2021/05/01 by Philippine Courtier, Marie-Line Gardes, Marie‐Line Gardes +10 · 8 citations
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Academic achievement #Child development #Cognition #Cognitive development #Developmental psychology #Disadvantaged #Diverse Education Studies and Reforms #Early childhood education #Education Methods and Practices #Historical Education Studies Worldwide #Mathematics education #Montessori method #Preschool education #Psychology
paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/cdev.13575
openalex publication_date 2021/05/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Abstract Previous research on Montessori preschool education is inconsistent and prone to analytic flexibility. In this preregistered study, disadvantaged preschoolers in a French public school were randomly assigned to either conventional or Montessori classrooms, with the latter being adapted to French public education. Adaptations included fewer materials, shorter work periods, and relatively limited Montessori teacher training. Cross-sectional analyses in kindergarten (N = 176; Mage = 5–6) and longitudinal analyses over the 3 years of preschool (N = 70; Mage = 3–6) showed that the adapted Montessori curriculum was associated with outcomes comparable to the conventional curriculum on math, executive functions, and social skills. However, disadvantaged kindergarteners from Montessori classrooms outperformed their peers on reading (d = 0.68). This performance was comparable to that of advantaged children from an accredited Montessori preschool.