Leading Reflective Practices in Montessori Schools

Autores

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17161/jomr.v7i1.14832

Palavras-chave:

instructional supervision, Montessori leadership, educational leadership, school administration

Resumo

In this paper, we report the results of a qualitative study examining the development of leadership competencies as Montessori school leaders gain experience using a coaching protocol with their teachers. Extending previous work, the emphasis is on the school leaders’ specific roles as instructional supervisors leading reflective practices. National standards, both traditional and Montessori, are a foundation to investigate a group of Montessori school leaders’ development in reference to articulated competencies, specifically for the school leader to tend to their own learning and effectiveness through reflection, study, and improvement, and to empower teachers to the highest levels of professional practice and to continuous learning and improvement. After the use of a prescribed coaching protocol, 12 Montessori school leaders from 6 schools across the United States were interviewed using a set of semistructured questions. The study results support that reflective practices lead to both improvement of practice with this group of Montessori school leaders and their respective teachers. We conclude that self-reflection is critical to a Montessori leader’s success, empowering them to model and influence reflective practices, with direct impacts on teacher reflection and school improvement. This conclusion becomes relevant as we observe our Montessori school leaders assuming numerous and complicated administrative roles, from management and teacher evaluation to instructional supervision, mentoring, and coaching teachers.

Biografia do Autor

  • Sharon Damore, DePaul University

    Sharon Damore is a Montessori leadership consultant and adjunct faculty in the College of Education, DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois. She can be reached at sjdamore@aol.com.

  • Barbara Rieckhoff, DePaul University

    Barbara Rieckhoff is an associate dean in the College of Education, DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois. She can be reached at brieckhoff@depaul.edu.

Referências

Aguilar, E. (2013). The art of coaching. Jossey-Bass.

American Montessori Society. (2018). American Montessori Society school accreditation standards and criteria. https://amshq.org/Educators/Montessori-Schools/AMS-Accreditation/Accreditation-Standards

American Montessori Society. (2019). American Montessori Society. https://amshq.org/About-Montessori/History-of-Montessori/Who-Was-Maria-Montessori/Maria-Montessori-Quotes

American Montessori Society. (2021). Pathway of continuous school improvement: An invitation for member schools to engage with Montessori quality. https://amshq.org/Educators/Montessori-Schools/Pathway-of-Continuous-School-Improvement

Argyris, C., & Schön, D. (1974). Theory in practice: Increasing professional effectiveness. Jossey-Bass.

Bagby, J., & Sulak, T. (2013). Connecting leadership development to Montessori practice. Montessori Life, 25(1), 6–7.

Bennetts, K., & Bone, J. (2020). Montessori literature through the lens of leadership. Journal of Montessori Research, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.17161/jomr.v6i2.13537

Bhata, P. (2019). The Montessori differences: Understanding its essential elements. Tomorrow’s Child. 12–14.

Bogdan, R., & Biklin, S. (2007). Qualitative research for education: An introduction to the theories and models (5th ed.). Pearson.

Bouchamma, Y., & Basque, M. (2012). Supervision practices of school principals: Reflection in action (ED535512). ERIC. US–China Education Review B, 7, 627–637. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED535512.pdf

Brockbank, A., & McGill, I. (2012). Facilitating reflective learning, coaching and supervision (2nd ed.). Kogan Page.

Caffarella, R. S., & Daffron, S. R. (2013). Planning programs for adult learners: A practical guide. Jossey- Bass.

Clark, R. W. (1999). Effective professional development schools. Agenda for Education in Democracy Series. Volume 3. Jossey-Bass.

Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches (3rd ed.). Sage Publications.

Damore, S., & Rieckhoff, B. (2019). School leader perceptions: Coaching tool and process. Journal of Research in Leadership Education, 16(1), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1177/1942775119868258

Dewey, J. (1933). How we think. D. C. Heath.

Drago-Severson, E., Blum-DeStefano, J., & Asghar, A. (2013). Learning for leadership: Development strategies for building capacity for schools. Corwin Press.

Elliot, V., & Shiff, S. (2001). A look within: Staff development using structure, inquiry, and reflection to examine feelings about equity. Journal of Staff Development, 22(2), 39–42.

Epstein, P. (2011). An observer’s notebook - learning from children with observation C.O.R.E. (2nd ed.). The Montessori Foundation Press.

Glesne, C. (2011). Becoming qualitative researchers: An introduction (4th ed.). Pearson.

Golden-Biddle, K., & Locke, K. (2006). Composing qualitative research. Sage Publications.

Hallinger, P., & Heck, R. H. (2011). Reassessing the principal’s role in school effectiveness: A review of empirical research, 1980–1995. Educational Administration Quarterly, 32(1), 5–44. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X96032001002

Houchens, G. W., & Keedy, J. (2009). Theories of practice: Understanding the practice of leadership. TopSCHOLAR: The Research & Creative Activity Database of Western Kentucky University. Journal of Thought, 44, 49–66. https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ed_leader_fac_pubs/3/

Houchens, G. W., Stewart, T. A., & Jennings, S. (2017). Enhancing instructional leadership through collaborative coaching: A multi-case study. International Journal of Mentoring & Coaching in Education, 6(1), 34–49. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJMCE-07-2016-0057

Kapustka, K., & Damore, S. (2012, April 13–17). “How did your students learn? How do you know?” Helping student teachers articulate student learning [Paper presentation]. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Knight, J. (2019). Why teacher autonomy is central to coaching success. Educational Leadership, 77(3), 14– 20. http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/nov19/vol77/num03/Why-Teacher-Autonomy-Is-Central-to-Coaching-Success.aspx

Lillard, A. S. (2017). Montessori: The science behind the genius (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press.

Meier, D. R., & Henderson, B. (2007). Learning from young children in the classroom: The art and science of teacher research. Teachers College Press.

Montessori, M. (1970). How it all happened: Summary of a talk to her students on January 6, 1942, describing first the Casa dei Bambini. Communications: Journal of the Association Montessori Internationale, 2/3, 2–7. https://m.montessoriteacherscollective.com/montessori-lectures/

Montessori, M. (1984). The absorbent mind. (C.A. Claremont, Trans.). Dell Publishing. (Original work published 1949)

National Policy Board for Educational Administration. (2015). Professional standards for educational leaders. Author.

Nolan, J., Jr., & Hoover, L. A. (2008). Teacher supervision and evaluation: Theory into practice. John Wiley and Sons.

Rieckhoff, B., & Damore, S. (2017). Beyond Charlotte: Reflection for continuous improvement. Journal of Practitioner Research, 2(1), 1–14. http://doi.org/10.5038/2379-9951.2.1.1044

Saylor, L., McKenzie, G., & Cebulski-Sacco, C. (2018). Teacher-centered mentorship as meaningful professional Montessori development. Journal of Montessori Research, 4(2), 10–24. https://doi.org/10.17161/jomr.v4i2.6923

Schön, D. A. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. Berrett-Koehler.

Senge, P., Cambron-McCabe, N. H., Lucas, T., Smith, B., Dutton, J., & Kleiner, A. (2012). Schools that learn: A fifth discipline field book for educators, parents, and ev¬eryone who cares about education (2nd ed.). Currency.

Steiner, M. (2016). Freeing up teachers to learn: A case study of teacher autonomy as a tool for reducing in¬equalities in a Montessori school. Forum, 58(3), 421– 427. https://doi.org/10.15730/forum.2016.58.3.421

Teitel, L. (2003). The professional development schools handbook: Starting, sustaining, and assessing partner¬ships that improve student learning. Corwin Press.

Tschannen-Moran, M., & Gaereis, C. (2015). Faculty trust in the principal: An essential ingredient in high-performing schools. Journal of Educational Ad¬ministration, 53(1), 66–92. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-02-2014-0024

Yendol-Hoppey, D., & Dana, N. (2007). The reflective educator’s guide to mentoring: Strengthening practice through knowledge, story and metaphor. Corwin Press.

York-Barr, J., Sommers, W., Ghere, G., & Montie, J. (2016). Reflective practice for renewing schools: An action guide for educators. Corwin Press.

Zainal, Z. (2007). Case study as a research method. Jurnal Kemanusiaan, 5(1), 1–6. https://jurnalkemanusiaan.utm.my/index.php/kemanusiaan/article/download/165/158

Downloads

Publicado

2021-05-19

Como Citar

Damore, S., & Rieckhoff, B. (2021). Leading Reflective Practices in Montessori Schools. Journal of Montessori Research, 7(1), 51-65. https://doi.org/10.17161/jomr.v7i1.14832