Taking It to the Next Level: Relationships Among ​Montessori Fidelity, Demographics, and Student Outcomes

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 11
  In Poster Session: Montessori Education SIG Poster Session

Abstract

As public Montessori has expanded, researchers and practitioners have expressed a need for more information about how Montessori fidelity is measured and how fidelity is related to student demographics and outcomes. This study, building on a recently published study of public Montessori in South Carolina (Culclasure, Fleming, & Riga, 2018), examined ​how Montessori fidelity and school and student demographic variables were related and the extent to which fidelity to the model was associated with academic and behavioral outcomes. Results showed that programs with the highest levels of fidelity tended to be in non-Title 1 schools and in more established programs. In addition, high and low fidelity schools did better than mid fidelity schools on measurements of academic and behavioral outcomes.

Authors

• David J. Fleming, Furman University

• Brooke Culclasure, Furman University