Effects of Montessori Education on Reading Comprehension of Kindergarteners

Montessori education has been proven through recent research to be better than traditional schools and more exciting for students (Biswas-Diener 2011). Maria Montessori started the first Montessori school in the early 1900’s. She believed that children were capable of learning things on her own, and that a teacher in the classroom should act as a guide for students. According to the Montessori philosophy, the students’ have work time that occurs in an uninterrupted block of time, usually for around three hours. During this time students have the freedom to choose the work that they do and are able to work at their own pace (Bagby, Diaz, Howell, Sulak, and Thompson 2013). This differs from most traditional classrooms where students are told what to do, and have structured time throughout the entire school day.

School readiness is an important issue that is gaining attention across the country. Children who are lacking in letter knowledge, language skills, and social skills not only disadvantage themselves but also their classmates coming into first grade (Lillard 2012). Students may have a hard time in a traditional classroom where they are forced to work and their time to explore is taken away. Reading comprehension is one of the many important skills that students learn beginning from a young age. Education has shifted to be of more importance for all children, and parents, teachers, and curriculum developers need to have the best resources for helping students learn to be great readers.

So, as the demand for school readiness grows, and the importance of reading comprehension is stressed, researchers can look at the school that works best. This can be done through direct comparison of reading comprehensio...

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...urnal of Wellbeing, 1(2), 214-225.

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