Alison Demangeon, Stéphanie Claudel-Valentin, Alexandre Aubry, Youssef Tazouti. A meta-analysis of the effects of Montessori education on five fields of development and learning in preschool and school-age children. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 2023, 73, pp.102182. 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2023.102182 hal-04100448.

A Meta-analysis of the Effects of Montessori Education on Five Fields of Development and Learning in Preschool and School-age Children

This month, AMI Research Threads is picking up on that often-asked question – does Montessori work? It is a difficult question to answer because there are so many other variables involved – and what do we really mean when we say – “Does it work?”.

But recently researchers have started to summarise the data from multiple studies and look for overall patterns and trends. The meta-analysis presented here finds positively for cognitive, creative and social and motor skills as well as academic achievement – I was excited when I saw motor skills were included but disappointed that the focus was mainly on fine motor skills.

Gross motor skills are much under researched and since they play a key role in Montessori pedagogy it may be important to understand how they interact with executive abilities to support the outcomes we see in Montessori children – particularly with regard to social and self-regulatory skills. 

So here is a shout out for more researchers to consider the role of gross motor skills and their interaction with executive function in Montessori pedagogy.

Louise Livingston, AMI Global Research Committee