remote Education. 18 September 2013: Flinders University, South Australia (pp. 8-9).
Montessori Australia Foundation [MAF]. (2011). Montessori national curriculum ACARA approved November 2011. Retrieved from http://www.pvims.vic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/MNC_General- Introduction.pdf
Montessori Children’s Foundation (2013). Transforming children, families and communities. Retrieved from http://melbournemontessori.vic.edu.au/wp- content/uploads/2013/10/montessori-transforming-children-families- communities.pdf.
Montessori Children’s Foundation (n.d.). Indigenous projects report. Retrieved from http://montessori-esf.org/sites/default/files/projects/mcfindigenousprojectsoverview.pdf.
National Congress for Australia’s First Peoples. (2016). The Redfern statement. Retrieved from http://www.nationalcongress.com.au/wp- content/uploads/2016/06/The-Redern-Statement-9-June-2016_FINAL-002.pdf.
Neuman, W.L (2011). Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches (7th ed.) Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.
Osborne, S. (2013). Introducing red dirt thinking. Sidney Myer Rural Lecture 3- Red Dirt Curriculum: Re-imagining Remote Education. 18 September 2013: Flinders University, South Australia (pp. 4-6).
Perso, T., & Hayward, C. (2015). Teaching indigenous students. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin.
Rioux, J., & Rioux, J. (n.d.). Montessori in an indigenous community. Retrieved from https://montessoriaustralia.org.au/sites/default/files/downloads/issues/WadjaW adja0406.pdf.
Robinson, J., & Nichol, R. (1998). Building bridges between Aboriginal and western mathematics: Creating effective mathematics learning environment. Education in Rural Australia, 8(2), 9-17.
Rose, H. (1991). Case studies. In G. Allan & C. Skinner (Eds.), Handbook for research students in social sciences (pp. 27-34). London: Fulmer Press.
Stringer, E. (2007). Action research (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Shinkfield, A., & Jennings, B. (2006). Playgroups: Playing to get ready for school. Perth, Australia: LotteryWest.
Yunkaporta, T. (2009). Aboriginal pedagogies at the cultural interface. PhD thesis, James Cook University. Retrieved from http://www.researchonline.jcu.edu.au/10974/4/04Bookchapter.pdf.
Copyright (c) 2018 Catherine Claire Holmes
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. Authors can view article download statistics for published articles within their accounts.
Journal of Montessori Research
Author Agreement
The following is an agreement between the Author (the “Corresponding Author”) acting on behalf of all authors of the work (“Authors”) and the Journal of Montessori Research (the “Journal”) regarding your article (the “Work”) that is being submitted for consideration.
Whereas the parties desire to promote effective scholarly communication that promotes local control of intellectual assets, the parties for valuable consideration agree as follows.
A. CORRESPONDING AUTHOR’S GRANT OF RIGHTS
After being accepted for publication, the Corresponding Author grants to the Journal, during the full term of copyright and any extensions or renewals of that term, the following:
1. An irrevocable non-exclusive right to reproduce, republish, transmit, sell, distribute, and otherwise use the Work in electronic and print editions of the Journal and in derivative works throughout the world, in all languages, and in all media now known or later developed.
2. An irrevocable non-exclusive right to create and store electronic archival copies of theWork, including the right to deposit the Work in open access digital repositories.
3. An irrevocable non-exclusive right to license others to reproduce, republish, transmit,and distribute the Work under the condition that the Authors are attributed. (Currently this is carried out by publishing the content under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 license (CC BY-NC.)
4. Copyright in the Work remains with the Authors.
B. CORRESPONDING AUTHOR’S DUTIES
1. When distributing or re-publishing the Work, the Corresponding Author agrees to credit the Journal as the place of first publication.
2. The Corresponding Author agrees to inform the Journal of any changes in contact information.
C. CORRESPONDING AUTHOR’S WARRANTY
The Corresponding Author represents and warrants that the Work is the Authors’ original work and that it does not violate or infringe the law or the rights of any third party and, specifically, that the Work contains no matter that is defamatory or that infringes literary or proprietary rights, intellectual property rights, or any rights of privacy. The Corresponding Author also warrants that he or she has the full power to make this agreement, and if the Work was prepared jointly, the Corresponding Author agrees to inform the Authors of the terms of this Agreement and to obtain their written permission to sign on their behalf. The Corresponding Author agrees to hold the Journal harmless from any breach of the aforestated representations.
D. JOURNAL’S DUTIES
In consideration of the Author’s grant of rights, the Journal agrees to publish the Work, attributing the Work to the Authors.
E. ENTIRE AGREEMENT
This agreement reflects the entire understanding of the parties. This agreement may be amended only in writing by an addendum signed by the parties. Amendments are incorporated by reference to this agreement.
ACCEPTED AND AGREED BY THE CORRESPONDING AUTHOR ON BEHALF OF ALL AUTHORS CONTRIBUTING TO THIS WORK
