Quality Teaching in a Montessori Environment
By Heather N. Allen, PhD and Paul Gearan
A parent’s perception about the quality of teaching at an educational institution is the most important criterion they will use when deciding whether to send their child to that school. Families considering Montessori education for their children value quality teaching above even the well-regarded Montessori cornerstones of individualized learning, development of the whole child, and the Montessori philosophy itself.
But quality teaching is a nebulous concept at best, one which elicits vastly different reactions from different individuals. What aspects of teaching define quality for most parents? How do the elements that characterize the Montessori classroom figure into this determination? Moreover, how do parents feel that their current school is performing on those factors? Are there critical gaps between expectations and performance?
Over the past two years, The Professional Survey Group (PSG) has been working with a number of Montessori schools to identify the intersection of parents’ conceptions of quality teaching and the strengths of the Montessori classroom is the key to understanding how Montessori schools can best communicate these strengths to current and prospective families.
Priorities for Elementary Education
In the summer of 2008, ten Massachusetts Montessori schools partnered with PSG to evaluate the priorities of families when selecting an Elementary school for their child and to assess families’ perceptions of how well a Montessori education addresses those priorities. A total of 237 current pre-school families, 252 current elementary families, and 63 families enquiring for elementary programs participated in this study.
Parents’ top priorities when considering a child’s education were clear and consistent across both populations and schools. Quality teaching was considered the most important factor by far. Attention to social and moral development, allowing a child to move at his/her own pace, having a broad curriculum, having a low student-teacher ratio, and a strong sense of community were also considered to be important factors.
Interestingly, in light of this finding, a review of the websites and print publications of the ten coalition schools revealed that few schools referred to the achievements and general excellence of their teachers, and none discussed the high level of training required for Montessori teacher qualification. So while families were seeking information about the quality of teaching at these schools, this information was not easily obtained.
Quality Teaching
In the spring of 2009, 11 Montessori Schools participated in the further investigation of parental definitions of quality teaching, including an assessment of their satisfaction with these teaching factors at their current school. Three hundred and thirty-seven completed surveys were received and analyzed.
In general, families were very satisfied with the quality of teaching at their school and with their school overall. More than half of respondents felt “extremely satisfied” with both, and less than one in twenty were dissatisfied with either. When asked, as an open response question, what things come to mind when thinking of “quality of teaching” parents were most likely to identify factors falling into the following categories: following the child or individual attention (31%); caring, nurturing, or compassion (24%); inspiring a love of learning (18%); and fully understanding each development of their children as well as cognitive growth.
When given a specific set of 18 factors to rate for their importance in evaluating quality teaching, parents placed value on a broad range of skills from imparting knowledge, to providing emotional support, to communicating with parents. The most important factors identified by parents were the:
- ability to deliver lessons and impart knowledge;
- effort to take into account a student’s particular interests, learning styles and motivations;
- ability to teach concepts and general problem-solving skills;
- emotional supportiveness to children; and
- degree to which extra assistance to children is provided when needed.
Parents were also asked to rate their general satisfaction with the teachers at their current Montessori school on the same factors. In general, parents are the most satisfied with those items upon which they place the highest importance - which is what one would hope for. However, importance and satisfaction diverged for: “the quality of written or verbal feedback provided to students on their work” and “how well the teacher communicates with parents.” Both are considered highly important to parents, but near the bottom of the items in terms of parental satisfaction. So while Montessori families are generally happy with the quality of teaching that their school has to offer, they are seeking further opportunities for both themselves and their children to receive more frequent and better quality communications from teachers.
Recommendations
Sing the praises of your teachers – When you review your website and marketing materials, make sure that messages about the expertise, training, and personal gifts of your teachers have a prominent place in these communications.
Organize parent education around Montessori teacher training – When planning parent education events or looking for a topic for your next newsletter, consider including a description of the Montessori certification process and a discussion of how your teachers’ education enables them to offer a superior classroom experience.
Explicitly connect the Montessori philosophy with quality teaching for your families - Ensure that your current and prospective families understand that the central aspects of the Montessori experience - moving at the child’s own pace, taking into account his or her specific needs, emotional supportiveness, teaching of problem-solving (vs. rote learning), and teaching the whole child - are the same factors that foster the growth of the personal and intellectual skills integral to a child’s evolution into a fulfilled and successful adult.
Positive proactive communication with parents – Encourage your teachers to contact at least one family a week to tell them about a success experience (either academic or social) that their child has recently had in the classroom. This will go a long way toward building trust and goodwill between parents and teachers, and will reveal to parents how well the teacher understands and attends to their child’s needs.
The Professional Survey Group is a full-service research company dedicated to providing affordable survey research to Montessori schools. We offer an array of research services to support Montessori enrollment, retention, and faculty and staff satisfaction at all levels. Learn more about us at www.ProfessionalSurveyGroup.com