Editing Montessori education (section)

== History ==

[[File:Edward Harden Mansion, Sleepy Hollow, NY.jpg|thumb|The [[Scarborough School]] at the [[Edward Harden Mansion]] in [[Sleepy Hollow, New York]], listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] as the site of the first American Montessori school in 1911|alt=A wide brick building with dormer windows projecting from its roof and a white wooden wing on the left, seen from slightly downhill]]

Maria Montessori initially resisted a career in teaching, one of only a few professions open to women in that time period. She became one of the first women to become a medical doctor in Italy in the 19th century, and specialized in psychiatry and pediatrics.<ref name="Marshall2017" /> Maria Montessori began developing her educational philosophy and methods in 1897, attending courses in [[pedagogy]] at the [[Sapienza University of Rome|University of Rome]] and learning educational theory.<ref name="Kramer">{{cite book|last=Kramer |first=Rita|title=Maria Montessori|year=1976|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago|isbn=978-0-201-09227-1}}</ref>{{rp|60}} While visiting Rome's [[Psychiatric hospital|mental asylums]] during her schooling with a teacher, Montessori observed that confined children were in need of more stimulation from their environment.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://montessori-ami.org/resource-library/facts/biography-dr-maria-montessori|title=Biography of Dr Maria Montessori|website=Association Montessori Internationale|language=en|access-date=14 April 2019|archive-date=14 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190414115341/https://montessori-ami.org/resource-library/facts/biography-dr-maria-montessori|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1907, she opened her first classroom, the [[Casa dei Bambini]], or Children's House, in a [[Tenement|tenement building]] in [[Rome]].<ref name="Kramer" />{{rp|112}} From the beginning, Montessori based her work on her observations of children and experimentation with the environment, materials, and lessons available to them. She frequently referred to her work as "[[Maria Montessori#Scientific pedagogy|scientific pedagogy]]."

In 1901, Maria Montessori met the prominent education reformers [[Alice Hallgarten|Alice]] and [[Leopoldo Franchetti]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=ADHER – HERITAGE ADOPTED FOR EDUCATION in Italy – Villa Montesca|url=http://www.adher.mii.lt/italy/index.php?HERITAGE_FOR_EDUCATION:Villa_Montesca|access-date=21 September 2021|website=www.adher.mii.lt}}</ref> Maria Montessori was invited to hold her first course for teachers and to set up a "Casa dei Bambini" at Villa Montesca, the home of the Franchettis in [[Città di Castello]]. Montessori lived with the Franchettis for two years and refined her methodology together with Alice Franchetti. In 1909, she documented her theories in ''Il metodo della pedagogia scientifica'' (later translated into English as ''The Montessori Method'' in 1912).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wilson |first=Jane |date=30 January 2024 |title=Child-Centered Learning: The Enduring Vision of the Montessori Method – Tots Treasure Trove |url=https://www.totstreasuretrove.com.au/child-centered-learning-the-enduring-vision-of-the-montessori-method/ |access-date=30 January 2024 |website=Tots Treasure Trove |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Montessori |first=Maria |url=https://ia800909.us.archive.org/6/items/cu31924032538500/cu31924032538500.pdf |title=The Montessori Method |publisher=Frederick A. Stokes |location=New York |publication-date=1912 |language=en |translator-last=George |translator-first=Anne E. |trans-title=Pedagogia Scientifica |oclc=726464499}}</ref>

Montessori education had spread to the [[United States]] by 1912 and became widely known in educational and popular publications. In 1913 [[Narcissa Cox Vanderlip]] and [[Frank A. Vanderlip]] founded the [[Scarborough School]], the first Montessori school in the U.S.<ref name="Narcissa">{{cite web |url=https://www2.gwu.edu/~erpapers/teachinger/glossary/vanderlip-narcissa.cfm |title=Narcissa Cox Vanderlip (1879–1966) |publisher=.gwu.edu |access-date=31 December 2018 |archive-date=21 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200621022735/https://www2.gwu.edu/~erpapers/teachinger/glossary/vanderlip-narcissa.cfm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="book">{{cite book|last=Cheever|first=Mary|title=The Changing Landscape: A History of Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough|year=1990|publisher=Phoenix Publishing|location=West Kennebunk, Maine|isbn=978-0-914659-49-5|oclc=22274920}}</ref> However, conflict arose between Montessori and the American educational establishment. The 1914 critical booklet ''The Montessori System Examined'' by influential education teacher [[William Heard Kilpatrick]] limited the spread of Montessori's ideas, and they languished after 1914. Montessori education returned to the United States in 1960 and has since spread to thousands of schools there. Montessori continued to extend her work during her lifetime, developing a comprehensive model of psychological development from birth to age 24, as well as educational approaches for children ages 0 to 3, 3 to 6, and 6 to 12.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Pearson |first=Sharon Ely |date=15 June 2011 |title=Montessori-based Faith Formation in Christian Contexts |url=https://buildfaith.org/montessori-based-faith-formation/ |access-date=30 January 2024 |website=Building Faith |language=en-US}}</ref>

Montessori education also spread throughout the world, including [[Southeast Asia]] and [[India]], where Maria Montessori [[Montessori in India|was interned during World War II]]. In October 1931, Indian independence leader [[Mahatma Gandhi]] met with Maria Montessori in London. At the time, Gandhi was very interested in the role the Montessori method might play in helping to build an independent nation. Thus, initially, Montessori education in India was connected to the Indian independence movement. Later, elite, private Montessori schools also arose, and in the 1950s, some Montessori schools opened to serve children from lower-socioeconomic families, a trend that continues today with foundation and government-funded schools.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Debs |first1=Mira |title=Montessori in India: Adapted, Competing, and Contested Framings, 1915–2021 |journal=History of Education Quarterly |date=September 2022 |volume=62 |issue=4 |pages=387–417 |doi=10.1017/heq.2022.25 |s2cid=251995006 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

The Montessori method was adapted for [[catechesis|Christian education]] by [[Sofia Cavaletti]] and [[Gianna Gobbi]], in [[The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd]]. Their method was further adapted by [[Jerome Berryman]], in [[Godly Play]].